How to post successfully on social media

It’s part of our business to manage a lot of social media accounts, so naturally we’ve built up some experience in what works and what doesn’t. Some of these things have changed recently, and so you may be finding that what you’ve always done just isn’t having the same results. So in this article, we’re going to share a few basic principles that will help you to make your posts more effective.

Images:

You don’t need us to tell you that you need to be sharing images on social media of course, but what sort of images are best?

In general, we find images without text work best, so try to avoid overlaying your website address or logo over the top of a good photo.

Next, grab attention by using bright and colourful images, local scenery, and featuring people regularly if that fits with your business—whether that’s yourself, staff members or happy customers (with their permission).

You’ll also want to pay attention to the size and orientation of your images. Just now, images and videos that take up the majority of a phone screen are working better on Instagram. You can use these on Facebook too, and just crop the image a bit if you want to use it on Twitter.

Videos:

We know we keep harping on about videos, but that’s because they’re important! It’s not just reels for Instagram, reels on Facebook are also rolling out, and most businesses will have to take TikTok into account at some point. Remember to film your videos in portrait (with your phone upright rather than sideways) and try starting small by filming 15 seconds of your pet, daily walk, garden, office etc.

Authenticity:

Social media is all about showing the people behind the brands, and just now users are especially interested in supporting small businesses, independent artists and local cafes and shops. So ideally you’re going to need to get in front of the camera sometimes and show who you are, whether that’s just one sole trader, family partnership or a small team. If the thought makes you nervous, try just sharing photos or videos of yourself on Instagram stories a few times. They’ll disappear after 24 hours!

At the very least on this point, make sure your captions are real and honest. Don’t be tempted to try and position yourself as a big brand if you’re not—small is powerful at the moment. Also, try to avoid overly formal wording and corporate jargon unless your clients are in the corporate world. For example, we were originally going to title this article ‘How to optimise your content for social media’. Then we drafted this paragraph and decided to change it. ‘How to post successfully on social media’ just sounds so much more accessible and practicable in every day life. Plus, ‘successfully’ is so much better and more descriptive than ‘optimise’!

Interaction:

Likes and follows used to be everything on social media, but now it’s time to prioritise more meaningful engagements, such as actually having a conversation. This helps to build a supportive community and loyal customer base around your social media accounts, which will help every post achieve more and make the whole experience that much more enjoyable and rewarding for you.

Encourage meaningful interactions by asking for your follower’s opinions on things, adding polls and other sharing opportunities (check out Instagram story stickers for this) and by replying to comments you get and making comments of your own on other people’s posts. It can be time consuming, but it’s really important, so try setting aside 10 or 15 minutes per day purely for interacting on social media.

We hope those top tips on how to create successful posts help you with your social media. And remember, if you’re struggling with your images, videos, captions or social media in general, we can help!