Last week we began to explore best practices for taking action & promoting your business on social media. 
Part of that was starting to consider that we need to do a mixture of posts. Not all sales based & not all tips.

This week I wanted to take you through the types of posts you should be sharing on social media & how to choose the best mix for you.

(The brilliant thing about the list I will be sharing with you, is that you can use it everywhere from facebook to twitter).

Post Categories
1. Content
2. Sales
3. Inspirational
4. Behind the scenes
5. Involvement posts

Within each of the above categories, there are a number of types of posts. After all every single one of our businesses is different. Let's look at each category now and some examples:

1. Content Posts
For this type of post you demonstrate your skills, knowledge & give value to your audience. You can share things such as:

• Tips
• Blogs
• Awards
• Content you have created elsewhere

Some examples of these posts can be found below:

2. Sales Posts
For this type of post you will share things that are related to any products, services or offers. Some types of sales posts are:

• Results- Sharing the results that your customers have had
• Questions- Asking if your audience want a solution you are offering
• Stories- Sharing before and after stories from you or your client
• Proof- Showing results you have created for others, or proof that you know what you are doing.

The trick with sales posts is to make sure that you always include a link or call to action to make sure your audience can take action.

3. Inspirational Posts
For this type of post you are trying to inspire your audience. Examples of inspirational posts are:

• Affirmations
• Inspirational Quotes
• Inspirational Stories
• Inspirational Images​

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Inspirational posts can be from third parties.

4. Behind the Scenes Posts
For this category of posts the key is to show what makes you and your business from your competitors. You may offer exactly the same products or service as your competitor but you are the reason people will choose you over someone else.

Nowadays your audience wants to see the human side of business as this is what they relate too. And remember people buy from people they like. Share things to give them a reason to like or love you. 
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Examples of behind the scene posts include:

• Your beliefs
• Your motivations
• Your values
• What experiences you have
• How you are feeling

Behind the scenes posts can make everyone feel awkward, especially if you are an introvert or private person like me.
​Remember you are in control.
If you don't want to show your kids, or have private things that you don't want to share- simply don't. 
Go with your instincts and share what you are comfortable with.

Here are some of my behind the scenes posts:

5. Involvement Posts
For this category of posts you will be sharing things that interest your audience and encourage them to interact. Remember social media is social. Examples of involvement posts include:

• Asking questions
• Polls
• Posts from other people that will encourage discussion
• Emotive statements to instigate a reaction
• ​Funny posts

What should I choose?
Now you understand the types of social posts that you can put out there, you now have to choose the best mix of posts for you.

There is no magic formula.

Every single one of our businesses are different. Each of us will find some posts better than others.
To begin with choose one type of post from each of the below categories & then choose an additional one or two types of posts. 

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You can select the ones that jump out at you, or see what works well for your competitors.

For 1 month use this combination of posts & test them. See what works well, what you feel comfortable using and what doesn't work so well. Replace or swap the posts you need too.
Once you have 5/6 types of posts that work well, you can always add more in and experiment with other types.

I have known businesses who have just focused on sharing inspirational quotes and succeeded. 

(And remember to make sure that you share 1 selling related post in every 4 posts you publish)

I hope this has helped you understand a little more about creating a winning combination of posts for your social media profiles. 
I would love to know what works well for you?

Remember using the right combination will help you promote your business. But to make marketing really work for you, you must have the complete marketing magic not just promotion. More on this next week.

Carrie x

We can work so hard on building our businesses, but one of the things we must get right are the basics of social media.

On Monday in my group I did a video covering how to get the basics right for social media. And I wanted to share the tips with you here.

1. Be in the right place
There are so many platforms to choose from and it is vital to choose the right social media platform. So how do you do this?

• Identify where your ideal client is
• Identify the best platform if you are a selling to a business or a person.

If you would like more assistance on identifying the ideal platform, then check out my free quiz here.

2. Set it up well 
There is no point in being on social media if your profile is not filled out correctly. Make sure your bio or about me section tells your followers:

• who you help
• how you help them
• what is special about you

Social media platforms regularly change so try and check this every month.

3. Social media is not marketing
Promotion is one part of marketing.
Social Media is one form of promotion.
As social media is one form of promotion, you need to combine it with other forms of promotion, such as email marketing, networking, exhibitions, leaflets and advertising etc.
You can grow a business with just social media, but it will be a lot harder to do.
The businesses who utilise social media in the best way possible are the ones who combine it with other promotional methods.

4. Remember your overall goals
You need to set marketing goals regularly (for more information on this have a look at my DIY marketing planning package).  To achieve your goals you need to make sure all of your promotional methods contribute towards these goals.  If you want to attract more people to your website, make sure your social posts direct people to your blogs.
If you want to attract customers, include sales posts on your social media page.

5. Plan & Schedule
A few weeks ago, life got a little hectic. As a result I missed a few days of posting. This would not have happened if I had scheduled my posts in advance! It had a negative impact on my business as it meant people were not hearing from me.
Now there are lots of ways to plan your social media, from the old school spreadsheet (which I use) to specialist programs. It doesn't matter how you plan, it just matters that you plan.
Depending on the platform that you are using, you may be able to schedule your posts in advance, which can definitely help when life gets a bit crazy!

6.It's social media NOT selling media
The idea behind social media is to create links with people and a community. Your posts should encourage interaction and engagement, from asking questions to commenting on what others are saying. All of this will help build a community and increase engagement. In other words it will make people love your brand and also spread the word. A great way to do this is to also show insights into your personal life.

7. Don't overpromote.
Do you know one of the easiest ways to loose followers is to just sell? People do not want to see sales post, after sales post. They see this everywhere and social media is a place to switch off from this. Now I don't mean don't ever sell. But keep your selling posts to every 1 in 4. The best businesses use a mixture of posts for social media (more about this next week!)

8. Value, value, value.
We are using social media to promote our businesses. If we are in the early stages of building a business (or we have been in business a while) we need to prove what we can do. Your audience probably doesn't know you from the women in the street, so why would they buy from you? They buy because you give them value and they like you. So make sure you are always giving value in your social media.

9. Visual is king.
Whatever platform you use on social media, visual is king.  Always include images (or videos if you can) as visual posts will be seen a lot more than plain text posts.

​Now if you follow these 9 steps you will have the basic foundations of your social media sorted. It will mean that the hours you spend online will be worthwhile and you won't feel frustrated with the lack of likes and sales. As with anything social media is NOT a quick fix. Instead it takes time and energy but when used well and with the right mixture of other things it can help you grow your business.

As always if you need help planning your social media, get in touch or why not check out my Skyrocket Your Social Media workbook. If you want to understand all of the elements of marketing check out my Attracting Customers Bootcamp.

If you have any additional hints or tips please share them below.

Lots of love
​Carrie x