Are you a small business owner whose social media strategy has been falling flat on the face?

Have you been disappointed with the results you’ve been getting from social media?

Are you wondering whether it worth all the time and effort to invest in updating your accounts?

If so, you aren’t alone.

In my conversations with entrepreneurs in various communities, I find this thread of disappointment and disillusionment to run constantly.

People are wondering whether there is some secret that others know and they don’t.

Social media is something that nearly every entrepreneur has a love-hate relationship with.

It all boils down to your social media strategy and how effectively you execute it.

Ingredients for a Successful Social Media Strategy

As someone who manages communities for industry leaders and time-starved entrepreneurs worldwide, I’ve been able to distill social media strategy and its effectiveness into 5 super-simple yet powerfully effective “ingredients”.

Ingredient 1: A Dollop of Consistency

First up, your social media strategy needs consistency.

How often will you be updating your accounts? Or how often are you updating them? Do you update once a day and then, disappear for the next 6 days?

A consistent presence will not only help you rank better in the feeds but also, give your audience something to connect with on a regular basis.

Do this: Take out your calendar/planner/to-do list and schedule updating your networks in to it.

I’d recommend 3-5 updates everyday, 5 days a week, {and this is what we offer our community management clients} but feel free to tweak this to best suit your schedule. However, keep it consistent.

Ingredient 2: A Pinch of Interest

Keep your updates interesting AND show an interest in your community’s life. Whether it is asking questions to learn more about them or sharing a fun article you read in a magazine, keep the interest alive.

Ingredient 3: A Dash of Conversation

How’d you like to go to a party and have everyone just look at you and not talk? Not much, right? Social media is like that! It’s one big party, that goes on for a LOOONG time. So keep conversation flowing. Talk about your day, share photos of what you’ve been doing or better still, throw an actual party !!

Ingredient 4: A Blend of Biz and Personal

While it can be tempting to just fill your feed with product and sale updates, please, DON’T.

You don’t want to be the pushy salesman everyone avoids or the guy at the party who hands out visiting cards even before he asks you how you do, right?

Keep the split to a 70:30 or even, an 80:20 with the larger percentage being for personal and non-salesy updates.

You CAN sell less to sell more. Trust me.

Ingredient 5: A Sprinkle of Specialty

Finally, let your social media strategy reflect who you are, in all your uniqueness and with all your special-ness. Whether it is your love for food or your passion for unicorns, own your you-ness and let it shine.

You can also let your you-niqueness shine by branding your photos with your own special logo, watermark or using a series of fonts that reflect your brand.

You’re in business because you have a purpose, a passion, a point of difference. Let that show!!

Okay, then! Now you know that you know the ingredients to reallllly SHINE on social media, what is the FIRST thing you’ll do? Which ingredient will YOU add to your social media strategy? I want to know…See you in the comments!!