When it comes to managing social media accounts, you can either “check the box,” meaning you do the bare minimum, or you can follow some “best practices,” which should set you up for success.

IOI Ventures strives to reach optimal levels of engagement while also growing social media followings for our clients, and these are the best practices that help us reach those goals.

• Every graphic/video your account posts should be “on brand.”

While we love variations in content and appreciate creativity, it’s important to keep your brand guidelines in mind. That means that you should aim to have your logo present, stay relatively consistent in regard to colors and fonts and keep the proper tone for your audience.

• Never let your stories completely expire on Instagram.

Instagram stories help engage with customers on a more personal level and help you jump to the front of the top of their feeds. Feed posts may help educate customers and attract new business, but are more polished. Your stories should still ring true to your brand but are a more authentic and down-to-earth depiction of your organization.

• Respond to comments and direct messages quickly and personally.

As a matter of principle, you should have automated responses when possible along with an internal strategy for engaging with customers who are sharing their thoughts or asking questions. While it’s probably unrealistic to expect brands to have 24/7 coverage of their social media channels, there is an expectation from a customer or client that they will receive a response within a few hours of their submission. Remember, the key to capitalizing on social media is engagement, so you need to make sure to ENGAGE with your audience.

BONUS TIP - While it can sometimes be unnerving to receive a negative review, comment, or DM, you should still respond. Often times these are great ways to learn how to better serve your clients and can help alleviate some customer service issues. If they are just trolling you, feel free to mute or block them. 

• Give your audience a CTA (call-to-action) as much as possible.

Whether you want someone to comment, share, click on a link, or leave a review - whatever the call to action is, you need to ask for it (and provide links). Depending on the platforms and depending on the structure of the post, certain CTA may be more appropriate than others. But do not miss an opportunity to get engagement or drive traffic to your website.

PRO TIP - Instead of using a third-party “link in bio” service, create a mobile-friendly page on your website to use as your Instagram bio link tree. The page can simply contain buttons linking to internal pages, and articles or can serve as important referral sources for partners.

• Hashtags are always helpful.

Use each platform’s best practices to be sure you’re using the right amount and do a little research when discovering which hashtags are trending and tie into your brand or category. You can check out one of our previous blog articles about hashtags for some helpful tips.

If you’re looking to turn up the volume on your social media, be sure to reach out to our team of experts. We can’t wait to help you reach your social media goals.