Getting Started on Social Media from Scratch

Getting Started on Social Media from Scratch

  1. Strategy
  2. 2018/10/26

Not sure where to start, you googled “starting social media” and went through the long list of results: 5 Ways to Prepare for a Launch with Social Media,10 Tactics for Launching on Social Media and Generating Buzz, 4 Tips to Get Your Business Started on Social Media, 8 Ways to Attract the Attention of Readers, Including Starting the Title of your Article with a Number… (okay, I made up the last one.)

The problem is that you finish reading all these articles even more confused than at the beginning of your research. The content of the articles, with such similar titles, is so different!

Some will address product placement, the organization of an event with influencers (*hum hum*, I mean, web content creators), others customer loyalty, data use or e-reputation. But none of them will teach you in practice where to start.

That’s why I propose here to go step by step and really start from scratch.

1. Find the name of the page

This may sound very silly, especially if your company already has a name and is already established outside social media, but you will need a name:

  • that will not be confused with another company name;
  • available on all social platforms that you will want to use, now or in the future;
  • that has a corresponding and logical @username, also available on all desired platforms.

2. Create a first page (then all the others)

The idea, once the name has been chosen, is to reserve it on all platforms. Even those that you do not plan to use in the immediate future.

Imagine if you decided to create only one Facebook page. A few months later, Instagram becomes a very interesting platform for you, but unfortunately, someone else has created an account with the same username you use on Facebook!

You would then have to decide between two disappointing options: changing the username, or even the name of your Facebook page, or living with two different usernames. Sad.

3. Add a profile picture

I don’t know if an image is really worth 1000 words, but one thing is for sure: it makes social media much more attractive!

Most companies choose to use their logo as a profile photo, as it’s simple, professional and easily recognizable. For this aspect, it is not a disadvantage to do as everyone else does.

It is also important to use a photo in the format specific to each network. For Facebook, we talk about a square photo of 180×180 pixels, but that appears as a circle on the feed. While for Instagram, it’s 150×150 pixels, showed in a circle as well.

It can make a good difference and, otherwise, you can end up with bad surprises!

You must therefore keep these dimensions in mind and frame your photos well.

4. Add basic information

Depending on the platform and the type of business, a lot of information can be added in the “About” or “General” sections.

For example, Facebook allows you to add your industry sector, business start date, address, contact information, etc.

In the case of restaurants, we can add a menu and a price range, and for e-commerce, we can add products for sale. The trick is to maximize the information you make available and fill in as many blank spaces as possible.

After all, if your visitors go to the “About” section, it’s because they want to know more about you!

6. Write the accompanying texts

Apart from basic information, all platforms offer a small space to talk about the company. It’s time to work on your writing skills!

Without writing a long poetic text, you have to indicate who you are and what you do. It’s time to be original, if you can, and to reflect your branding.

It’s also necessary to adapt the content of the accompanying texts to each platform. For example, the “Our Story” section on Facebook, like the description on YouTube, offers the possibility of writing a long text, but the bio on Instagram and the description on Twitter require to get to the point. That’s why some people prefer to put bullet points (and emojis!) in it.

6. Make some posts

Did you think it was already time to recruit subscribers? Just a moment! Ask yourself this question: would you subscribe to a blank page, even if it has a well-framed profile picture, complete background information and original accompanying texts? (Well, maybe, but we’re not going to bet on that.)

Even if it may seem difficult, you have to keep the pages you want to exploit a little alive, even if no one follows them. Write a welcome post, post two or three photos, launch a first video.

So, when potential subscribers arrive on your page, they will have an idea of the content you will offer them and will not like the page simply because you asked them to do so. To ensure its success, nothing must be rushed.

7. FINALLY, it’s time to go look for subscribers (hooray!)

Now that your company’s social networks are launched, it would be nice if they received a little love, wouldn’t it? To be able to increase its number of subscribers, several tricks exist.

The best is to start with these 20 easy and effective tips. Among these, we suggest inviting your friends and employees to like your pages, finding partners or even collaborators, subscribing to pages with similar content to yours and paying for some advertising.

Launching social media from scratch can look like a mountain, but it’s not that hard. It’s like writing a constructive article on the steps to do it, without giving it a title starting with a number! I swear it 😉

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