There are certain things you should never DIY with novice experience: electrical work—a kitchen reno. However, DIY social media marketing is totally doable—even for the newest of newbies.
All you need to do is follow best practices, create relevant content buckets, use a content calendar, and adopt other top tips for efficiency—more on that below. We’re a teaching agency and believe business owners can learn almost anything. You’re an entrepreneur, after all! So, as long as you have the time to execute your DIY social media strategy, here’s everything you need to know to do it right.
Yes, You Can DIY Social Media Marketing For Your Business!
Do you love social media and want to take a stab at it for your business? Or, do you loathe social media, but have a tight budget to stick to? Whatever the case, the following tips will help you DIY social media without hiring a social media manager.
1. Learn the Basics
First things first, you need to have a broad knowledge about social media marketing. Even if you scroll the ‘gram every day or go into rabbit holes on TikTok in your free time, you provably don’t know how to monetize posts and grow a following as a business entity.
Lucky for you, we have the basics wrapped up in a tidy 50-page package! Download our Ultimate Social Media Strategy Guidebook to learn everything from social media budgeting, to demographics for each channel, best practices, optimal posting times, top tools, and so much more.
2. Build a Solid Social Media Plan
Have you heard the adage that failing to plan is planning to fail? We have to put the Debbie in Downer, but it’s true!
We’re big into planning around here—and for good reason. You need a cart before the horse or you’ll waste time, money, and potentially put a bad taste in customers’ mouths.
You can’t just show up on social media when you feel like it, post whatever comes to mind, and expect to get amazing results for your business. You need a social media marketing plan that identifies your audience, outlines your goals, and plots how you plan to achieve them. Here’s how to build a social media marketing plan! Also brief yourself on content buckets and a content calendar. Both will help you tremendously when it comes to content strategy,.
Take the time to do it wisely. If you’re struggling, you can look into a small business consultant. We’re always here to help. Your first consultation is free, so please reach out!
3. Use Social Media Tools
All sophisticated animals use tools. Why? Because it makes our lives easier! So, do as the ravens do and streamline your social media marketing with top social media tools. This includes apps for photo editing, video editing, and social media schedulers.
4. Delegate Tasks
Even though you’re a one man or woman band, you don’t have to be! Being a Jill or Jack of All Trades is great, until you’re juggling so much that you can’t do your actual job. Even if you take the DIY route to social media, you still need to delegate. If you have anyone in your company who can help, loop them in. Otherwise, it may be time to pass off some of the work to a social media manager.
5. Post Regularly and Consistently
Everyone expects regularly published content. So, whatever posting cadence you decide on, stick to it! Whether that’s once per week, or once per day, your audience and the algorithms reward consistency.
It’s easy to let social media posting slip. However, you won’t see the benefits of social media if you only post when you find the time. Download our DIY Social Media Planner and 365 Social Media Post Ideas to ensure you stay organized and always have ideas for fresh, original content your followers will love.
6. Show Your Personality and Stick to Your Branding
Whatever you post needs to be cohesive with your brand guidelines! Keep your brand voice consistent across social posts and visuals. Also, inject as much of your brand’s personality into each post as possible. People want authentic businesses and content.
7. Give People a Reason to Follow
People don’t need to follow your business on social. They already have plenty of stuff in their feeds. You have to give them a reason to connect with you. That means showing your products or services, giving them a behind-the-scenes look at how things work with your business, and providing incentives to hit like or follow. Social media promotions like contests and giveaways are excellent ways to get people to follow your accounts, share your posts, and tag their friends. Get creative to grow your audience. Here are 365 Days of Social Media Post Ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
8. Measure Performance
You won’t know how well your DIY social media marketing efforts are going without looking at metrics. Monitor insights on the platforms you use to see what works and what doesn’t. Followers are important, but that’s not the only vital metric to measure. Instead, look at engagement, sharing, and impressions too. That’s how you can tell if people really like your content or if you need to give your social posts a boost via ads, or rethink your social strategy.
9. Stay Up-to-Date
We’d love to tell you that once you know the basics of social media marketing, you can ride off into the sunset. Unfortunately, that’s not the way social media or algorithms work. WOMP WOMP.
Social media constantly changes. You have to stay up-to-date on the latest news in the industry, monitor your analytics, and continue to adapt your process. That being said, our core principles and content framework in our Complete Social Media Strategy Bundle are built with algorithm-proof content strategy. So, you will have longevity in the foundation of your social media marketing efforts. The platforms and user preferences may just shape shift over time.
10. Know When It’s Time To Hire Help
Working with a 100% woman-owned social media agency like Charm School is still DIY! Together, we’ll collaborate to optimize your social media strategy and make your profiles worthy of follows, likes, and shares.
If you’ve done social media yourself, but haven’t seen results or a return on your time, it’s time to call in the experts. Contact us today to set up a free call and plan your next steps!
