In today’s busy online world, mastering your social media presence is more than just a digital tick in the box – it’s an important reflection of your business’s brand and identity.

It not only shapes how potential customers perceive your business, but it also sets you apart from competitors and illustrates how you uniquely conduct your business. 

It’s important to have fundamental building block in place. Therefore, having a clear and authentic and brand that communicates to your audience a) who you are and b) how you can serve them. Learn more about building your online brand here.

Once you’ve got your brand in place, you will be able to build out your online presence – social media being a key part of this. Therefore, mastering social media will be an extremely beneficial skill.

Social media is a way many potential customers will validate you and your business, even before they’ve checked out your website.

Never in the history of running a business has the opportunity to reach people been so great – which is why it’s important to have a robust social media strategy in place. This will ensure that every post, comment and share builds towards a stronger connection with your audience, ultimately turning engagement into sales.

But where to start?

I understand that mastering social media, with all its algorithms and quirks, can be a minefield to navigate, so read on to get my top tips and strategies for this.

The Power of Mastering Social Media Selling

Social media is so much more than just a platform for sharing selfies and catching up on the latest memes (although I do love it for this too).

By mastering social media, business owners can drive engagement, build communities, and attract potential clients.

Selling on social media, when done correctly, can transform your business by connecting you directly with your target audience. It’s an opportunity to reach millions of potential customers (currently for free).

By mastering social media, it will help increase:

• Brand Visibility: By Mastering social media, it gives your brand a stage to shine on, exposing it to a huge, diverse audience!
  
• Direct Customer Interaction: Using social media platforms allow businesses to engage directly with customers. This fosters stronger relationships and improves customer satisfaction.
  
• Insights into Consumer Preferences: Mastering social media isn’t just about sharing; it’s also about learning. By monitoring how consumers interact with your content, you gain invaluable insights into their preferences and behaviours. That means it will help guide your future marketing and product/service strategies.

Establishing and Integrating Your Content Pillars

Think of content pillars as the heart of your social media strategy. They represent the key themes or topics that you consistently discuss to educate, engage, and influence your audience.

I recommend having 3-5 core content pillars that you consistently post about.

When business owners struggle to know what to post on social media, it’s usually because they are not clear on what content they are sharing.

As an example for me – my core content pillars for social media are:

• Healthy Habits
• Perimenopause
• Marketing & Biz
• Fun, family and lifestyle

When someone comes to my social media profile – it should be immediately clear to them what sort of content I am sharing consistently.

TOP TIP!💡

Make sure your bio/introduction on whatever platform you are using (more on this further down) is clear on just how you help your audience.

I know it’s popular to tell people about you … eg. wife, mum, travel lover, foodie etc. – but that’s really making it all about you and not the person you are there to serve.

Be sure to have a clear photo of you (not of your dog or kids, as cute as they are) with your name and explanation of a) who you are b) how you serve c) a further call to action (CTA).

For example – on my Instagram bio:

Mastering Social Media Content Creation

As business owners, we can often get stuck in a rut of creating the same type of content.

So I have a simple formula I teach to my clients and members of my Thriving Biz Club, where I recommend they focus on 4 core types of content in their creation – which are:

4 Core Content Types

• Latest Trends & News: Keep your community in the loop! Share updates and hot topics from the your area of expertise. Break it down for your followers with a quick video or a fun graphic. This is an example of one I did recently with the talk of new META updates – see it here.
  
• Inspiration: Everyone needs a little boost now and then! Share stories that light a fire under your followers. Maybe it’s a little anecdote about a breakthrough you had or something you’ve learned from a difficult experience. Or perhaps a feel-good success story from one of your clients. It can be fun or more serious … but let these stories spark motivation and drive engagement. This is an example of one I posted recently here.
  
• Community: This is all about weaving connections and building your community because you do have one, no matter how small right now. Highlight the achievements of your community members or share snapshots from recent events. It’s like gathering your followers around a virtual campfire and celebrating what makes you a community. This is an example of one here, where I attended a community event, as people love to see a “behind the scenes”.
  
• Education: Share your wisdom! Whether it’s practical tips on navigating the challenges of entrepreneurship or deep dives into strategies and tips in your field of expertise. Make sure your content helps your followers grow and succeed. Think about creating a weekly “Tip Tuesday” post where you share bite-sized advice that your audience can easily implement. Here is an example of a time saving tip I shared recently to help business owners get more focused with their time.

By having a good mix of these styles of content, utilising your core content pillars will give you the tracks to run on and prevent that block of “what do I post?”.

TOP TIP!💡

Also, if you simply focused on creating 1 piece of content for each of your content pillars (say you have 4) of these 4 styles of content – that’s 16 pieces of content right there. That’s 4 content posts a week and a whole month of consistent content you can share.

This consistency of posting regular and helpful content will help you gain loyal followers, increase engagement and increase your overall audience. But the key is consistency.

Adapting Content to Learning Styles for Social Media Success

It’s also important to ensure your content is inclusive of all people – consider that some of your audience may be visually or auditory impaired.

But as well as this – it’s appreciating that we all process information in different ways.

Understanding and catering to different learning styles such as; auditory, visual, and kinesthetic – can significantly enhance how your audience interacts with your content.

This approach ensures that your educational material is accessible to everyone, regardless of their preferred learning style.

Incorporating a whole range of content types, like videos (with captions), podcasts, infographics, and blogs, can help meet these diverse needs.

Choosing the Right Platforms

A question I’ve often asked is “what is the best social media platform to be on?”

My answer is simple: the one your ideal audience is on.

Each platform offers unique benefits and attracts different demographics.

I personally use a variety of different platforms in order to attract a wider variety of followers – however if you are just starting out on social media I recommend having one core platform you focus on, with a secondary platform if you have capacity.

It’s better to get good at one platform – than to try and do too many not very well.

Main Social media Platforms

For those of you who still want to know about which platform is best for your audience, here is a quick summary (as of May 2024).

Facebook:
With over 2 billion active users, Facebook is great for building communities through groups, sharing detailed content via posts, and connecting with a broad age range, particularly adults over 30.

Instagram:
This is the go-to platform for visual content. Ideal for engagement through stories, photos, and short videos. Instagram is popular with adults (25-40) who prefer visual communication via reels and carousels and brief text.

X (formerly Twitter):
Best for quick updates, news, and engaging conversations. Twitter’s limit on character count makes it suitable for concise content. Therefore, it’s popular among users who appreciate immediacy and staying on top of trends.

LinkedIn:
LinkedIn is not just used for formal/professional content – it actually gives you the biggest reach out of any other platform! It is such a great way to reach a new audience, especially if your ideal clients are in the more corporate space.

TikTok:
A rapidly growing platform favoured by Gen Z and younger millennials. It’s ideal for viral, creative short-form video content and is a powerful tool for brands looking to build awareness and engage in a more playful, impactful way.

YouTube: – this is also a SEO *Search Engine Optimised platform
Owned by Google, it’s the leading video-sharing platform suitable for longer-form content, educational series, and how-to guides. It attracts a wide range of demographics, making it perfect for in-depth storytelling and tutorials. 

Pinterest: – also an SEO platform
A visually-driven platform popular for users seeking inspiration and ideas. It’s perfect for image-centric content. Brands can leverage Pinterest for product discovery, tutorials, and trend spotting, attracting a diverse audience interested in planning and creativity.

*Search Engine Optimised platforms – these are important especially if you have a website and are looking to drive traffic to this through videos, blogs or a podcast.

Content Planning

Something I swear by is a content calendar! As a busy working mum, it has been an absolute god send for maintaining consistent and strategic posting schedules. 

Note – I don’t fill it in perfectly or religiously – I simply use it as a guide with some notes jotted down, so I’m ensuring that full mix of content styles with my content pillars.

Here is a simple 2 week template you can download to get started.

Analyse and Adjust Your Social Media Strategy

A top tip with your social media is to regularly analyse the performance of your social media activities to understand what works and what doesn’t – I call this the test and see strategy.

If you are starting from scratch, I recommend you post consistently for 30 days. By posting for 30 days, you can use your insight reports to see what is resonating with your audience. Then adjust this for the next 30-60 days.

When you get to the 90 day mark using this method, you will have a very good picture of what is working well. You can then use this to solidify a plan, which you can repurpose every 90 days. YAY, no more making “new” content! You can simply use what’s working and repurpose in a different style or content type (as your audience grows anyway).

Keep Growing and Innovating

As you continue to explore the potentials of social media selling, remember that consistency, engagement, and adaptability are your best tools for success. Keep your content pillars in mind, and don’t be afraid to innovate to meet the evolving needs of your audience.

Free Roadmap

Now that you understand the importance of building a strong brand identity and selling on social media – it’s time to take your digital marketing to the next level. 

My free Digital Marketing Roadmap is designed to guide you through the essentials of online branding, social media selling, creating automated funnels, and growing your audience through email marketing. 

Join the Thriving Biz Club 

Loving these tips? Join our Thriving Biz Club today!

You’ll receive access to our self-paced 4 module program! In this program, you’ll find digital marketing essentials that will help you launch a thriving online biz in just 30-90 days. You’ll also get access to ongoing monthly webinars and a support group. From step-by-step video trainings to live coaching sessions and a supportive community, we’ve got everything you need to confidently bring your product to market and attract your ideal customers.