I recently had a conversation with one of my long-standing treasured clients. We have created brochures and print materials together but never anything online. When they asked me to help them with a template for their social media, I put together the following reply and thought it might help someone else, too. Thinking about who is receiving the information you share can help with how you write it.

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It was lovely chatting with you today. As requested, I've put together a few bits of info that might help you make the most of your social media.

I tend to explain social media accounts like having pets! There is no point having them if you are not going to 'feed' them. For this reason, it's best to find the platforms that work for you and that you are comfortable updating on a frequent basis. 

Here is a brief summary of what each is generally used for. 

Twitter/X—This has always been a 'loud haler' kind of platform where you can shout out snippets of news and include links that take the reader to the full information. It's a good way to drive traffic to your website. You can submit images and videos, too.

Instagram – similar to Twitter/X in that you can use it to grab attention and direct traffic to your website. Much more visually focussed, you can submit images or videos. It's best practice to include some 'explanation' of what you are communicating and include a link as a call to action.

LinkedIn – The nature of LinkedIn has changed over the years and rather than it just being an online C.V. where you can 'climb the people ladder' of connections to make other connections, you can now include good content to entice people to connect with you. In the last few years it has become more important to keep your readers on the platform than take them off to another location. This is because both LinkedIn and Facebook now tend to reward content that keeps readers there rather than send them elsewhere. So, in these communications, it's good to have a start, middle and end with a hook of interest at the start and a call to action that asks them to interact with you more on the same platform at the end. Image and video are submittable here too. 

Whilst the idea of submitting video can seem a little daunting, you shouldn't worry too much because it doesn't have to be video of an individual talking at the camera. It can be short clips of the installations you do or someone taking a shot. Then simple wording can be put over the top to get the message accross. Video generally, at the moment, seems to be getting the best results. So even if you intersperse the different content with occasional video it will benefit your efforts. 

Portrait mobile phone footage works really well so can be taken on any easily accessible device. I then use 'https://www.veed.io/' to edit and place captions over the top. (other editors are available of course and you should find one you are comfortable using.)

A template that you can edit and use repeatedly will be formed more in a more methodical, step-by-step process. 

I use 'https://later.com/' to create posts for 5 different platforms simultaneously but edit them appropriately for each platform. Then, you tell it when you want them to publish. 

None of the social media platforms give you much ability to 'style' fonts or choose different ones. I think your styling will become patterned in your choice of video and image overlays or the style of photography you choose to use. You could also create graphic elements that are styled on brand.

I can of course supply you with logos but you will already have those set up on the platforms as part of your profile, so it's not necessary to repeat in each post. You might want to overlay your logo on your images but that is dependent on what software you have access to. Your profiles should be consistent for your brand and I can help you with that if you like. 

I'm happy to book a Zoom with you and guide you through this the first time if you would feel more comfortable. Once you find your mojo with it you can plan in how often you want to post and take it from there. 

From there it is about being able to manage any comments or discussions that start on your posts. You can hide negative and time-wasting comments, but it's best practice to answer people's comments as soon as you can. It is always best to respond in a professional and timely manner to all comments, even if they are not positive ones. People who leave bad comments are generally surprised when someone actually answers them and in many cases you can turn their opinion round because they want to be heard and understood. Oftentimes, they may have misunderstood something or not thought to contact you through email or phone with their concerns. Being there to answer your viewers discourages other people from being silly and helps them remember there are people with feelings on the other end of social media.

Of course, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch—I'd be happy to help.

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