We just finished helping the Liberal, Kansas Convention and Visitors Bureau with their social media. We managed their accounts this past year and fell in love with all things Wizard of Oz, the art gallery, and all the things to do in and around Liberal and southwest Kansas, aka, Wild West Country.

After preparing notes to train the staff that will takeover the accounts, we thought, “why just share them with Sally and the staff? Why not everyone else? Others could surely use these tips.” So if your office has developed a consistent practice of posting/tweeting daily, shed the conservative practice and look to take your social media to a new level with these “Liberal” tips:

Consistent Posting – one issue Liberal had, and many have, is an inconsistent posting schedule. We coach and practice for our clients to draft a calendar and theme the days. Example: Monday-share an article, Tuesday-testimonials, Wednesday-feature a product, Thursday-feature a staff member, Friday-something fun. Review it after 60 days. If the testimonials aren’t realizing much engagement, try something else, but start by establishing a consistent schedule and stick to it.

Scheduling Tools – you can schedule your posts/tweets through programs like Hootsuite or Buffer. There’s a dozen other. You can sit down to you computer and schedule all of your posts for the week. If you’re a small business, this allows you to keep a consistent post schedule and also give you time for all the other tasks of running a business.

Monitor – there’s two sides to social media – pushing and interacting. You have to post, but you also have to monitor the engagement. Like the comments. Reply to the comments. Definitely like the shares! At least every other day, log in and check the notifications. On Instagram it’s the heart. Engage with those that engaged with you.

Start Putting Dollars Behind Facebook Posts – it ain’t free any more. It’s well documented that organic Facebook reach is practically nil. You see your own posts. You see “5 people reached” and wonder if it’s worth it. Boost a post each week. Put $5 behind it. That’s only $260 for the year. You’ll probably reach upwards of 52,000 for the year. Try buying an ad in a newspaper for $260.

Start Utilizing Video – not a super-produced three minute mini-movie. Turn your smartphone to video and pan the newly remodeled store. Instead of a picture of the new widget for sale, record a co-worker putting the new widget on the shelf. Have the manager announce the Tuesday ‘blue plate special’ then pan down to show the plate. Simple, short uses of video.

R&D – still need other ideas? Conduct some R&D – rip-off and duplicate. Car dealer in central Iowa wondering about new, creative post ideas? Search for car dealers in one of the other 49 states, look at what they’re doing and flatter them. Don’t blatantly out and out copy everything down to the pictures, tag lines and fonts. You’ll get caught. See what someone in a similar industry is doing and modify your campaigns.

Hope these help. If they don’t. If you’re still scratching your head. Call us. We can help you we’re sure.