10 Social Media Rules Every Digital Entrepreneur Must Master
Snap an image, tap out a clever caption, post it on social media and watch sales skyrocket. If only building a social media business was that straightforward. And yet many digital entrepreneurs mistakenly believe it really is that easy especially in the wake of the many social media success stories.
One such story belongs to Sabo Skirt, the Brisbane-based retail business that shot to global social media stardom less than a year after its launch in 2011. Its social media numbers are enough to strike envy into the hearts of any digital entrepreneur.
But Sabo Skirt co-founder and managing director, Yiota Kouzoukas, is the first to set the record straight about their success by saying that it is not as simple as creating a booming business from a string of images and captions.
“There is a lot of work involved which can be very draining but if you can be dedicated then yes, it is definitely worthwhile.”
Sabo Skirt’s business lives on Instagram and according to its co-founder and creative director, Thessy Kouzoukas, every single image is more than just “a cool photo”.
“There is a lot of time and effort involved. Everything is well thought out and thoroughly planned.”
Sabo Skirt’s PR agency, The Red Republic, is just as ruthless when it comes to creating stellar social media content. Its CEO, Fleur Madden, points out that there are no overnight successes – whether online or offline – and establishing a strong brand presence in a fickle and fast-moving market place can take years.
But endurance only pays off when the fundamentals are in place. woman with drive asks Sabo Skirt and The Red Republic for their top social media rules for digital entrepreneurs.
Sabo Skirt
1. Invest time in guiding your brand ambassadors. We give our ambassadors as detailed a brief as possible including exactly where to shoot, specific angles and lighting. It is trial and error with each ambassador, and we invest a lot of time in making each one the best they can be for our feed.
2. Pick the winning shot. Although we have so much content, it comes down to picking the one image that looks good across all platforms, from desktop to phone screen and right down to the little square on your Instagram feed. So we go through a lot of images to find the perfect one that will sell our product. That is so important.
3. Post relevant content. Make sure you are posting content that is relevant to your brand. Your followers should be able to see and understand how each image relates to your brand even if it is not a product shot. For instance, if you have a clothing brand then post images of clothes, style and fashion.
4. Stick to a fixed schedule. Posting on a fixed day and time will help your followers know when to expect new posts from you. At Sabo Skirt, we post eight times a day on Instagram and 10 times a day on Facebook.
5. Keep to a theme. Whether it is a particular background, filter or font, decide what best represents your brand and use it in each post. This makes your brand instantly recognisable when someone is scrolling through their feed.
You May Also Like: Sabo Skirt: From Local Blog To International Runway
The Red Republic
6. Create opportunities for engagement. You cannot be speaking at your audience. There must be an opportunity for them to engage with you because that is what people want to do on social media.
7. Capture data. You may have run a great campaign but what was the outcome? You need to capture people’s data so you can continue marketing to them, drive traffic to your website or get them on your Facebook page.
8. Be on the right platform for your brand. This is a common mistake many brands make. They tell us they are on Instagram, for instance, but is their audience there too? Also, Instagram has been the flavour of the past few years but with its algorithm changes, Snapchat and YouTube are the holy grails for brands right now.
9. Define your brand’s voice and stick to it. That tone of voice needs to be consistent across all platforms. You cannot have one tone on social media, another on press releases and yet another on your website.
10. Be authentic. People appreciate a brand that communicates authentically and meaningfully on social media. Besides, your followers will know when you are trying to be something you are not and will likely pull you up on it.
You May Also Like: Fleur Madden: In The (Re)Public Eye
Subscribe to our newsletter and get all our top stories delivered straight to you! Click here to get on the list.
You may also like