BUSINESS ADVICE | Hayley Simmons
Social media know-how
Navigating the world of social media can be a daunting and time-consuming task. Whether you’re struggling with where to start or frustrated at how your posts are performing, marketing consultant, Hayley Simmons is here to guide you through the process
ocial media is another plate to spin amongst the many responsibilities that come with managing a KBB showroom. It can often feel like the cost in time is not worth the results, not to mention the feelings of insecurity and self- consciousness it can create. Those that can’t outsource it, often give up. However, the hard truth is that, as a design business, customers do expect you to be present on social media. Customers are using social media in the place of search engines, printed brochures or picking up the phone. If you’re struggling to post regularly, feel overwhelmed by it or have given up, here’s some practical advice to get you going.
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Don’t focus on the ‘vanity metrics’ Try not to get too hung-up over your number of likes and followers. If you’re not currently established and consistently posting on these platforms, these numbers are not an
accurate measure of how good your posts are. The algorithms favour consistency and your post engagement will improve over time. These metrics will be useful later, but for now, focus on gradually building up the best representation of your business and getting into a rhythm of posting. Think of your social media pages as a curation of your work, your team, your products and your reviews. It’s hard to ‘go viral’ but it’s fairly straightforward to create an attractive online gallery.
The post you put out tomorrow could be seen by a potential lead in a few months’ time as they’re likely to
scroll back to get a feel for what you’re about. So, in the first instance, you need to satisfy those customers that know who you are and are searching for your content.
Don’t spread yourself too thinly
If you’re not posting regularly (at least three times a week) on Instagram and Facebook, it’s probably a good idea to hang fire on setting up a TikTok account just now. Instagram still has more users of the right demographics who are interested in interior design and renovations. TikTok is still a fairly new platform in the KBB space but it’s quickly growing.
Satisfy the
customers that know who you are and are searching for your content
Social Media Content - 4 P’s A month of post ideas for your KBB showroom – posting three times per week
PRODUCT Show quality & breadth of your range. Educate the customer.
Showcase your best-sellers What are the most popular door colours or appliances etc?
Discuss the choices, e.g. work surfaces Design, maintenance and cost implications of different materials.
Demonstrate your quality Point out features, supplier guarantees or aftersales care that you offer.
@KBB_DIGITAL 24
PEOPLE Allow customers to get to know you before they visit.
Introduce the owner/manager How long have you been established? Why do you love what you do?
A quote from your designer What inspires them/how do they like to work with their clients?
Introduce one of your installers Show them who will be working in their home and why they’re great.
PROOF Show your credibility as designers & share testimonials.
Highlight a specific customer ‘pain point’ How did you overcome a quirky feature or accessibility need?
A short customer quote about your service Create a simple text post - their words in quotation marks.
Share a full before and after A case study about the customer needs and how you met them.
PROCESS
Reassure customers about the end-to-end process
What happens at a design appointment? What do they need to bring? What will you ask them?
Show the design process Share a floor plan/render. Explain the designer’s thought process.
Show a kitchen mid-fit How do you minimise mess? How long will it take etc?
Instagram and Facebook are owned by the same company Meta, and posts can be shared automatically from without any extra effort. Any paid advertising you do on these platforms covers both, so these two platforms should be treated as one.
If you are producing Reels (short format videos) for Instagram and Facebook, then it may make sense to cross-promote and use the same
content on TikTok, so you can start to build up an early presence there too with no extra effrot.
The important messages here are:
Don’t try and spread yourself too thinly if you don’t have the time to keep up with it and, focus on quality over breadth and find ways to be efficient that work for you.
Plan your posts ahead of time
Opening the app and hoping that a witty or inspiring post will find its way to your fingertips is hard for most people. Professional social media managers will usually plan their content a few weeks in advance.
Create a short list of your ‘Content Pillars’. These are the themes or topics that you will use to generate ideas for your posts. Then, list ideas of useful information under each theme. The table below shows an example of a social media plan that I created and filled in for a showroom. My four themes are easy to remember as they are four P’s - Product, People, Process and Proof.
When you give yourself a framework, the ideas start to flow. You can re-use the same list each month, using different examples.
Often, the next issue is that you don’t have enough good quality imagery or videos. Remember, your suppliers will usually be happy for you to use their images and it’s OK to have some repetition of your own imagery. If you’re taking images of your finished projects, capture a range of angles and product close ups. You can also use a design tool like Canva to create simple graphics for customer quotes.
Schedule your posts If you’re planning your posts ahead of time, it also makes sense to schedule them to post automatically. In the Meta Business Suite, you can now schedule your Instagram and Facebook posts. This is a free tool and fairly easy to use. You can also use paid-for software like Hootsuite to post to the other social media platforms. There are other software options out there too, just pick the one that feels the most intuitive. Scheduling posts allows you to ‘set and forget’, leaving you to reply to any comments and messages. In summary, if outsourcing is not an option, try and condense your time spent managing your accounts. Don’t let it be a constant niggle and a job that never gets done.
· October 2022
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