Feeling stuck in your social media marketing strategy? Sometimes you just need to shake things up. And what better way to figure out how to do that than to ask the experts. We asked 25 creatives in the HoneyBook community, including photographers, designers, brand strategists and copywriters: What’s the one practice you recently implemented in your social media strategy that’s working well? Here’s what they’re doing—and not doing— to drive engagement.
Social Media Tips to Try Right Now
Respond to DM’s with a video. It really creates a connection between you and the person who sent you a message. Everyone I’ve sent one to was so appreciative and blown away I took time to respond via video. It’s also a lot quicker than texting!
Candice Coppola
@candice.coppola
Hand-lettered encouragement posts.
Jeff Frandsen
@jefffrandsen
Create a private FB group to nurture your ideal audience.
Blair Badenhop
@blairbadenhop
I hired help for my Pinterest account. I was already doing pretty well, but knew it was my leading source of social media traffic and had more ideas I wanted to test out. I don’t have the time to do it, so I hired assistance from a team of experts. I’ve already seen my email list grow more quickly and traffic increase even more!
Danielle Zeigler
@danielle.zeigler
Create a storyboard for IG Stories, your brand and for all your clients. Storytelling is so powerful on social media and it helps to plan your story beforehand in order to have an effective strategy.
Christina Jovanna Olivarez
@TheSocialButterflyGal
Post less frequently but make the content REALLY good, focus on your ideal client’s life situations, and include a variety of CTA’s (comment, sign up for the free thing, DM me, etc.) Making it easy to engage with your content improves rankings in algorithms!
Christine Blubaugh
@christineblubaugh
Typically I fight spending too much time checking in to see how many likes a post got because I don’t want to feed insecurity or the cancer of comparison. Those things can kill my creativity and confidence. As an artist I do everything every day to protect those most prized assets!
Cameron Ingalls
@cameroningalls
Answer DMs! A DM may not seem like a lot but it goes a long way when you answer someone’s message.
Dianuh Gundersen
@chasinglinen
Be consistent with posting! I use social media analytics to figure out the best times to post content so a majority of my target market sees it! Scheduling posts in advance is a huge lifesaver!
Alexa Fuhrman-Sherman
@boudoirbyalexa
Step 1 – Mapped out an actual content plan (where each day had a theme) instead of sharing things when I remembered. Hint: I never remembered.
Step 2 – Invested in software.
Step 3 – Spent 48 hours straight with 8 coffees and a bit of self-slapping plugging all my blogs, advice, and copy tips into the software.
Step 4 – Breathed out. It works!
Jay Crisp
@crispcopy
Use hashtags strategically. I recently started searching hashtags that are related to my niche and genuinely interact with new people who may not have come across my profile otherwise.
Sareka Unique
@sarekauniquedesigns
Make stories a top priority. I use stories to offer an inside look into my life & business!
Katie Love
@Katielovesocial
Tag and share fellow businesses that appeal to your ideal client. Make your message about serving them rather than only promoting yourself.
Amber Lea Russell
@amberlearussell
Social Media No-Nos To Kiss Goodbye
Not asking questions
I love to engage with my audience so I use my stories to ask questions by using the questions tool. This way I can learn what questions they may have about how to properly brand and can also create content based off of their responses.
Tiffani Alvaran
@BossBabeBranding
The bored scroll
Create a daily routine or (battle rhythm) of tasks that must occur every day in order to keep your social media posting consistent while avoiding getting lost in the scroll of Instagram.
Meredith Ryncarz
@the_restart_specialist
Trying to be everywhere on social media
Don’t feel pressured to grow and maintain a social media presence on every platform. Identify one or two that convert traffic and sales for your business. Focus on those. I use Google Analytics to identify where my website traffic comes from. In doing so, I uncovered that the vast majority of my traffic comes from Pinterest—while only about 4-5% comes from Instagram and Facebook combined. Now, I focus most of my social media marketing time on Pinterest.
Erika Fitzgerald
@erikafitzgerald_
Following trends
If you see that something is working well, KEEP DOING IT. Don’t try to follow trends. Consistency pays off. You don’t have to be on every platform doing all the things. Keep it simple and consistent.
Keasha Lee Ince
@strikingstatements
Not providing value
Don’t be afraid to share your expertise through your social media. I think that we can sometimes be hesitant about giving away too much value, especially in a service sector, with the perception that if we give too much potential clients or customers won’t need to invest in us. The opposite is true. The more value we can share and the more that we can empower and educate our audience, the better their engagement, response and investment will be in us. I 100% believe that this is a huge part in building the trust factor between us and our audiences. With remote selling and an absence of person to person interaction, how open we are in sharing our knowledge and expertise really makes the difference.
Fiona Minett
@bossyourpr
Limiting what you share
I’m showing more of myself! My followers really enjoy seeing the behind the scenes, processes, and vulnerability of being a photographer.
Mecca Gamble
@MeccaGamble
Focusing on vanity metrics
Ignore vanity metrics like likes & followers. Instead, focus on building a tribe of your ambassadors and be authentic. In a world full of inauthenticity, it can feel disheartening at best at points. So, go against the grain and be unapologetically yourself. Then track your data, track which posts perform best, and rinse, wash and repeat. Know what your audience is loving to see, and give them more of that.
Kyle Goldie
@kylegoldie
Perfectionism
When you have an idea of something you want to talk about on social but you’re afraid that no one will be interested or that it’s not polished enough, show up and do it anyway. I’ve found that when I let down my guard and proceed in spite of my perfectionism, that’s when I get the best results or engagement on my content. In other words, just do it! No one wants your perfection!
Kea Meyers Duggan
@theahaproject
Being afraid to toot your own horn (tastefully)
Posting testimonials from clients I’ve worked with in the form of graphics for my feed and screenshots from glowing feedback via email to my stories! It helps my audience better understand what I’m capable of, who I work with and what I can deliver. Win-win! By posting testimonials regularly, it’s also greater incentive for potential clients who follow me to reach out – and they always do!
Zafira Rajan
@zafira.rajan
Haphazard social posting
Create a system for this part of your business whether that’s dedicating a couple hours one day of the week specifically to social media strategy + planning or delegating it all together. When you streamline your process, you’ll start to obtain more information on what’s working and what isn’t.
Allison Sugahara
@polygonmarket
The follow/unfollow game
Follow people who truly inspire you and that you want to follow. Then write them a personalized message (no sales here) saying hello and giving them a compliment… and tell them that you would love to connect! So many people are wary about IG followers because of the follow/unfollow game, but sending a message should ease some of those issues. I’ve met SO many wonderful people this way.
Caitlin Strempel
@crsdigitalmarketing
Caring too much about the look of your grid
Concentrate instead on providing quality content to your audience. Be yourself. “Do it for the love and not the Likes.”
Abeki Carter
@event_educator
