With billions of users around the world, social media has fast become one of the strongest and most effective tools available to marketers. Every day, people spend countless hours on various social media platforms socialising with friends and interacting with brands. As a result of this marketers will spend a significant amount of time, and often money, perfecting their social media strategy in order to appeal to their audience. However many often overlook the smaller changes that can be made to improve your social media profiles in a matter of minutes.
Below are 5 quick and easy ways you can improve your social media profiles:
Be consistent across all platforms
Having a presence across various social media networks is vital to ensure you are reaching as many potential customers as possible. When working across various channels it is key to ensure your branding is consistent to avoid any potential confusion, and make it easier for your customers to find you. Try to get a handle that is close to your branding, and make sure they are as similar as possible across your various accounts.
In some cases, you might not be able to get the exact handle you want, so try to get as close as possible while still incorporating your core branding. In these scenarios, it is crucial to ensure that the image you use is consistent across all platforms to make sure that your page is easily recognisable. Using the same logo across the various social networks makes it easier for your potential customers to spot your brand.
Get your image sizes right
While on the topic of images it’s important to make sure you’re using the right size images for each platform. Having images that are too large or the wrong shape can look unprofessional and messy which can often reflect badly on your brand.
Below is a quick overview of various image sizes required for different social media platforms:
Facebook image sizes
- Profile picture: 170 X 170 pixels
- Cover photo: 828 X 465 pixels
Twitter image sizes
- Profile photo: 400 X 400 pixels
- Header image: 1,500 X 500 pixels
LinkedIn image sizes
- Profile photo: 400 X 400 pixels (minimum)
- Cover photo: 974 X 330 pixels
- Banner image: 646 X 220 pixels
YouTube images sizes
- Profile picture: 800 X 800 pixels
- Cover photo: 2,560 X 1,440 pixels
Instagram image sizes
- Profile picture: 110 X 110 pixels
Pinterest image sizes
- Profile picture: 150 X 150 pixels
For a more in-depth overview, check out Hootsuite’s handy guide.
Include as much detail as possible
While this may seem obvious it is surprising how many companies don’t fill out all of the available fields when creating a social profile. By leaving fields blank you are ignoring potentially important information that could help future customers find out more about your business. Additionally, by leaving out information it can make your profile look unprofessional and make your brand look lazy.
It is also important to make sure that all of the information in your profile is up to date. Brands will often fill out their information at the start and then forget to change it as required, for example, if they were to move address. On top of this, social channels will occasionally update the information that can be included in a bio so be sure to check regularly and stay on top of any updates.
Pin important content
Pinned posts are a simple yet powerful tool and can often be overlooked by social media managers. Unlike other normal posts, pinned posts will stay at the top of your profile making them the first thing people see when they visit your profile. By utilising pinned posts you are able to highlight important information to your customers or show off your best work. For example, try pinning a tweet about a promotion that you are running or to showcase important company news.
It is important to stay on top of your pinned posts and ensure they are still relevant and up to date, there is no point pinning a post about a promotion that has ended.
Connect your accounts for extra promotion
Some social networks give you the chance to promote your other accounts on your page, for example, Facebook has tabs for your YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest accounts. Making the most of these will help your audience to find your other accounts and further help to increase your reach. If someone follows you on Facebook, it’s highly likely that they will be interested in the content you are sharing on Instagram.
Alternatively, make the most of other space on your profile to promote your other social channels. For example, a YouTube bio provides the perfect space to include links to your other social profiles due to the high word count. There are a number of creative ways you can cross promote your social media accounts to increase your potential reach.
It’s important to remember that these are quick wins that you can take advantage of to boost your social profiles. It’s unlikely that these changes will make or break your social strategy, however, they are quick changes that can be made in a matter of minutes that will help you achieve your overall goal; social media success!
