Today’s social arena is constantly changing and mercilessly evolving. Maintaining a strong presence on your preferred social platforms requires diligence and focused discipline. Buff and polish your social presence with these seven tips.
Tip #1: Gussy up your profile bios
Each online platform or social network where you have an active presence provides the opportunity to include a personal bio or profile summary. As your business evolves over time, it’s important to update all elements of your online presence — including these bios — to ensure they are accurate and current. In addition to your website About page, this list includes your Google Business Profile, social media bios, profiles for membership organizations and any other About the business snippet that features your business.
Take advantage of the allotted character count to maximize the potential of these online bios, and don’t forget to include your website URL and phone number.
Tip #2: Refresh pinned posts regularly
Instagram, Facebook and Twitter all offer the opportunity to increase visibility for designated content by pinning it to the top of your timeline. While Facebook and Twitter each allow a single post, Instagram will feature up to three posts or reels. Pinned content displays at the top of your timeline indefinitely, or until the owner un-pins it.
When deciding what type of content to pin — and which items specifically — various strategies can be considered. One approach is to pin a post that did not garner the engagement you anticipated, but merits some attention. In contrast, pinning a high-performing post validates your credibility with prospective leads and further expands your reach. A time-sensitive post featuring an upcoming event, new service offering or timely video or reel may resonate due to an implied sense of urgency, as will a link to a blog article or video with a seasonal theme.
How long ago did you pin your last post? A profile featuring a pinned event from years ago, or a dated news release, doesn’t convey a desirable impression.
Tip #3: Finesse your featured content on LinkedIn
LinkedIn enables users to showcase articles you’ve authored, links, videos, images or other assets. Unlike other social platforms, LinkedIn’s featured content section allows you to highlight an unlimited number of posts. These posts are displayed toward the top of your profile, with the most recently published in the first position. You can add, delete or rearrange the sequence as desired. Learn more here.
Because of their prominent placement on your profile, be intentional when adding featured content. Cultivate the featured content section as a whole to convey the story you want to share with potential leads, future customers or partners. For example: Rather than three blog posts, select a client case study, a video of you presenting at a conference, and a well-crafted, informative blog article.
Tip #4: Polish social media cover images
When did you last update your cover images on social?
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn (personal and company) pages, Pinterest and YouTube platforms all enable users to display a large image at the top of their profile. Take advantage of this real estate with a high-quality, bold, impactful and eye-catching visual that conveys your value and showcases your brand.
Updating the cover image requires some diligence, as the header image dimensions vary among platforms and devices. Another complexity that must be addressed is that the logo or headshot (known as the profile image) overlays the cover image and blocks a portion of the visual. Preview your cover image prior to publishing to ensure it is properly sized and scaled for both desktop and mobile.
While attention and focus are needed, periodically updating your cover image is an effective way to promote an upcoming event, a new offering, educational content (perhaps an infographic or blog post) or to simply capture the attention of viewers.
Tip #5: Highlight your Google Business Profile with regular updates
Your Google Business Profile offers another great opportunity to promote your business. When a prospective client searches your business name online, one of the key results on Page 1 is a Google Business Profile listing.
Once you have claimed and optimized your Google Business Profile, you can post updates to promote your business, such as special promotions, new services or free downloadable assets.
In addition, a separate photos field provides the opportunity to add images associated with your business. Adding high-quality, valuable content and action-oriented imagery creates a more robust online presence in search results.
Tip #6: Spruce up your profile image
Your profile image is a small image that appears on your online profiles. It helps those searching your name on various platforms to verify that they have selected the correct profile. While businesses often use their logo for the company profile image, a personal photo is also needed for platforms such as LinkedIn.
When working with business owners to develop a new website, I always stress the importance of a robust About section or page featuring the founder and company. A required element for this page is a professional headshot that’s relatively recent.
Yes, the photo of you mountain climbing in Croatia may evoke feel-good memories, but unless your business involves adventure travels, it’s probably not an appropriate choice for your headshot or profile image. And a 10 year old headshot, while it may be more flattering than a current photo, is also inadvisable. A few age lines convey the wisdom born from experience.
Hire a professional photographer who specializes in business images and in addition to the new headshots, include some professional photos of you in action for your website.
Tip #7: Embrace new functionality
Social platforms are continually evolving to vie for the attention of users. Move beyond simply establishing a profile to explore new features and capabilities that showcase your business.
Here are a couple examples to get you started:
- LinkedIn articles – An embedded publishing platform to publish articles, this functionality is underutilized and offers a unique advantage to those who opt to embrace it. Whether you have a blog on your website or not, LinkedIn’s Publisher platform offers an opportunity to amplify your online presence.
- Cards and end screens on YouTube – When creating a video, YouTube cards allow you to share clickable links within a video to relevant content outside the video. Clicking on a card takes the viewer to another video, channel, or web link, including social channels and downloadable assets.
Your online presence needs regular care and feeding to keep it up to par. Make your social shine with these tips.
