Question
I have a Facebook account for my business, but post rather infrequently because my time is too limited. Do you have any suggestions to how to help this situation and get the most from my posts?
Answer
This is a question I hear frequently from practice owners. Have you heard of social media managers?
Social media managers are websites that use a dashboard to organize your social media. If you are the sole person responsible for your social media but only have so much time to dedicate to it, how can you do it in a more realistic manner that makes the most of your time? A social media manager might be the best way to go. Some of these services are free and others require a monthly subscription of somewhere between $20 and $40. There are many different ones out there, but the four that are the most well-known are Hootsuite, Sendible, Sprout Social, and Oktopost.
You can indicate which forums you use, and then create all your content for a month or so. Then you can say, “I want this content or this one picture with a blurb shared on these three sites at 5:00 pm.” The manager website will automatically post what you want to whatever platform you want at whatever time you say. You may just want one topic posted to your Twitter and something else posted to Facebook, Twitter and Google+. You can organize all of that on your social media manager. It is also helpful to have a platform that will post things when the readership is high during the day; some readers are early risers and use their social media before the working day begins. You can be happily dreaming away, and all of your social media platforms have now been posted to for you.
To make the most out of your posts, share your own original content to gain followers, fans, and devotees, but there is nothing wrong with linking outside articles and resources. That can be a great way of increasing viewership. Use pictures and videos, as readers seem to engage with something they can see and relate to. If you share something strong from someone else, you will get that much more visibility, and it helps your credibility, as it is not all original content.
Make sure that you are actively friending, following, inviting, or connecting with individuals on a daily basis. Ask your followers to interact with you on social media. Use pictures and videos to engage your readers. People are watching who their friends like and engage with on social media. It will be important not only to put ourselves out there, but that we make each post as impactful or positive as we can. Make sure that everything you put out there serves a purpose.
For more information on using social media in your practice, view the Widex recorded webinar, Strengthen Your Business with Social Media. You may also learn more about Widex at the Widex Expo Page on AudiologyOnline.
