Posted on November 16, 2021 by Webfor I won’t waste precious time explaining how beneficial social media is for your business — you already know the importance of social media for your brand and overall growth, but maybe you’re not sure how to make that happen. If you’re exploring ways to utilize social media, you probably have more questions than answers. What platforms should I be on? What platform should I put the most energy into? What kind of content do I need to create? How do I create that content? How do I organize my ideas? My captions? My videos and images? My hashtags?! While I can’t answer all of these questions, I can help with at least a few of them. Let’s dive in! Social Media Platform Selection There are several social platforms, and new ones pop up more often than you’d expect. As much as I wish I could say “just focus on this one specific platform” that’s simply not good advice. There is no one-size-fits-all platform – it really depends on your goals and your business. Instagram Reels and TikTok are great for broad reach and spreading brand awareness, but a more intimate platform like Instagram’s feed and stories, Facebook, and even LinkedIn are where you can focus on building meaningful connections. Note: this isn’t to say that you can’t make connections on TikTok or spread brand awareness on Facebook. In my experience, these platforms have just been more equipped to succeed in these specific areas. So, where should you focus your energy? It depends on your goals for your social profiles! What Content to Create Similar to choosing where to post, deciding what to post will greatly depend on your goals! Video is superior on almost all platforms right now — the rise of TikTok over the last couple of years has swayed users to consume bite-size videos on all platforms. That’s not to say that a beautiful infographic or team photo can’t also perform well, though. Again, it all boils down to your specific goals. Once you know what kind of content you want to create, you have to determine whether this is content you can create yourself, or something you need to hire a Social Media Manager for (Webfor can help here!) — a Social Media Manager will also outline the strategy and help you decide which platforms would be most beneficial for your business. How Do I Keep Ideas, Captions, etc. Organized? You’re stuck at a red light and think “I should do a post about how my services help this niche customer” but by the time the light turns green or you’re pulling into your driveway, you’ve already forgotten all about that bright idea. That is, until it pops back in your head when you finally lay down in bed to get some well-deserved rest later that night. If you’re like me, you’ll want to keep a notebook and pen near you at all times so you can quickly jot these ideas down. But the Notes app on your phone works great for quickly noting your ideas, too. Cool, now you have a long list of ideas, some of which are very vague and others have the captions nearly written. Now what? This is the part where I share my favorite tool I’ve ever used (for social media and more). Friends, meet Airtable. ? The official definition: “Airtable is a low-code platform for building collaborative apps. Customize your workflow, collaborate, and achieve ambitious outcomes.” The Drew definition: Airtable is a superpowered spreadsheet that’s easily customizable for any needs. And it’s affordable (not sponsored. But like, hey Airtable, it totally could be sponsored ?). How Webfor Uses Airtable For Social Media Clients We use Airtable to organize, draft, and collaborate on client’s social posts. Each client gets their own base (think: ‘workbook’ in Google Sheets/Excel/etc.) and each one looks a little different. The constant between all bases, though, is a sheet for Posts, and this is where we will dive in. The Posts sheet contains the following columns: Day/Time — The proposed day/time the post will be scheduled for Status — Draft, Client Review, Approved, Ready to Schedule/Ready to Manually Post, Scheduled/Posted Channel — Where is this post going — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Post Type — Feed, Story, Reel Media — We’re able to upload the image/video(s) associated with the post and colleagues are easily able to download them directly from Airtable Caption — What more can I say, this is where we craft the caption! Hashtags — The hashtags to go along with the post (utilizing this field allows for easy copying/pasting of hashtag groups, too!) URL — Only if there’s one associated with the post Assignee — If my teammate Emily drafts a post for me to review, she’ll then assign it to me (and I get a notification in Airtable and via email) so I can review it. Once reviewed, I can assign it back to Emily to schedule! Notes — We mainly use this field to collaborate with one another or share thoughts about potential alternative captions/media/etc. Month — This just allows us to quickly and easily group posts into proper month sections. This is more for organization and ease of use than anything. Below is an example of a brand new, empty social media calendar in Airtable: The Social Media team then drafts posts directly in this sheet with the ability to tag each other in comments for feedback, scheduling, assistance, and more. Anyone can be given access to view this sheet, giving them insight into where we’re at with drafting and scheduling posts. Airtable is pretty customizable, so you can match your own internal workflow when setting it up. This flow has been working well for our internal team and our clients for the last several months. I’m Pumped & I Want To Get Started On Social Media! But How Do I Do That? As a business owner, you have a lot on your plate already. The last thing you want to worry about is being active on social media. This is where Webfor comes in. ? We offer a wide array of social media services, including custom packages to fit your specific needs. Give us a call or shoot us an email to get in touch with our Director of Business Development, David, and see how we can partner with you to amplify your social media presence!