How to Utilize Social Media for Your Business: Part 7

Last week, I covered the basics of setting up a social media profile, but I wanted to offer some more specific guidelines for the most popular social media sites to help get you started. There will be a lot of information in here so I am breaking it into a two-parter. Make sure to stay tuned next week for more!

1. Facebook

Facebook may not remain the most popular social media site, but it is still important. So if you have one, make sure it is set up properly.

Bio/About

For Company Pages, the "About" section asks for information about:

• Contact information
• Location
• Products and Services
• Founding date

Fill out each section carefully. You'll have a lot of space in the company overview to show visitors who you are and what you do.

Photos

These are the recommended dimensions from Facebook for your profile and cover photos.

• Facebook profile picture: 180×180 pixels
• Facebook cover photo: 851×315 pixels

Your profile picture for your Company page should be your logo and should be clear in large or small sizes. Your cover photo should be changed frequently and include information about products, events, etc.

2. Instagram

Instagram is one of the simplest social media accounts, however its simplicity can be what makes it so difficult to stand out. Instagram doesn't differentiate between business and personal accounts, which can be used to your advantage.

Bio

Besides your username and real name, the only other information that appears on your profile is your website link and a 150 character bio. Keep things straightforward, but informal. Make it clear who you are and what types of photos you'll be sharing. Include any hashtags you'll be using in your description so people can search them easily.

Photos

These are the recommended dimensions from Instagram for your profile pictures.

• Instagram profile picture: 180×180

Although there is a web version of Instagram, it offers very little control over your profile, so you'll have to set up your account using a mobile device. However, since there is a desktop version, whenever possible, use higher resolution images.

Your Instagram profile will be cropped into a circle so make sure whichever image you choose will look alright within the circular frame.

3. Twitter

Twitter doesn't differentiate between personal and business accounts in the same way that Facebook does. On Twitter, all accounts are the same, which is an advantage, in my opinion.

Bio/Description

Twitter gives minimal space for a bio. There are only six fields for you to fill in:

• name
• bio
• location
• website
• theme color
• optional birthday

The only area that allows for anything custom/descriptive is the bio field. However, it is limited to 160 characters so you'll need to get creative. Instead of trying to cram a 160 character description of your business into your bio, focus on giving insight into the type of content you'll be sharing on Twitter. This makes it easy for Twitter users to see if they want to follow you or not without them having to scroll through your Tweets.

If your business has more than one Twitter account, for example a customer service account that is different than your regular one, you can also link to it in your bio.

Writing a good twitter bio will be good practice at editing. Just keep asking yourself if the information NEEDS to be in there. Take your time, and make sure to do it right. If you need inspiration check out other accounts to see how the did it.

Photos

These are the recommended dimensions from Twitter for your profile and cover photos.

• Twitter profile picture: 400×400 pixels
• Twitter header image: 1,500×500 pixels

Your profile picture should be clear and recognizable whether small or large, and preferably the same as your Facebook profile picture. Your header image is similar to Facebook's cover photo and should include relevant product, event, etc. information. Just like on Facebook, it should be changed frequently.

Extras

Twitter has also added the ability to pin a Tweet to your profile. This means that whichever Tweet you have pinned will remain at the top of your page allowing whoever lands on your profile to see it easily. It's a great way to promote your content to new contacts.

Next week I will go over how to get your Google+ and LinkedIn profiles set up properly so make sure to subscribe to my updates so you won't miss out!

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