TikTok for Small Businesses

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TikTok for Small Businesses

For a few years now, I’ve been an avid fan of TikTok. So much so that I have an entire section of my newsletter dedicated to sharing my favorite finds from the platform! Whether you’re in the mood to learn something new or laugh at something ridiculous, TikTok has you covered. The app values authenticity and weirdness above all else, which helps foster niche communities from elder emos to ADHD folks, from knitters to people who have experienced trauma.

TikTok’s algorithm gets to know you better than you know yourself, some say, which helps users discover content they didn’t even know they were looking for. That’s great news for small businesses! You don’t have to beg people to follow you, you just have to create amazing content and the right people will discover it thanks to TikTok’s unique algorithm.

While I haven’t created TikTok content as Serve Me the Sky Digital, I’ve consumed plenty and have learned a lot about how the platform works and what performs well. I also recently attended a Small Business Block Party (aka webinar, but with better branding) led by TikTok, so I wanted to share some of the takeaways with you!

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Roundup: New Instagram Features in Fall 2021

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Roundup: New Instagram Features in Fall 2021

Instagram continues to roll out an abundance of new features in an effort to entice creators, businesses, and individuals to keep using their platform. When Snapchat was popular, Instagram copied their disappearing content idea and created the Stories feature. Now with TikTok exploding in popularity, they’ve copied the quick videos with trendy audio idea and created Reels. I won’t be diving into Reels today, but I do want to share with you some of the newest features that have launched recently, since it can be hard to stay on top of them all! Here’s what’s new on Instagram this fall.

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Do Hashtags Actually Matter?

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Do Hashtags Actually Matter?

In so many conversations with clients, one topic that comes up again and again is hashtags. Do they actually matter? How many are you supposed to use? Where do you put them? What’s the point? Over the years, the way we’ve used hashtags on Instagram has changed significantly, and so has how Instagram treats them in the algorithm. Ultimately, the goal with hashtags is to be intentional rather than spammy. It can be difficult figuring out how to do that well! That’s why today on the blog, I’m sharing my tips for making the most of hashtags.

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7 Tips for Meaningful Community Management

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7 Tips for Meaningful Community Management

As a social media professional, I’ve spent most of my career in the content creation and strategy space, developing thoughtful strategies and creative tactics tailored to my clients’ goals and executing on them. While I’ve always done some degree of community management for my social media clients, six months ago I began working with a client in a role focused solely on community management for a large, highly engaged audience. It has been so much fun and I’ve learned a ton, so I thought I’d share some of the takeaways here.

But first, let’s take a step back. What is social media community management? Simply put, it’s how your business engages with its audience online. It’s all about building a vibrant community around your brand so that your enthusiastic, loyal audience is eager to promote your brand to their networks as well. Great community management can help a brand go from a standard corporate brand to a more human brand, where supporters can tell the voice behind the account cares about them. That’s special--it’s hard for a customer to find, and difficult for a community manager to pull off! So let’s get into it: how can you do community management in a way that is meaningful and impactful? Here are 7 tips:

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5 Social Media Marketing Lessons from Lil Nas X's Debut Album Release

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5 Social Media Marketing Lessons from Lil Nas X's Debut Album Release

In the world of social media marketing, it can be difficult to keep up with trends and craft creative content on a regular basis. Especially in the nonprofit realm, it’s easy to fall into a habit of churning out the same old similar graphics and posts, without considering how to change it up and be playful. That’s why today, we’re learning from one of the best social media marketers out there: Lil Nas X. Here are five lessons we can learn from Montero himself:

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The Power of Facebook Groups

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The Power of Facebook Groups

When teaching social media workshops or crafting custom strategies for my clients, I frequently recommend Facebook groups as a useful tool. “Really? Facebook groups?” is often the response. People are skeptical of anything to do with Facebook--it seems too political these days, or they fear the site is losing users to platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

Yet, Facebook continues to be the largest social media network, and Facebook groups are currently used by more than a billion people per month. If your audience is on Facebook and you can add value for them in an engaging group, then why not go for it?! Groups are an excellent way to move your audience through the funnel, from the consideration phase on to being a regular customer and then to being a passionate advocate for your brand.

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A Conversation with Angelo Jasa-Phillips: From Creating Content to Developing Strategy

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A Conversation with Angelo Jasa-Phillips: From Creating Content to Developing Strategy

This is the 13th post in the “A Conversation With” series, where I interview smart humans about their experiences in the world of social media. You can read past features here.

This month, I interviewed Angelo Jasa-Phillips, a marketing professional who is the Digital Engagement Manager at GLSEN and has worked on both social content creation and strategy. In this blog post, we dive into how social strategy differs from social media management, and so much more.

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Best Times to Post on Social Media

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Best Times to Post on Social Media

Ah, the age-old question. When is the best time to post on social media? When will most of my followers see it? When will it get the most traction? I hear this question frequently from my clients. As some of you may have guessed, the answer is: “It depends.” While there’s lots of research on the subject, I always advise folks to take it with a grain of salt and instead, dig into their own analytics to determine the best time to post. Today on the blog, we’ll be exploring some general advice on what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to posting times.

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7 Ways to Make Your Instagram Stories More Engaging

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7 Ways to Make Your Instagram Stories More Engaging

In recent years, Instagram Stories have surged in popularity. Increasingly, Instagram users are viewing Stories even more than in-feed posts. Those circles at the top of the app are just so enticing! Today on the blog, I’m diving into how you can make your Instagram Stories more engaging for your audience. People on the internet love to share their opinions and feel heard, so making it interactive is key. Here are seven ways to create engaging content for Insta Stories:

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Why I Use a Social Media Scheduling Tool

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Why I Use a Social Media Scheduling Tool

For years now, I’ve been a fan of scheduling tools to tackle the daunting task of social media management. While social media may seem easy to the untrained eye, not everyone who has an Instagram account can do a great job managing social media for a brand. Social media requires a thoughtful strategy, with clear goals and a solid plan for execution. So many businesses launch social accounts and quickly let them fall out of date because they don’t have a plan for posting consistently. That’s where scheduling tools are a lifesaver! Here are a few of the main reasons why I use a scheduling tool.

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