Social Media: 5 Easy Ways to Optimize Your Profiles

Social media is a powerful tool that you, as a small business owner, should be using to market your services. It’s more important than ever to appear professional, even on your personal social media channels. There are very real opportunities for you to generate income from social media, and I have list of the top 5 ways you can optimize your social media profiles to help you in that endeavor.

It doesn’t matter if you prefer Facebook. LinkedIn, Instagram, or any of the other social media platforms. These 5 tips can be utilized across the board.

This will help increase the SEO for you personally. This is especially important if you are building a personal brand. And let’s face it, if you’re on social media, you ARE a brand. There’s a good chance that after meeting someone for the first time they’re going to Google you. If you use your real name on your social media profiles, that makes it much easier for them to find you and connect with you across platforms. It is also a question of credibility. If you aren’t using your real name on your social media profiles, potential clients may wonder what you’re trying to hide, and that’s never a good thing when you are trying to grow your business.

You want to use a picture that is current. Say, within the last six months or less. It doesn’t cost that much to have a photographer come in and take some headshots, and having professionally done photos is worth the minimal cost. If you’re really not interested in having professional photos taken, have someone help you take a few nice pictures with your smartphone. The cameras on our phones are pretty amazing, and if you set up the background and lighting you can get professional looking photos taken just about anywhere. You can use a group picture, if you want, but make sure you are recognizable in the photo. It’s important that people who are looking at your social media profiles are able to put a face with a name quickly and easily. You don’t want them to have to hunt for a picture of your face.

It’s important to let people know a little bit about you at a glance, and these 2 sections make that easy for you to do. List where you work, what you do, what types of hobbies you’re into, etc. so that when a person who has searched for your profile clicks through, they can get a general idea of who you are as a person. Also, make sure you’re linking to your website, your other social media profiles, and anywhere else online that they can find you.

No. I do not mean list your personal address. But give people a general idea of the city or region you live in. This will not only help you if you have a brick and mortar business, but it ads to your credibility because you aren’t trying to hide where you are.

This is different from your profile picture. It lives at the top of your individual page, and people see it when they go to check out your profile. Make sure this photo is something that shows who you are and what you do. So, your business name and logo is always a great idea. Or an image or quote that is on brand for you and your business. If you’re into hot rods, find an awesome photo of your favorite car and use that as your cover photo. If you love working out, a picture of you in the gym, etc. The key point is to make sure the image you select is authentic to you, your business, and your brand. The images you select for your social media profiles can either turn people off, or they can help grow the connection. Be aware of that and choose wisely, and you won’t have a problem!

If it helps, think of your social media profiles as a digital business card. Quite often, it’s the first contact you will have with potential clients, so you want it to be as clean and clear as possible. Don’t overthink it, or overwhelm yourself either. It doesn’t have to be something you agonize over. Just be authentic, tell the truth, and share who you are as an individual and a business owner. You will begin to attract the right people if you do that. Guaranteed.

Photo by William Iven on Unsplash

The post Social Media: 5 Easy Ways to Optimize Your Profiles appeared first on Tomas Keenan.