In the digital age, social media has quickly become comparable to a brick-and-mortar business’s store front with many potential customers looking a business up on social media before visiting or buying from them.
According to Retail Touch Points, 76% of people have purchased something they saw in a brand’s social media post and 21% of people went and bought that item later in a physical store. This shows that no matter if you’re an online-only business or also have a physical location, your business or product benefits from having a social media presence.
Social media is the most effective low/no cost advertising, but it is also something that needs to be approached in a thoughtful manner every time you post. That is why in today’s blog I’m looking at four things you need to check before publishing a post to make sure your posts not only fit your brand’s message but are also attractive to anyone who may come across your page.
1) Clean Copy
The number one thing you need to check before hitting publish (or ‘schedule’) is that your copy is clean. Grammar mistakes and misspellings do happen, so don’t worry too much if you catch one after you publish. Just be sure to edit the post immediately if possible (usually Reels won’t allow you to edit), if you catch it. But the best way to avoid the mistake is to read over your post a few times before it goes live. This is one reason it is better to write your posts out ahead of time so you can do a solid edit a few days later before posting.
2) Solid Image
According to the International News Media Association in 2024, pages that made a post with photos saw about a 114% increase in impressions and engagement increase of 100%. But that doesn’t mean you should just pick any image out of your photo folder.
As I’ve said in the past, take time to find a good image because a bad one can do more harm than good. Bad images spread around the internet like wildfire and that’s not the kind of viral you want. The only time you should use bad images is if there is a legitimate reason – such as doing a throwback to when you first started taking photos compared to now, or if you’re doing a funny post where the image fits the subject.
Curious about my thoughts on how I decide if a photo is worth using or not? Here is a blog I wrote about it a few years ago. https://www.pyroismedia.com/a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-likes/
3) Best Time to Post
Paying close attention to when your followers are online and scheduling your post to go live when those followers are active needs to be considered in your posting schedule. Sure, you can post whenever you want and it’ll likely make its way to some of their feeds at some point, but posting it when they’re active is your best chance to get that post in front of as many eyes as possible.
You may be wondering how to find out when your followers are most active. There are multiple ways to do that, such as third-party apps that can provide that information for you. But many platforms also share that information for free. If you’re focused on something like Instagram and Facebook, they’ll provide that information in their analytics on the Facebook Business website. They’ll also suggest times to post on the scheduling part of the website, though I find that to be inaccurate information most of the time.
4) How It Fits Your Message
If you are focusing on a certain message over an extended period (even just a few posts), make sure your post reflects that. Just like I said in the first point, re-reading before posting is important because it can help you spot typos and give you ideas on how to better convey the message you are trying to pass along.
If you’re posting something that doesn’t fit your business’s current message, ask yourself if the post will detract from that goal or how it may affect it in other ways. Remember that intentional posting on your social media gives you a cohesive feel that will have followers looking forward to seeing what you’re posting from day to day. Meanwhile, a more chaotic type of posting may have them questioning your ability to provide helpful services.
Have a media topic you’d like to see covered here? Email Melissa@PyroisMedia.com with your suggestions and you could see it in a future blog!
“Melissa’s institutional knowledge of the racing and breeding industry, combined with her passion for the Thoroughbred at all stages including after racing, enhanced our outreach with the Thoroughbred Makeover and helped us make more inroads into the industry. Her broad skillset including photography work as well as research and communications were invaluable to us before, during and after our event!”
– Kristen Kovatch Bentley, Retired Racehorse Project Communications Manager