2021 has been quite a year! We’ve covered a lot of topics on this blog since January, so we figured it was worth doing a countdown of 10 blog posts that our readers loved in 2021. Perhaps you’ll find a great one you missed, or learn something new! As always, feel free to reach out if you have any suggestions for topics to blog about.
Read MoreFor 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!
Read MoreInstagram 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.
Read MoreAs 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:
Read MoreIn 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:
Read MoreWhen 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.
Read MoreIn order to be successful in your day-to-day social media management, it’s helpful to have an arsenal of handy tools to help you do your best work. These can be for scheduling, planning, or graphic design--there’s a lot that goes into making a great post! Today I’m sharing some of my favorite tools for crafting excellent social media content.
Read MoreWriting a top-notch Instagram bio is both an art and a science. How do you craft something that will entice your target audience? That includes all the necessary information and is still concise and compelling? You only have 150 characters to do it! Today on the blog, we’re diving into best practices for optimizing your Instagram bio.
Read MoreDetermining how long your Instagram caption should be is an age-old dilemma. Okay, Instagram has only existed for eleven years, so maybe not quite “age-old.” Nonetheless, one of the most common concerns I hear from clients is, “How do I write a good caption? How long should my caption be?” People are stumped by the art of the caption! Today on the blog I’m breaking down Instagram caption length.
Read MoreThis month, I interviewed my good friend Elise Miklich. If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you may remember that Elise and I co-presented together at Upstate Social last year! She and I often talk about authenticity on social media, and how to care for your mental health when you work in social media, so those are the topics we explored today. I hope you enjoy her insights!
Read MoreDigital, Social, & Creative by Emily Hessney Lynch.
