Do you find yourself agonising over how to set up a business page on Facebook? Or wonder how to create social media profiles for business on ANY of the networks? You’re not alone.
Sixty Second Social clients often tell me how overwhelming social media feels at first. When you’re new to it, creating an account and profile on social media can feel too much. Or perhaps you already have things set-up but want to check you’ve got all the elements of a good social media profile. Either way, this provides some pointers to creating a compelling social media profile.
If you’re reading this, then you already know the importance of social media when it comes to promoting your wellbeing business. And you’re keen to ensure your social media accounts are going to accomplish what you need for your business to grow.
Maybe you want more online exposure and to up your brand awareness. Perhaps it’s to persuade potential clients that they need you in their lives. Or it could be to establish yourself as an authority, which may lead to opportunities such as speaking at conferences.
Whatever you want to accomplish, having a good social network profile is the first step. Everything else aside, your social media profile is often the first result when someone Googles your name. It’s worth getting right for that reason alone.
So here’s how to set up a social media profile for your business that works:
1. What social media platforms should you use for your business?
Before you do anything, think about which social media platform/s will be your focus. How do you decide that? By thinking about your ideal clients and where they will be. For example, you offer executive coaching, and your ideal client is a professional in middle management. Go for LinkedIn.
Not all social networks will be right for your business, which is good because it would be a big job to manage them all well. It’s better to choose one or two and do them well rather than three or four badly. Head to wherever your customers hang out and start creating your social media profile for your business there.
If you want to hedge your bets, secure the handles – that’s the account/user names – for your business across all platforms. That way, you can use them in the future, if you want to do so. In the meantime, you can put up a pinned post or bio that directs people to another social network. You can easily check out availability using third-party tools – see point two for more info on this.
2. The name on your business social media profiles
This may seem obvious, but it’s not always clear cut, so it’s worth flagging. If you’re setting up a Facebook business page, you call it your business name – @OhMyWordSocial in my case. That’s assuming someone hasn’t already taken it, of course. If you’re setting up from scratch, you can use Namecheckr to find what’s available. It also checks domain names for those starting on their business journey. Namecheckr is helpful if you plan to use more than one social media platform or think you might want to in the future (see point one). If possible, aim for the same username across all social media to ensure consistent branding. It also makes it easy for people to find you no matter what platform they’re on. Otherwise, it can be confusing. For example, Instagram is @YourOwnName while Twitter is @YourBusiness.
On Twitter, though, you can have your name @YourBusiness (again, assuming it is available). In my case, that’s Julie Griffiths @OhMyWordSocial.
If Facebook is one of your platforms, then join relevant Facebook groups where your potential clients might be. Some groups, but not all, allow you to join as your Facebook business page. So, in my case, I’d join and comment as @OhMyWordSocial. If you opt to join as your personal page, make it easy for people to see what you do. For example, include a link to your FB business page/website in the info section on your personal profile. And, likewise, describe yourself as a counsellor or coach in your personal profile.
3. Personal branding
When you’re starting to create your profile, think about the impression you want to give. The profile is a landing page for your business, so your personal brand matters. There is every chance that your profile is the first encounter a prospective customer has with your business, so you want to make the right initial impression. That should underpin everything you do on your profile.
Your personal brand involves tone of voice, personality, logo, the language you use and even the topics you cover. Many businesses, big and small, opt to steer clear of contentious subjects. For example, party politics might be off-limits as is anything likely to offend.
You decide where to draw the line – it’s your business, after all. If you see yourself as a mental health campaigner whose job it is to be a thorn in the side of policymakers or those who make funding decisions, then that will influence how you portray yourself.
Be authentic. You don’t want to present an online persona that is far removed from how you are in real life. As a coach or counsellor, you may want your personal brand to be non-judgemental and open-minded. But that’s not the same as being boring and robot-like. Show who you are.
4. Profile pic
Business logo or a headshot of you? Unless there is a reason not to, go for a picture of you. You’re working in the mental health industry, so showing your humanity is important. Your prospective customers are more likely to connect with and buy wellbeing services from a person than a logo. People usually want to see the face of their prospective coach or psychotherapist.
Bear in mind that you are the face of your company. You don’t necessarily need to have images that have been taken by a professional photographer. But make sure your picture is good quality and professional-looking (no bikini shots from last year’s holiday). Again, keep it consistent and use the same one across different social profiles so that you’re easy to recognise.
5. Brand colours
You may have a brand palette in which case use it. If not, it might be that you want to think about the colours in your logo or those you like. For example, @yellowsunsoli is using yellow for obvious reasons.
Again, whatever colours you choose, keep the branding consistent across social media platforms.
6. Link to your website
If there’s an opportunity to insert a website link, take it. Make it easy for people to find out more about you. You can use the link to send them to a specific page, rather than a home page if that works better for you. If you have a landing page or a specific service you want to push, use that. The idea is to make it as easy as possible for people. Don’t make them work to find out the information they need. You want your social media profiles to work for your business.
If you don’t have a website, that’s ok too. You don’t need one to get going, and there are plenty of coaches and counsellors who use social media alone. You can receive queries and bookings via social media, e.g. Facebook messenger or a plug-in to manage appointments.
7. Your bio on your business social media profiles
On Twitter, you only have a few words so make ’em count. Draft, redraft then redraft some more to get keywords and vital messages about your business in those couple of lines.
Twitter may be short and sweet, but you have many more words at your disposal on other platforms. Don’t just add a simple description of your services – instead, tell your story. People buy from people, after all. It might be your journey to becoming a coach and why it’s your calling. Or maybe it’s the reason you decided to become a psychotherapist for those dealing with grief.
Tell your story, share your impacts and consider ending the bio with a basic call to action. That might be a free discovery call or a free download.
8. Customise your background/cover image
This is the larger image at the top or behind your main profile page. It comes with a default background but don’t leave it like that. Customising it allows you to share the personality and the values of the brand. It could be a branded image or a picture that speaks to your audience.
So, if your thing is walk and talk therapy then share a pic of some trees or a beach, if you have a coastal location. Any image that gives a sense of what you’re about is valuable. You could add a photo that suggests warmth and approachability – a mug of coffee or cosy armchair, for example.
Don’t breach any copyrights when you’re doing it, though. Pixabay is a great source of royalty-free images.
On Facebook, you have the option to upload a video, which can be even more engaging than an image (providing you have a decent quality video, of course).
9. Don’t keep it a secret – check your privacy settings
Each network is slightly different when it comes to privacy settings, but the aim is the same. Make sure the privacy settings are public rather than private. As it’s your business account, you won’t be sharing pics of your children, so make sure anyone can view it. The whole point of having your business on social media is to make it visible to prospective customers and others with whom to network. None of that will happen if you keep your profile and account private.
If you have concerns about trolling or unpleasant comments, remember you can always block or delete comments. Don’t let worries about a few bad apples stop you from interacting with all the good eggs.
10. Let people know how to find your business social media accounts
Add buttons to your website that take people to your social media accounts. Also, stick it on your email signatures. Do the same with business cards. And if the social network has the option to link to other platforms, then make use of that too.
If you have opted to secure the handles or user names for social media networks that you’re not using yet, you may as well use them. Put up a bio or a pinned post/tweet – where you ‘pin’ a specific post to the top of a page – that lets visitors know where to find you.
Perhaps you use a social media network for personal use. In that case, remember to leverage that too. If you have been on Twitter in a personal capacity since forever then consider inserting the handle of your business account into your personal bio. That lets all your followers know about your social media for your business.
In a nutshell, make it easy for people to find you.
11. Get posting and keep posting
There’s no point to a brilliant profile if it just sits there on its own. You need to be active on the social network for it to mean anything and to yield any results. Post regularly and consistently engage with others. Respond to comments and ask questions of others. Make use of awareness day hashtags to find others like you. Promote your business and explain how it can help people. Add value to others who seek expertise in your area.
Facebook groups can be effective for this. For example, if your niche is helping new entrepreneurs with their mindset, then join groups that focus on start-ups and business-building. But, whatever you do, don’t spam. You’ll get kicked out the group.
Instead, add value where you can, organically offering advice and suggestions. It demonstrates your expertise to everyone in the group, not just the individual you’re helping. You’ll be building relationships and networks, just as you would in real life.
On your own platform, add value to your followers by sharing things that they’ll find relevant and interesting. That can take some time, of course. If you find it takes too long to find the right content, read it yourself and then write the posts to accompany it, Sixty Second Social can do it for you. The content is handpicked with mental wellbeing businesses’ marketing in mind, and the posts are written, ready for you to share. It saves you a lot of time and energy that can be better spent elsewhere in your business.
Need more help with your social media? Take a look at my bespoke services or Sixty Second Social
Sixty Second Social is tailor-made for coaches, counsellors, psychotherapists, and anyone working in the mental health sphere. It provides you with fresh content, curated from around the globe, each month. From £27 per month, you get links to relevant articles, together with the ready-written posts. All you have to do is upload it. In under 30 minutes each month – or 60 seconds a day, hence the name – you’ll schedule content on your social media accounts for the month ahead. Or, if you prefer, I can do it for you, saving you even more time. Yay!