Keeping your social media looking fresh
By Susan Goodwin Your blog and website are still your best tools in your social media arsenal as they are the ones that often inform your customer the most about your business and encourage enquiries and sales. So keeping your website or blog looking fresh and working correctly is vital.
Every so often I like to do a bit of a check of the following things on my own website and social media platforms:
Broken website links
I go back into the archives and choose posts at random to ensure they are still working and links are directing readers to appropriate and active content.
Social media icons and widgets are up to date and importing correctly
This is vitally important if you have changed your handle or use a different name on every type of social media e.g. business on the blog, personal name for Facebook, nickname on twitter etc. Consider streamlining your social media by only using one name or variations of your name to avoid confusing your customer. Or if that's not a possibility, ensure all links are directing customers from your website to your social media and vice versa.
Refresh avatar
I've recently made my avatar more professional and relevant to my work. I love my cat, but a photo of her big furry belly in the sun is not necessarily the best way for me to advertise my business to all my Facebook and Twitter customers.
Refresh headers and backgrounds
While I'm refreshing my avatar, I often add a new header to my Facebook page, a new background to my Twitter page and freshen up the header on the top of my blog. Think of these items like the front windows of the big department stores. Sometimes a new and interesting front window is all it takes to entice a customer in the door and make a purchase.
Check SEO (search engine optimisation) words and make sure every word in there is relevant
If your work and focus has changed dramatically since you last updated your website, then consider resubmitting your website to Google. This is a super simple process and can help bump up the way people find you via searches.
By regularly maintaining your online presence and social media platforms, your website will always be working for you and your social media will evoke a consistent and professional look and feel. That doesn't mean it has to be strait laced and boring - it can be full of personality - but your main goal should be making it easy for your fans to find and interact with you with ease. The benefits will be endless!
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Susan Goodwin is the designer, sewer and creator of Rocket Fuel, ensuring you are decked out in style while cycling. Read her blog or follow her on Twitter @rocketfuelstyle.
