In this day and age, we all know how crucial social media is to the growth of a small business. The success of a social platform can highly impact the level of custom, the likeability and the reputation of a brand. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of incredibly successful small businesses that are thriving without social media but in order to get yourself seen as a newbie, get yourself and your work online and start connecting with the infinite online creative network. Once you’re there, there are a few unwritten rules to go by which will not only elevate your page and grow your followers, but also be respected online.

1. Interaction

Connecting with other similar accounts and potential clients is crucial for online growth. Commenting, liking, sharing and opening a conversation with others does wonders for your personal development, your market research and boosting other working businesses too! Interacting is the best way for others to find your account too, posting lovely imagery is great, but interaction is key.

2. No Spamming

Some of the mistakes that are regularly made is the follow/unfollow spam trick. This is basically where an account will follow thousands (and I mean thousands) of accounts so that they all follow you back, and then unfollow them all a day later. Not only can this lead to having your account closed (true story) but it also does not look professional and 9 times out of 10 the accounts will unfollow you in time or you will simply gain zero interaction from them. Organic, earned growth is the way forward, build up a steady followers base and they’ll be with you and supporting you in the long run.

3. Appropriate Hashtags

Hashtags are great to get noticed! Make sure you use relevant hashtags though or you won’t get found or just be bombarded by loads of spam accounts, which is not good! There are websites online which generate the best hashtags for your account as the regular ‘#art’ page will be swamped by millions of accounts from all over the world. Whereas #NorthEastArt will get you found!

4. Bad Language/ General Rudeness

This one is pretty obvious but you’d be surprised how many professionals curse and ‘troll’ online. Not only does it damage their own personal reputation but it will taint the businesses reputation too. As a general rule unless controversy is your ‘thing’, it doesn’t generally go down well with clientele – keep personal opinions away from your business pages and always stay professional.

5. Utilise the Tagline

Your bio is the first thing a customer/ follower will see, make sure you sum up your business but make it short and sweet. A little like an extra short ‘elevator pitch’. Again, keep this part professional and utilise the word count. Always add your website and contact email so your customer isn’t scrolling through to find your details. Check out other professional businesses tag line too for a bit of inspiration!

6. Instagram Stories

So snapchat took the world by storm in 2011 and since it’s ever growing popularity, Facebook and Instagram have jumped on the bandwagon and launched their own version. Now it’s safe to say Instagram stories is the ‘thing’ to do in 2018. Maybe since the rise of the Vlogger more of us are filming our day and we are definitely helped along the way with Instagram Stories. In business terms, behind the scenes is sometimes what connects us and makes us a little more human! For example, if you’re a photographer, snapping some behind the scenes shots on set for Instagram stories can really up the ante and give your followers an insight into what goes on!