Hopefully by now you have selected the right person within your organization to manage social media channels for your business and are ready to start setting up. If not, you may first want to read The Importance of Social Media to help you select the member best suited for this task. Otherwise, let's walk you through setting up some of your social media channels.
It’s important to set up at least 2-3 social media platforms for your business for the purposes of having an online presence. Although in time you may find that not every social media platform is right for you, and some of that might just be based on your personal preference. You don’t need to spread yourself too thin by putting your business on every channel. Start off with a couple of platforms and master those before moving on to more. The best way to find out which account works best is by becoming active and getting some activity flowing.
Facebook and Instagram tend to be the most popular. Although if your business is highly visual, for example involving interior design, wedding invitations, business cards or photography, you may also want to create a platform like Pinterest. If your business is more corporate focused, LinkedIn might be a better place to start.
Will be walking you through setting up Facebook, Instagram, Linked_In, and Pinterest because we find that these accounts are most flexible for Businesses and offer the ability to add links to reference visitors to your website. Let's get started!
Below is a step-by-step guide to enable you quickly and easily set-up social media accounts for your business.
Steps to Create a "Facebook" Account:
- A personal Facebook account is required in order to create a Facebook Page.
- Login to your personal Facebook account, then go to facebook.com/pages/create/.
- Choose the type of page you would like to create:
- Local business or place
- Artist, band, or public figure
- Company, organization, or institution
- Entertainment
- Brand or product
- Cause or community
- Enter in your company’s info, review Facebook’s terms, and click on “Get Started”.
- Facebook will provide four tabs:
- About
- Profile Picture
- Add to Favorite
- Reach More People.
- Complete the fields within each tab and click on “Save Info”.
Additional Resources for Facebook:
Steps to Create an "Instagram" Account
Download the Instagram app for Apple iOS from the App Store, Android from Google Play
Store or Windows Phone from the Windows Phone Store.
- Once the app is installed, tap to open it.
- Tap “Register with Email” to sign up with your email address or “Register with Facebook” to sign up with your Facebook account.
- If you register with email, create a username and password, fill out your profile info and then tap “Done”.
- If you register with Facebook, you’ll be prompted to sign into your Facebook account if you’re currently logged out.
Additional Resources for Instagram:
Steps to Create a "Pinterest" Account:
- Go to pinterest.com/business/create/ (if you have a personal account, make sure to log out).
- Enter your email address & create a new password.
- Fill out the details about your business and contact info for the person who will manage the account.
- Review and accept the terms of service.
- Click on “Create Account”.
Additional Resources for Pinterest:
business.pinterest.com/en/getting-started
Steps to Create a "LinkedIn" Account:
- A personal LinkedIn account is required in order to create a LinkedIn Company Page.
- Login to your personal LinkedIn account at linkedin.com.
- Click on “Interests” > “Companies” > “Create” (in the right column, under “Create a Company Page”.
- Enter in your company’s name and your email address, and click on the check box to verify you are an official representative of the company.
- To publish your company page, you must include a company description and company website URL.
Additional Resources for Linked-in:
Now that you've set up some of your social media channels for your business you may want to start spending a few minutes a day scrolling on each app to pick up on the kind of interaction that goes on. Just observe the newsfeed, and try to make new connections by following or sending friend requests to everyone you already know.