The marketing world continues to grow and adapt, and social media is leading the way. As a business, social media is best for marketing and communicating with current and potential customers by gaining and maintaining followers. With a social media presence, you can reach a larger audience, but it is essential to follow a rhythm with your content and brand to present a clear message. 

How can social media help your print business?

• Mass communication – Communication is the major benefit of social media use and engagement. You can reach an audience faster and easier, and this audience is not limited to your customers or people subscribed to your emails. Anyone can access a public social media account which opens the door to new customers finding out about your business through the content you produce. 
• Customer Service – Social media is another way customers can connect with you regarding any questions, concerns, and/or problems they have. You can also give out any general information to redirect them to your site. Social media creates a personal interaction within an impersonal space. 
• Marketing – The best asset of social media is that it is completely free to sign up, use, and engage with, meaning a free way to market your business. It is a platform you have complete control over without having to cost you a penny. There are endless possibilities when it comes to marketing and generating new business through social media. 

Setting up your profiles

As a print shop, you want to use social media to focus on your brand since the products you sell are customizable. Focus on who you are as a company, your values, and what you have to offer. 

When someone finds your page, you want them to be intrigued enough that it warrants a follow or form of interaction. This will happen through how you present your brand throughout your page. 

A great place to start is with your company name. You want your pages to be easy to find with a simple search, so your username should be simple and as close to your company name as possible. If your name is already taken, there is a chance you can buy the username from someone, or you can get creative using things like underscores and dashes without altering the company name overall. 

Your bio will be the first piece of information someone sees when looking at your page, so it needs to be the perfect small dosage of who you are. Some platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter, have a character limit which forces you to condense your introduction within the allotted space.

What should your bio consist of? Your very basic information. Your name, the category your business falls under, a synopsis of your business (i.e., your outlook, your motto, or your goal), and a direct link to your site. This will set the tone for your brand’s presentation, so you want your bio to reflect your business well. 

While setting up your profile, you want to switch the account from personal to business. This will help categorize your content and allow access to each post’s analytics. You’ll be able to review your content’s performance from the app directly. 

Posting 

Depending on the platform and how you want the information to be perceived, there are a few different types of posts. 

Focusing on Instagram, you have the option to post a traditional photo, a video, or a story that can be viewed for only 24hrs before it deletes itself. The purpose of the temporary story is to share information that is happening at the moment and doesn’t have a place within your page’s feed. You can use this for updates that are happening in real-time that warrant a less formal format. 

Twitter has a limit of characters for each tweet, so all information needs to be condensed into a short and sweet update. Twitter is great for real-time communication of what’s happening to your followers and customers. For example, if there are any issues with your site, you can tweet about what’s going on to let people know immediately. People also have the opportunity to respond, share, or tweet directly to you. Twitter is best for instant communication; People often tweet to companies when they have questions or issues with orders because twitter moves faster than your average email. 

Facebook and LinkedIn are very similar in how they operate; Facebook is the more casual version of the two. LinkedIn is a social media platform focused on business and professionals. A LinkedIn profile will appeal to other companies and people seeking employment. It helps grow your network and expand the connections you have. Facebook is centered around the average customer and allows you to directly link anything to a post, something Instagram doesn’t offer. You can also promote posts on Facebook to appear as ads as someone scrolls through their feed.

#Hashtags

A great and easy way to target your posts to the right audience is through the use of hashtags. Originally, hashtags were used to organize content into categories, but it has since evolved into a way for users to discover posts that fall under a category they are interested in. With the right hashtag, users can find your page because you offer exactly what they are looking for. 

To find the hashtags you should use, consider keywords that describe your business/products. You can also look at what hashtags are trending within the printing social media world. The more popular the hashtag is, the better it’ll reach more people. 

The type of content that you can and should post

You have the freedom to post almost anything that you feel is fit, but we’ve pulled together some examples to inspire you. 

Products

Showcase new or existing products regularly as a way to advertise them. You can also use these posts to boost sales with products that may not be selling as well. 

Coming soon

In relation to product posts, you can post about products that will be offered in the near future. You can create a buzz around the development of what you are preparing to present.

Blog Posts

If you operate a blog with your website, it’s a good idea to alert people that you have a new posting. 

Industry News

Keep people updated and engaged with the world of printing by posting about any current events that relate to your business. For example, any new technology, methods, or trends are great to post about to keep interest while inviting more people to your page. 

Work Environment

Posting behind-the-scenes content will help customers feel more connected to your brand and company. Break down the barrier and post about what’s happening within your workspace to create a customer/business relationship. So document any team highlights, workplace celebrations, or events attended. 

Reviews

Remind your followers of your excellent job by occasionally posting your customer stories and reviews.