The importance of first impressions on social media (+ account audit checklist)
Despite what anyone wishes to admit - we create an assumption (less kindly put, a judgment) of a person or business based on the first impression we get of their social media profile.
Within a short few scrolls and clicks, they make a decision on whether you’re professional, credible, relatable, and/or interesting enough to follow and more importantly - consider doing business with.
➡️ If you were honest with yourself - what do you think your first impression is to someone who doesn’t know who you are, and is checking out your business for the first time?
Ask yourself this question:
Does my social media accurately reflect my business and what my ideal customer receives?
(BONUS TIP - ask someone you know who will give you honest feedback + an unbiased opinion of your accounts. Make sure they know you WANT them to nit-pick any ways you could be doing better.)
Need some help? Here’s a quick checklist to help you ensure your profiles are optimized:
☑️ NAME
Is it accurate + easy to understand telling people exactly who you are and what you do? If possible, adding in key words people would associate you with for SEO (i.e. city you’re in) I’m going to use a pottery studio called Groovy Mug that I just made up as an example (I’ve been loving watching pottery videos on YouTube so it’s top of mind)
UNCLEAR name/username: Groovy Mug
CLEAR name/username: Groovy Mug Ceramics / Halifax
* Instagram has a character limit of 30 characters, so short, sweet and concise is important.
☑️ BIO:
Does it CLEARLY state the most important information about your business & use words people are searching for? This is a good place to put a mission statement or what people will receive if they choose to follow you.
BAD bio: Fun with clay! DM us for info on pottery lessons. Open 7 days a week.
GOOD bio: DIY Ceramics Studio | For beginners looking to get started with ceramics ☕️| book your private or group lesson ⬇️
*Instagram has a character limit of 150 characters.
☑️ Pinned content: (Instagram):
This is prime real estate to show your BEST or most important pieces of content. It could be a reel or photo you’re most proud of, a post with your most recent schedule/product drop, or content that really resonated with your audience.
You get three pinned posts and can change them whenever you want - so utilize this space as an opportunity to direct potential followers to what you want them to see first.
☑️ Story Highlights: (Instagram)
Great categories to have in your story highlights are:
FAQ’s
Hours of operation
Customer reviews
New releases/products/arrivals/blog posts
Services you offer
Something fun - example: if you’re a dog friendly establishment, highlighting the pups that come into your space.
☑️ Cover Photo: (Facebook)
Your cover photo should act as a banner of your business - if you’ve recently released an exciting new product, update your cover photo to share the exciting news. If you just want to showcase your brand - consider using your slogan and brand colours.
But most importantly, just make sure it’s formatted correctly that it looks good on both desktop and mobile views.
Quick tip: Canva is a fantastic free resource for creating graphics + comes with customizable templates and pre-sized canvases to work from.
Quick tip 2: A quick google search can tell you current and proper dimensions of your image.
☑️ Response times:
If you’re unable to be consistently replying to messages in a timely manner, it’s a good idea to set up an auto-responder that thanks people for reaching out, and informs them:
how to contact you if something is time-sensitive (phone number, or email)
directing them to a page where FAQ’s are answered (hours, location, etc)
Using your brand voice in this is a nice way to make autoresponders feel more personal, so for example if Blue Jean Creative Agency had one, we might say:
“Hey, thanks for reaching out! We’ve get a lot of notifications in the work we do and really don’t want to miss your message - so if you’re inquiring about _______ head over to (insert link or direction) and if you need a time-sensitive response, please email ____ at ________.com”
