If you’ve spent any kind of time online as a business owner, you’ve probably heard the importance of having a social media presence. But, with the host of businesses doing a bad job of social media marketing, where does one start?

In this short article, I’ll give you 7 no-fail tips to get you started off on the right foot of social media for business.

7 Quick Tips for Social Media:

Tip Number One: Post Often, But Not Always

So, you’ve set up your first social account. Great job! You post a few updates, excitedly, then a few more, once you’ve built up a momentum. Everyone wants to hear about your business, right?

Wrong.

Overpowering your audience with updates is not the way to build a loyal following. Think about your own personal social accounts. When your cousin first had her baby, the constant stream of photos was oh-so-cute. Not so much eight months later, when she is posting at least 13 photos a day of the little munchkin.

Over-posting on your professional accounts will just lead to annoyance, and lost followers.

Tip 2: Don’t Let the Dust Gather on Your Social Accounts

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve excitedly found an account to follow on social media, only to be disappointed when I see their last post was three months ago. If you want to have an active social presence, be active. Be social.

Pro tip: If you’re having trouble juggling the work/management/social stratosphere, hire someone to do it for you. Or delegate the responsibility to a trusted employee you know won’t neglect the accounts.

Number 3: Pin Wisely

Even though the first two tips here were general tips, the next few will focus on specific social platforms.

I know, I know. Pinterest is one of the funnest social accounts out there to have. But you’ve got to make sure that you’re using it both correctly and wisely. Here are two things to remember:

Don’t Pin Things That Could Detract from Your Brand:

AKA: don’t pin something you wouldn’t want your grandma to see.

Always Link-Check!

Check your pins’ links, and make sure they aren’t linking to suspicious or inappropriate sites. If they do, never EVER replace the source URL with your own. You can get in serious trouble for this! Just stay safe, and find another pin you enjoy that links to a safe site.

Tip 4: Be Clear on Instagram

Don’t post photos that are blurry, too dark (or too light!), or just plain boring. Instagram is a great place to show off your brand’s personality!

Even if you’re not a professional photographer, it’s still possible to turn mediocre photos into Instagram success stories. It just takes a bit of post-processing action. Download a few apps to your phone, like Afterlight, Snapseed, or Prisma (the Seapoint team’s latest obsession). These apps allow you to tweak, refine, and pizzazz your photos.

Tip Number 5: Post Photos on Facebook

Plain status updates just won’t cut it on this platform anymore if you’re a business. Add a photo to your post to make it stand out in the newsfeed, and try to stay away from overly-stockphotoish graphics. Put yourself in the viewers’ shoes and figure out what they’d like to see.

Tip Six: Hashtag on Twitter

This tip could also apply to Instagram, although to a lesser extent. While on Instagram, adding 6 or more hashtags to a photo to increase visibility is fine, over on Twitter, any more than three is a no-no. So when hashtagging, be clear and purposeful. Use only very relevant hashtags that will appeal to your audience and match the specific tweet.

Tip 7: LinkedIn is for Professionals

AKA: it’s not the place to post cat photos. The users on LinkedIn are looking for networking with like-minded professionals and for tips for their professional life. Use it for that, and you’ll win gold, in my book.