Are you suffering from Facebook shame?

It’s OK, we’ve all been there. It’s hard to keep up with the big organisations who have slick Facebook feeds, loads of great images, and plenty of people to make them look good.

How’s a small business owner supposed to compete? You already wear so many hats.

You’re a HR Manager troubleshooting moral issues before they occur. You’re a marketing manager drumming up new business each and every day.  You’re a systems manager crafting and coordinating processes to streamline operations.

And the list goes on. So how on earth are you going to find the time and resources to create a killer Facebook feed?

More importantly, why would you want to?

Well here’s the cold hard truth. It doesn’t matter whether or not you want to. You have to.

Seriously.

You already know there is an oversupply of dentists and there aren’t enough patients to go around. But here’s something you might not know.

You can’t afford to ignore social media, or to have a poor presence. (Click to Tweet). Here are a few reasons why:

  1. More than half (52%) of marketers say Facebook is “the most important social network they use to grow and market their business.”
  2. Of the 7.2 billion people on earth, 3 billion have Internet access; 2.1 billion are active on social media
  3. Social is viewed as the second-most effective digital tactic for customer retention, behind email
  4. Consumers say that social media plays almost as big a role in purchasing decisions as does television
  5. 64% of Twitter users and 51% of Facebook users are more likely to buy the products of brands they follow online

So how do you have a great social media presence without taking all day, or spending a fortune on experts or virtual assistants?

You use shortcuts and smart tools to slash time and turbo-charge your impact. As a business owner, you also have a very special superpower – stay tuned to find out what it is and how to make the most of it!

Create Killer Images

First, let’s look at image creation tools because images have a huge impact in social media and can drastically change your Facebook feed.

You don’t need to hire a graphic designer, buy expensive software or slave all day to create great images. Here are three tools that virtually do it for you.

Oh, and they’re free. That’s right – they won’t cost you a cent!

1. Quotes Cover

Want images created for you, ready to download and use? Visit the quotes gallery  – it offers a big range of simple, funky quotes ready for use.

If you want something with a photo the quote of the day link gives you a new photo quote each day, like the one below.

love-imperfection

 

If you want to create your own unique design you can either redesign the quote of the day or start from scratch. Quotes Cover makes it easy by supplying quotes you can choose from (or you can type your own) and walking you through a simple 3-step process.

2. Recite

Drop an inspirational quote into Recite, then select the format you prefer. It’s that easy.

In fact, the program offers a selection of quotes grouped under different categories. So you don’t even need to search for wording – you can use the quotes on their site.

There are loads of different style options and the image quality is high.

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If you change your mind, just change the format. Super simple.

recite-150hbva

3. Pablo

Pablo is provided by the social media scheduling tool, Buffer. It has a simple, easy to use interface but still produces great images.

pablo

You can change fonts, text size and add your logo so it’s excellent for creating branded images.

4. Pep Up Your Popularity

What if I told you there was a tool that you could use that is scientifically proven to boost engagement?

Not only that, but this tool can help you save time and stay organised because it has a built-in scheduler that’s fully customisable. It helps you find content, and plan, schedule and manage your posts.

It even sends you a simple, brief report on how your social media is performing. And you can use it at no cost!

Now, their free plan is limited to 1 social media profile and 5 posts per day, but if you need more than that their pricing starts at $11 USD a month. So it won’t break the bank.

Post Planner has content that is ” … prevalidated, star-ranked, and 100% scientifically guaranteed to perform.” Here’s a peek at their dashboard where you can find popular quotes, articles and status ideas.

postplanner

 

5. Harness Your Superpower

As a business owner, you have a very special superpower – your team. (Click to Tweet)

They’re a group of people who are there to support and help you build a successful, thriving business.

At the beginning of this post I promised you 5 simple tools for Facebook, and I’m not implying your team is simple. 😉 But there is a simple way they can help you.

You see, popularity on Facebook is all about momentum.

When it comes to momentum it can be hard to get things going, but once something starts to move it gathers speed. So if you want a powerful Facebook feed, involve your team.

Ask them to like your daily posts. Ask them to comment on questions you ask online.

This is not about falsifying the figures, this is about starting engagement and popularity. You know what it’s like when you’re at a presentation and someone asks if there are any questions.

No one wants to raise their hand. But once one person asks a question, more and more people chime in.

It’s the same in social media. No one wants to be the first, but if your team break down that initial barrier by liking and commenting, you’re more likely to engage your real audience.

Simple Tools for Facebook

Social media doesn’t have to be the difficult, time-consuming beast that most people make it out to be.

A few simple tools, a little help, and your Facebook feed will be rocking. You’ll be able to create graphics in moments, find content your audience loves, and give your posts the kick-start they need.

Better yet, get your team involved in creating and curating your content. And if you want to create posts that are really popular, use images of your team.

It’s a sure-fire way to put some socialising back into your social media feed.

So what are you waiting for? Hop over and grab some images from the quotes gallery, start snapping some pics of your team, and get your business to rock-star status in no time.