"If only I could afford a marketing agency..."

Have you taken a look recently at what some of the "giant" brands are doing on social media? Check out the Twitter account for Skittles, for example. They post news, they comment on the weather, latest pop culture, they don't miss a holiday, and if a customer has a question, you can bet they respond lickety-split.

Yeah, yeah. But they're Skittles. They have a guy who just does that all day. He posts the things and hashtags and keeps the customers happy. Or maybe they have an agency where there are multiple people monitoring the account, backed by a secret (not so) ancient Twitter formula they've devised for success.

I'll let you in on a secret. I've worked with marketing agencies, and I HAVE the secret formula to SHARE! You TOO can be like Skittles.

So, here it is.

1. Determine what your relevant keywords and hashtags are. (i.e. if your business is an organic vegetable farm, you might add words such as "greenhouse," "organic," "produce," "#eatlocal," and so on.)

2. Set a social schedule for yourself. This will be influenced by how much time you have free to dedicate to social, combined with how often you think your account should be active. At least once a day? Also, how often should you be checking to see if anyone has written to you or mentioned you on social?

3. Set up Google Alerts for your keywords. You'll receive emails as often as you specify (as it happens, daily, or weekly) about news or events that include your keywords. And you can share them to social media as often as you'd like. Boom. Now you're an industry news source via social media.

4. Search your hashtags on Twitter and share or reply to the posts that are relevant to your business. Boom. You're engaging with others about your topic, and they're noticing you and probably following you.

5. Don't forget about tooting your own horn as well. Share your business news as it happens. Tell everyone when you've hired a new Vice President or released a new line of lip gloss or established a new partnership with another business. If it's interspersed with the other news you've been posting, it won't seem like your account is all about self-promotion.

And there you have it. The "agency" approach to social media.

Still don't think you have time to do all that? Hire a freelancer who does, for a fraction of the cost of an agency. Marketing departments often leave money on the table simply because they don't have the manpower for constant social media monitoring - but it's worth taking a small portion of your monthly marketing budget to get it taken care of by someone who is competent.

It's 2020, y'all. Social media is here to stay, and it's an amazing channel for promoting your business!