Presenting 12 social media tips in honor of 12 days of Christmas (we could go on and on, but we are sticking to the holiday theme!).

A reporter recently asked us to provide some social media advice for entrepreneurs, so we figured we’d share them here as well. These apply not only to new businesses but to ALL businesses who want to make their social presence more effective and powerful. Try implementing some of these for your company’s New Year’s social media resolutions!

1) When launching your business on social media, use the platforms that you are both familiar with and where your audience is likely to be present. We often see businesses on too many platforms that they don’t have the ability to manage.

2) Don’t mix business with pleasure. Create separate accounts for your company. One of our pet peeves is when people use their personal social media accounts to promote their businesses. These should be separate accounts .

3) Ensure your posts are grammatically correct! Nothing screams lack of professionalism more than grammar and spelling errors.

4) Don’t post in the first person, especially if your company is a brand and not an individual, politician or celebrity.

5) Experiment with different times of day with your posts to discover if there are days/times that receive more engagement.

6) Use social media to drive traffic to your website to boost your organic SEO. Links to your blog and other pages on your website should accompany posts when appropriate.

7) Respond to both positive AND negative comments/reviews in a professional, timely manner to demonstrate strong customer service.

8) Social media strategy should be implemented into your overall marketing plan and branding.

9) Be consistent in your voice and messaging on your own accounts and when engaging with other businesses on theirs. Too many people posting can be detrimental to your brand while confusing your followers. Designate one or two individuals on your team to manage your social media campaign.

10) Post regularly to keep your following engaged. This is also an experiment to find out what frequency of posting performs best for your business. A great way to ensure regularly is to create a monthly calendar of content. It’s important to also be nimble, but a calendar generally keeps everyone on track and results in businesses being more likely to post.

11) Partner with social influencers whose following is likely to be your businesses’ customer demographic.

12) If your company’s staff is too busy or lacks the knowledge to take on social media, outsource it to an individual or agency (like Redhead Marketing & PR!) who understands your industry, consumer demographic, marketing strategy, and brand.