Are you making the most of your social media profiles? It’s not enough anymore to just have an business page on Facebook or Twitter. There is so much competition for viewers and followers that companies have to work harder to stand out with their social profiles.

We’ll take you through some easy ways to enhance your profiles and generate business. These steps only take a few minutes each and are highly effective. If you’re wondering whether you have a professional social profile, this article is for you.

What Is a Social Profile?

A social profile, or networking profile, is a description of yourself or your business that is hosted by a social media website.

Facebook, for example, has more than 2 billion active users. Individuals are able to create an account where they can share pictures and updates.

Businesses can also create Facebook accounts and market themselves to active users.

Some business owners use their personal profiles as a way of making referrals to their business profiles.

The process of gaining recognition from potential customers is called “branding.”

Once customers know your business’s name and what kinds of services you provide, they can follow your news updates.

What Is the Goal of Branding?

The main goal of branding is to increase customer flow to your website or storefront.

Facebook is the largest social media website, but Twitter still has a respectable 335 million users.

LinkedIn has 250 active users, and YouTube has more than 1 billion users.

If you’re wondering whether it would be worthwhile to establish a presence on social media, the answer is a resounding “YES!” There are more than 50 million business pages on Facebook and the number continues to grow.

If you aren’t on social media, there’s a good chance your competitors are.

1. Use a Professional Photo

You want to make sure that you have a professional photograph for all of your social media pages.

In order to enhance your brand recognition, you should use the same photo for each networking profile.

The quality of your social media photos can make or break your business.

You might have a professional profile and photo on LinkedIn and a Facebook photo that shows you at a party, getting drunk.

It’s vital to update all of your social media accounts to have a single photo that reflects your business commitments.

Corporate headshots are popular, but you could have a three-quarter body shot or a full-body shot on your profiles.

Take the time to change the file name of your picture before you add it. Having your name attached to a photo can actually help your business rank higher on Google searches.

2. Optimize Your Biography

If you want to attract more customers to your website or store, it’s important to have a robust biography.

Some websites only allow you to put a few sentences in, so make sure that you’re including relevant keywords.

If you’re allowed to put in a longer bio, make sure that you clearly describe what your business offers.

You can also insert links to your other social media profiles. Ideally, each page will link to all the others.

If the bio section has room to put in your interests, don’t skip it. Put in a few links to books or documentaries by people who are movers and shakers in your field.

Build out a biography that has the appropriate links, keyword-rich references, and a comprehensive explanation of who you are and what you do.

A well-written bio page can do more to attract customers than you may realize.

3. Check Your Privacy Settings

You may not want to share everything you post on Facebook with people who aren’t potential customers.

A good rule of thumb is that you should have your biography, links, and picture visible to the public.

You should also have your hours of operation posted for the public, or links to online customer service if that’s part of your business.

Always make it easy for the customer to reach you.

If you’re on LinkedIn, make sure that your profile and resume are visible to employers.

You can also manage the amount of information that gets shared with other users on LinkedIn.

Every social media website gives you the ability to adjust your privacy settings.

After you make changes to your privacy, log out and then go back and visit your profile. You’ll be able to confirm that your settings are working.

4. Add Relevant Content

It’s not enough just to have an optimized profile. You will want to provide content to your potential customers.

If you have a pest control business, for example, you could post some customer reviews. You could also post a list of the environmentally-friendly bug sprays that you use.

Marketing with blogs can lead to higher conversion metrics. Recent studies indicated that bloggers receive 67% more leads than companies that don’t post blogs.

You don’t have to post blogs every day. You can post them twice per week and post photos or videos once or twice per week.

When you do blog, make sure that you are focusing on keywords that are relevant to your business.

Focus on providing consistently excellent content and you should see an increase in your leads and conversions.

To reach more customers, you can also do some advertising.

How Can I Get Started?

The first step to optimizing your social profile is going to be getting that winning, professional photograph. You only have one chance to make a positive first impression, so take down any old pictures that you don’t want to be visible and change your privacy settings.

If you’re new to creating a social profile or social media, take your time getting set up. Don’t feel like you have to post three blogs and a video on your first day. The road to brand recognition can take a few months. We love helping people look their best online. We offer several packages and work with talented local photographers. We offer full-body, portraits, and corporate headshots and are looking forward to working with you!

You can book your session now and contact us with any questions you might have.