No matter how large your brand, maintaining an active presence on social media is a necessity, not only to facilitate sales, but also to connect with your customer base. From Coca-Cola to the mom-and-pop ice cream shop on the corner, all businesses flourish when happy customers feel connected to a business, setting off a chain reaction of potential sales. So, how do you take advantage of social media and ensure your business stays relevant? We collected a list of five indispensable social media tips to start you off.

#1 Don’t Skimp On Graphics

The first point-of-contact a customer has with a business on social media is the profile photo, timeline cover, background, etc. First impressions matter, and you want to be seen as a professional, established business. All too often, though, businesses throw together a poorly constructed graphic in Microsoft Word and paste it all over their social media. This is where a graphic designer comes in—a graphic designer trains in color theory, the history of advertising, geometry, and various other subjects, applying this knowledge to their work. That’s why companies, Apple, for example, make so much money. They know people like to associate themselves with well-designed materials, and they respond to them, even if it’s on a subconscious level. If you don’t know where to begin, Organically Interactive provides graphic design services to all of our clients.

#2 Schedule Your Content

Do you ever find yourself without a post idea when it’s time to publish content? This is just one of the scenarios scheduling content prevents. Facebook, for instance, has an excellent scheduling tool with editing functions built in. Scheduling content cuts down on the time you spend posting and prevents the dreaded content block.

*Bonus Tip: Create an editorial calendar in advance to make scheduling quick and easy.

#3 Use High Quality Images

With the quantity of information available to people online, it’s no wonder that many posts on social media go unnoticed. Adding images to your posts makes them eye-catching, so customers tend to click through more often. For good measure, make sure to use relevant, high-quality images for optimal engagement.

#4 Weave A Call To Action Into Posts

Many people forget a simple trick to increase conversions: explain to the customer how to buy or receive more information. A simple “Click For More Info” at the bottom of a post will suffice. It’s also been suggested that providing specific instructions to customers is helpful. For example, tell a customer to click on a link then scroll to the bottom of the site to view available packages. We all like easy instructions, and by explaining how to purchase, you’re educating the customer and piquing their interest.

#5 Use Plain, Simple Language

For some types of writing, like a press release or academic paper, formality is key; however, in social media, fans are generally less responsive to highly formal, structured posts. Your fans want to relate to your business, so it’s important to speak to them like you would a good friend: friendly and slightly informal. One helpful tool to determine the readability of your text is The Readability Test Tool. This tool uses various reading assessment tools to determine a score. Generally, the lower the score, the easier it is to understand your text.

Do you have social media tips of your own? Share them with us in the comment section below, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more social media tips, tricks, and news.