Social Media Tips & Best Practices

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Now let’s get into the best tips and tricks for growing your social media audience, and standing out from the competition using the power of organic content, courtesy of your Ripples social media team.
TIP 1: Have a human presence
[Linda]: People don’t connect to a brand without a human element. Whether that’s you or letting your staff shine, be sure to have the human part of your business front and center.
TIP 2: Choose your color palette (but don’t get too obsessive with it)
[Linda]: Think of your Instagram feed like a first impression when someone walks through your virtual door. You want the elements that are most enticing to your target customers to shine, and one great way to do that is to play with color theory and have a buttoned up brand aesthetic. For example, on our Ripples page you may notice we use a lot of brown and black, with pops of red, to create a presence that’s both grounding and exciting, since our target audience is business owners and food and beverage professionals.
If you’re not ready to commit to one color palette, instead choose true-to-life tones and mimic the inside of your store. Natural greens, daylight, and human shots create a satisfying enough feed to entice new visitors.
TIP 3: Create HIGH QUALITY content
[Linda]: No this does not mean an expensive photo shoot, or even purchasing a professional camera. This can be done in your iPhone.
For lighting, always have your subject facing a window or natural light for best results. Look at the difference here between straight on vs side lighting. One is much more appealing than the other, right?
When you capture your beautiful printed beverages, make sure to have the background clean and ideally place them in natural light to avoid being blown out or showing flaws.
Keep videos fast-paced to maintain attention spans and keep the viewer interested
TIP 4: Post consistently
There’s a saying in the social media world– reps, not reach. The best thing you can do for yourself is detach from that stressful ‘likes’ metric and instead focus on showing up every single day. Once you get into that daily practice, around month three you will have gathered data on what works and what doesn’t, and notice where your audience is most excited to engage with you. Then, double down on and expand those efforts.
Engage!
Social media apps like Instagram are meant to be social. Be sure to reply to comments, reply to tagged photos, and take time each day to comment on any posts within your niche. This will tell the algorithm what you’re about, and what you’re looking for.