Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group continued sharing tips for social media in an event at Tin Roof Hideaway and Events Center Tuesday, April 1.

Christina Millikan, social media manager for Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group, shared a little about what she knows on social media.

Millikan’s first advice to businesses looking to step into social media for the first time – choose the right platform for the audience you are seeking.

“Instagram is better for people who utilize visual items, like photos or crafts,” Millikan said. “Facebook is great at community building, and really reaches older demographics.”

TikTok was one that Millikan said skews younger, but the requirement that it has to have new owners by April 5 makes it a less ideal time to get started on the platform. Linked In is great for businesses and professionals. Google Business platform is one Millikan says people should be making sure is up to date, including any hours of operation changes.

When it comes to making posts, Millikan said that quality is more important than quantity of posts.

Meta Business Suite (which manages both Instagram and Facebook posts), allows posts to be scheduled.

Her key piece of advice to businesses – do not spread yourself too thin by stretching to too many social media platforms.

“You can repurpose content on each social media site,” Millikan said.

Millikan also described the importance of the brand people are trying to convey – including the voice in which they post updates, the colors, fonts and even logos they utilize.

“The important thing is any profile you establish for your business has the essential business information in your communication – your office location and hours especially,” Millikan said. “Contact details as well are important.”

Whenever you post it’s recommended to establish who your business is, what they are doing and a call to action with the posts.

Millikan said when it comes to the algorithm for Facebook and Instagram, that’s driven by the number of likes and comments you get on a post. Those people you interact with the most are the ones that are highest in your feeds in Facebook and Instagram.

Millikan said that while videos usually get more engagement in today’s social media, she has found that posts with photos about area businesses get a lot more interaction for Visit MVL’s Facebook pages.

She recommended making sure that you are tagging businesses.

“If someone shares a post about your business, share or comment back,” Millikan said.

Finding the sweet spot to post is an issue.

“If a post isn’t doing well at 6 a.m., there’s a chance that same post will not do well at 6 p.m., either,” Millikan said.

The important point is to make sure that the posts you share have a way for customers to connect with you as people.

“People want the personal touch, to feel like they know more about the person who runs a small business,” Millikan said.

When it comes to growing an audience, questions and answers or engagement when people comment on your posts is a great way to grow engagements as well.

Millikan said she would shy away from having AI write captions or posts for a brand.

“People online can tell when a caption is written,” Millikan said.