Setting yourself up on social media is one of the best things you can do for your local business. Giving you access to millions of potential customers; social media platforms have a range of tools to help you get seen by your audience.
One feature you’ll want to take advantage of is social media billboards. That is, the banners you find at the top of your business group or page.
So, what are social billboards and why do they matter? Find out everything you need to know in this useful post.
What are social billboards?
Social media billboards are the headers featured on profiles. Whether it be a personal profile, a business account, or a business page – you can use the header at the top to present a banner for your brand.
Social billboards are the first thing visitors will see when they visit your page. They can act as business cards or advertise offers you are currently running.
Commonly referred to as a cover image or photo, they help to set the tone for your page.
How can social billboards help your business?
So how can a social billboard help your business? Surprisingly, they provide a lot of benefits, including…
Strengthening your branding
Did you know social billboards can really help to strengthen your branding? If you want to become successful, you need to build up brand awareness.
The right branding can help to make more people aware of your business and the services it offers. By adding a banner, it shows visitors you care about your image, as well as connecting with your customers.
It also helps to build up brand continuity. If you use the same branding on your social media as your website and other platforms, it helps customers know they have reached the right page.
Grow your audience
The right social media billboards can help to grow your audience. They do this in a number of ways.
Firstly, you can use your banner to link to your website or store. If visitors to your page don’t want to spend time searching for what they need, they can simply click the banner to be taken to your site.
As billboards also help with brand awareness, you’ll receive more word-of-mouth referrals. This can help to significantly grow your audience.
Increase conversations
When you have a social billboard set up, it just looks more professional than leaving it blank. If you have a blank header, those who land on your site aren’t going to take you seriously.
It all comes down to trust. If your branding isn’t on point, it makes your business look unprofessional. Would you buy from a company that doesn’t even have branding on their page?
You also have the opportunity to add links to your banner. Linking back to your website or specific product and service pages can greatly increase conversions.
How can you create effective billboards?
Now that you know what social billboards are and why they are important for your business, it’s time to create one. If you want your billboard to be as effective as possible, follow these simple steps…
Use a design tool
The easiest way to create effective billboards is to use a design tool. Canva is potentially the most popular tool for this, but there are others out there.
Design tools come with a range of features to help make your social media billboards stand out.
Make sure it’s the right size
Cover images need to be a certain size in order to be viewed correctly. Each platform has its own size guidelines you’ll need to follow.
For example, for Facebook cover images, the recommended size to aim for is 851 x 315 pixels. If you don’t follow the guidelines, your image won’t show up correctly, and parts of it may be cut off.
Be consistent with your branding
Make sure your image is consistent with your existing branding. Does it match your website branding? If not, it may confuse your customers.
Ideally, you’ll want to change your social media billboards regularly. This will encourage your followers to keep coming back to your page.
When done correctly, social media billboards can deliver a lot of awesome benefits to businesses. If you haven’t uploaded one yet, follow the steps above to create one your customers will love.