Simple - It shouldn't be too busy or too cluttered. A potential customer spends the first 3-5 seconds looking at something and then determines if they want to continue reading or following your content. Use those seconds wisely by giving them a clear-cut message that explains who you are and what you can do for them. 

Professional - A lot of designers or business owners get carried away with the design of their logo by choosing what they like personally. Keep in mind that your personal tastes may not resonate with your customers or followers. Keep it professional, choose anywhere from 1-3 colors and stick with those. Choose clean, easy-to-read fonts or designs that match the type of industry you are in.

Memorable - Your logo must be better in design than your competitors. Find a way to stand out, whether it be by using thick, bold letters; a bright pop of color; a theme that fits your industry. How can you make that crucial first impression stick?

Unique - Make sure that your logo (and business name) are unique enough so that you aren't lost in the search results of the same name. There's nothing more ineffective than customers trying to find your social media, typing in your name and hundreds of search results popping up with the same name. 

Versatile - Keep in mind that you will be using your logo across many platforms, both digitally and in print. Each social media platform has different sizing structures and thumbnail sizes. When printing your business cards, brochures, or signs for your business - your logo should be clear and concise enough for these applications. Your logo should also be just as impressive in black and white, as there will be times where you will need an all white version of your logo for dark backgrounds and an all black version of your logo for light backgrounds and B&W printing.

Knowing exactly what your brand colors are and what your brand fonts are (make sure you can actually use them for commercial use) are major keys to building a successful brand. Your colors should be incorporated into all aspects of your business. We are using the green shade for our staff shirts, orange in the restaurant decor, and all over our website and menus so that the logo ties in with all aspects.

When posting photos to your social media pages, be mindful of your overall impression. If your photo collection on your Facebook page or Instagram profile is filled with random photos that are blurry or low-quality, it's difficult to look credible to potential customers. They won't be able to see the quality of your product or service if the photos you are using aren't up to par. 

On the other hand, if your collection is filled with quotes or promotional photos borrowed from Google, it can also be harmful to your impression on visitors. 

Decide what should be posted and what shouldn't, stick to a guideline (which should also be noted in your Marketing Plan). Aim for consistency, quality, and originality in your photo collections, that way visitors can have a reasonable expectation, if they choose to follow you, of what they are subscribing to. If you are a baker, posting a consistent schedule of high-quality photos of your cookies and baked goods speaks for itself and will garner more attraction than the baker who posts 60% decent-quality cookie photos, 20% photos from a Google Search or saved from the internet, and 20% personal photos.

Many people have their minds made up that Instagram hashtags are tacky, but in reality they are pretty valuable. The only way to reach more people outside of your current network is to allow people to discover you. The only way you can be discovered is A) if your Instagram profile is Public and B) if you are using hashtags and location tags. 

The hard truth is: no one is searching for you unless you are famous. People are searching or following popular hashtags (and locations too) then clicking on photos they find in those search results. Maximizing the number of relevant hashtags on a photo puts you in front of more Instagrammers, which increases your chances of getting more engagement (comments and likes), which then increases your potential followers (people discover your photos, like what they see, and choose to follow you). But there's a science to it - the keyword here is relevant hashtags. If you are using broad hashtags like #food, there are over 375 million posts with #food. That's a large number of results to compete with. Aim to find a mix of broad and more specific hashtags that fit your posts and will give you the chance to show up in the results. For instance, if I were to use the hashtag #FoodiesofMilwaukee - there are about 5000+ posts. This connects me with a more local audience who may be more inclined to follow me if they too are located in Milwaukee or have an interest in Milwaukee's food scene, and allows my post to climb its way to the top of that result.

If you choose to forego hashtags completely or use hashtags that aren't relevant, you are essentially just marketing to those who already follow your account AND relying solely on your engagement with your current followers to possibly be discovered by their followers.

This is just general compilation of best practices based on what has worked for us. If you are not doing these things or doing other things, and it's working for you, keep it up! Essentially, it comes down to what service or product you are providing. Marketing as a business definitely follows different practices than you would normally do on your own personal social media.

I tried my best to squeeze in as much information as I possibly could into 5 major sections. I could build off of these points and go deeper into each one, just let me know if anyone is interested in a specific topic or needs additional clarification.