How to Start Social Media

Starting social media from scratch for your brand can feel like staring at a blank page - intimidating and full of pressure. But it all comes down to a simple, repeatable process. This guide provides a straightforward roadmap, walking you through defining your goals, picking the right platforms, and creating content that connects with your audience.

Step 1: Figure Out Your "Why" and Your "Who"

Before you claim a username or design a graphic, you need to answer two fundamental questions: Why are you getting on social media, and who are you trying to talk to? Without this foundation, you’ll just be posting into the void.

Define Your Goals

What do you want social media to do for your business? Vague goals like "get more followers" are hard to measure and act on. Instead, get specific. Your goals will shape every piece of content you create.

Here are a few common starting points for a new brand:

• Increase Brand Awareness: Introduce your brand to people who have never heard of it before. Success here might be measured by reach and impressions.
• Drive Website Traffic: Get people to click the link in your bio to visit your store, blog, or portfolio. You can track this with link clicks.
• Build a Community: Create a loyal group of followers who engage with your content and feel connected to your brand. This is measured by comments, DMs, and shares.
• Generate Leads: Collect contact information. This is common for service-based businesses that might offer a free download or a consultation call.

Pick one or two primary goals to start. You can always expand later, but focus is your friend in the beginning.

Identify Your Target Audience

You can't create content for "everyone." To be effective, you need to know exactly who you're speaking to. Think about your ideal customer and build a simple persona for them.

Ask yourself:

• What’s their age, location, and job?
• What are their hobbies and interests?
• What are their pain points or problems that your product/service solves?
• What kind of content do they already consume? (memes, tutorials, inspirational quotes)
• Which social media platforms are they already on?

For example, a business that sells handmade ceramic mugs might have a target audience of women aged 25-40 who are interested in home decor, coffee culture, and supporting small businesses. This knowledge helps you choose platforms where they hang out and create content they’ll actually care about.

Step 2: Choose the Right Battleground (Your Social Platforms)

You do not need to be on every single platform. In fact, trying to do so is a surefire recipe for burnout. The key is to show up where your target audience is already spending their time. Based on your audience profile, pick one or two platforms to focus on mastering.

• Instagram: A visual powerhouse, perfect for brands with strong aesthetics. It’s ideal for lifestyle, fashion, food, travel, and design. With Reels, Stories, and Carousels, it offers diverse formats for creative storytelling.
• TikTok: The home of short-form video. If your audience is younger (Gen Z and millennials) and you're ready to embrace trends, humor, and authenticity, TikTok is non-negotiable. It’s less polished and more about raw, entertaining content.
• Facebook: While its organic reach has declined, Facebook remains a giant, especially for reaching local communities and older demographics (30+). Facebook Groups are incredibly powerful for building tight-knit communities.
• X (formerly Twitter): Great for real-time news, conversations, and quick updates. It's the place for brands with a strong voice that can engage in witty, timely discussions. Tech, news, marketing, and B2B professionals thrive here.
• LinkedIn: The mandatory platform for B2B (business-to-business) companies, freelancers, and personal brands focused on professional development. Content here is about industry insights, company culture, and career advice.
• YouTube: The second-largest search engine in the world. It’s perfect for long-form educational content, tutorials, detailed product reviews, and behind-the-scenes vlogs. YouTube Shorts also offers a way to tap into the short-form video trend.

Step 3: Build and Optimize Your Profiles

Your social media profile is your brand's digital storefront. A complete, professional-looking profile builds trust and clarifies what you’re all about in seconds. When someone lands on your page, they should instantly understand who you are and what you do.

Follow this checklist for each platform you join:

1. Username/Handle: Keep it consistent across all platforms if possible. Make it your business name or something very close to it. Make it easy to spell and remember.
2. Profile Picture: Use a high-quality logo. If you're a personal brand, use a clear, professional headshot. This is your tiny billboard - make it count.
3. Bio/About Section: This is your elevator pitch. In just a few lines, state who you are, what you offer, and who you serve. Use keywords related to your industry. Most importantly, give people a reason to follow you.
4. Link in Bio: This is prime real estate! Add a link to your website, your latest blog post, or a product page. Tools like Linktree or Carrd can help you host multiple links if you need to.

Step 4: Develop a Simple Content Strategy

Now for the fun part: deciding what to post. A content strategy is simply a plan for what you’ll share. The best strategies provide a mix of value and promotion, so your feed doesn’t look like one giant advertisement.

Establish Your Content Pillars

Content pillars are 3-5 core themes or topics your brand will consistently talk about. They are derived from your audience’s interests and your brand’s expertise. They keep your content focused and prevent you from wondering, “What should I post today?”

Example: A Registered Dietitian’s Content Pillars

• Pillar 1: Easy & Healthy Recipes (tutorials, ingredient spotlights)
• Pillar 2: Myth-Busting Nutrition Advice (graphics, short videos)
• Pillar 3: Mindful Eating Tips (quotes, personal stories)
• Pillar 4: Client Success Stories (testimonials, Q&As)

Everything you create should fall under one of these pillars. This creates consistency and tells your audience exactly what to expect from you.

Plan Your Content Mix

A good rule of thumb is the 80/20 rule: 80% of your content should be valuable, and 20% can be promotional. Value-driven content entertains, educates, or inspires your audience, while promotional content directly pushes a sale or offer.

Here’s a breakdown of content types to mix into your calendar:

• Educational Content: Teach your audience something. This builds authority and trust. Think how-to guides, tutorials, tips, and lists. (e.g., A software company shares "5 keyboard shortcuts you didn't know.")
• Entertaining Content: Make your audience laugh, smile, or feel something. Think memes, relatable humor, industry trends, and user-generated content features.
• Engaging Content: Ask a question, run a poll, or start a conversation. The goal here is to interact with your audience and get them talking. (e.g., “What’s the one mistake you made when you started [your activity]?”)
• Inspirational Content: Share success stories, client testimonials, motivational quotes, or behind-the-scenes glimpses of your journey. This builds an emotional connection.

Step 5: Plan and Schedule Your Content

Consistency is more important than frequency. It’s better to post three high-quality posts every week than to post ten mediocre ones and then disappear for a month. A content calendar is your best tool for staying consistent.

It doesn't have to be fancy - a simple spreadsheet or a notes app will work to start. Map out your posts a week or two in advance, aligning each post with one of your content pillars. Tools let you schedule your content ahead of time, which frees you up from having to manually post every single day.

Step 6: Engage With Your Community

Remember, it’s called *social* media. The platform is not just a megaphone for you to shout your message, it’s a space for conversations. Community management is how you turn passive followers into loyal fans.

• Respond to comments: Acknowledge every comment you receive, even if it's just with a "like" or an emoji. Thank people for their feedback and answer their questions thoughtfully.
• Answer your DMs: Treat your direct messages like your customer service inbox. This is where you can build genuine relationships and solve problems.
• Engage with other accounts: Don't just stay on your own page. Spend 15 minutes a day commenting on posts from similar accounts or potential customers. Provide genuine value, don't just spam "Great post!"

Engagement signals to the platform’s algorithm that your content is valuable, which can help increase its reach.

Step 7: Check Your Analytics and Adjust

You won't get it perfect from day one, and that’s okay. The final step is to pay attention to what's working and do more of it. Every platform has built-in analytics that provide basic data on your performance.

Once a month, take a quick look at your top-performing posts. Ask yourself:

• What topics got the most likes, comments, and shares?
• Was there a particular format (video, carousel, single image) that performed best?
• What time of day did my most successful posts go live?

Use these insights to fine-tune your strategy for the next month. Social media is all about experimenting, learning, and refining your approach over time.

Final Thoughts

Getting started on social media is about taking small, consistent steps, not making a huge, perfect launch. By defining your goals, understanding your audience, creating a solid content plan, and engaging with your community, you’ll build a meaningful presence that drives real results for your brand.

As you get into the swing of creating and posting, you might notice that juggling platforms, replying to DMs, and scheduling content can be a lot to handle. Because we've felt that exact pain of wrestling with clunky tools, we built Postbase. Our visual calendar lets you plan and see everything at a glance, and you can schedule your content - especially modern formats like Reels and TikToks - across all platforms from one spot. We also bring all your comments and DMs into a single inbox, so conversations never get lost in the shuffle.