How Social Media Managers Should Spend Their Tax Refund
It is the best time of the year for those who absolutely love to flex on Instagram. Yup, it is officially tax refund season.
Over the next few weeks, you are bound to see friends and family purchasing something along the lines of a new car, a Louis Vuitton bag or a Gucci belt with their refund check.
While there is nothing wrong with spoiling yourself with money that *technically* belongs to you, those who own a business, and those who are looking to launch a company in the near future, should consider spending that money in a way that encourages growth down the line.
We have put together a list of tools that social media managers, or any current/future business owner, should consider purchasing with their annual tax refund. And yes, there are promo codes and free trial information included!
Get Your Brand Right From The Start
Before you officially launch a company and make a huge announcement about it, take a moment to plan out exactly how you want your brand to look, feel and operate. Brandon Miller, aka the serial side hustler, has created an amazing workbook to assist with this critical step of your business journey.
The Brand.U approach takes a deep dive into understanding the foundational elements of your brand such as your strengths and weaknesses, the trajectory of your brand - focusing on your mission and vision, understanding your brand's audience, developing a distinguishable brand identity and how to best leverage social media and content marketing to expand your influence. Whether you are an entrepreneur, a student, or in corporate America, this 80+ page workbook is proven to efficiently kickstart your personal or professional brand!
Register Your Company As An LLC
In 2020, we are all about LLCs over Louboutins, unless you are blessed to have the money to purchase both! Look into the process of registering your new business as an LLC, pay the fee for your state, and then make note of the annual fee.
Having an LLC is an important step in having a business because if you are ever sued by anyone, they can only take your business money. If you are conducing business as "yourself" and you are ever sued, your personal money is also at risk!
Once you have your LLC set up, move forward with setting up a business bank account. Keep an eye on checking and savings accounts fees and plan accordingly.
P.S. - When picking a company name, do a quick search to confirm that there are no other companies with your name, domain or social media handles in order to make discovery of your brand simple.
Get Your Finances In Order
You have already made the first step by reading this blog and attempting to not blow your money fast, but now you should take it to the next level.
TCP friend Stefon Walters has recently released a new book dedicated to helping you head to the bank to make a big donation in a way that is educational and entertaining at the same time.
Take a moment to order your copy of Finessin' Finances right now on Amazon.
Launch A Professional Website
While having a business Facebook page or Instagram account is awesome, having a website shows people you are the real deal and allows you to really show off your brand and style.
As you may know, most website platforms start off free, but if you want to add other features like a domain name (which you 100% should), there are additional fees added on.
Once your site is set up, grab your domain via your website provider or from another trusted site like GoDaddy. Be weary of those who reach out trying to sell you a domain. If you are interested, consider having a lawyer mediate to ensure you are not a victim of a scam.
Set Up a Professional Email Address
Utilize Social Media Software
As a social media manager, you know first-hand how difficult it can be to juggle numerous clients and accounts while also creating and scheduling content. Having a social media management platform to organize your thoughts and provide reporting will save you so much time down the road. Here is a quick run-down of the best platforms out there:
We love Sprout's brand and all of the amazing resources they create on a daily basis. Their system is easy to use, and is appealing to the eye. The platform starts at $99 a month, but there is also a 30 day free trial. Sprout Social also has the ability to schedule and post directly on Instagram!
While Hootsuite is a great platform, it is not as attractive or as easy to use as Sprout, but still great because their basic plan is available at no cost! One user account with three social profiles is free and the Professional and Team profiles come with a 30 day free trial.
We have loved Buffer from the start because we have always enjoyed how easy it is to use. Scheduling content days, weeks, and months ahead of time is so simple. The interface is also so clean! Their free plan allows you to connect three social accounts which is perfect for those just getting started with clients.
In addition to their amazing Instagram-focused newsletter and blog, Later is a great tool if Instagram is considered a critical platform for your brand. The tool allows you to plan out your feed while also providing key stats around the best time to post, top hashtags and more. You can schedule 30 photos (not videos!) per month for free. If you want to add videos to the mix, their lowest plan is only $7.50 per month! They have also branched out to allow scheduling for other platforms as well.
Invest in a Top Notch Camera
When it comes to online marketing, hiqh-quality photos matter. No one wants to follow or engage with an Instagram profile that has iPhone 6 camera quality photos.
Look into purchasing a DSLR camera like a Canon Rebel T6i (my camera!) or simply upgrading to the iPhone X. While the X does take stunning photos, know that phone cameras will still not match the crisp quality of professional cameras.
Hand Out Quality Business Cards
As millennials, we went through a time period where we thought business cards were dead. We never saw ourselves actually going to a networking event and handing out a business card because we knew so many people were against them. However, we have recently learned that business cards are still valuable and attractive ones make you memorable!
Courses / Seminars
One of the first things people love to ask us about is what our favorite social media books are. While we do love Gary Vaynerchuk's Jab, Jab, Jab Right Hook as a nintroductory level read, social media books are not what SMM should focus on purchasing because books to teach concepts are out of date before they even go to print. Think about how many social media books say Twitter's character limit is 140 characters...
With that being said, it is important for social media managers to sign up for courses, webinars and in-person seminars to keep their skills up-to-date.
Sign Up For Adobe's Creative Cloud
Hopefully we were able to convince you to get your mind right before trying to get your Instagram angle right.
What tools did we miss? What advice would you give to social media managers and business owners? Leave a comment below!