Having a strong social media presence is a must for all businesses - large and small. But with so many platforms out there and best practices always changing, it can be difficult to know where to start if you want to reach your company's target audience. Use this cheat sheet as a quick reference guide to optimize your social media efforts and get you started out on the right foot.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA
CHEAT SHEETFOR
BUSINESSES
BY CASSANDRA VELEZ

2. CHOOSE THE BEST
PLATFORM FOR YOUR
BUSINESS & GOALS
01
FACEBOOK:
TWITTER:
LINKEDIN:
INSTAGRAM:
YOUTUBE:
PRO TIP: THERE ARE 100S OF DIFFERENT SOCIAL PLATFORMS. THESE ARE THE MOST POPULAR ONES
YOU SHOULD LOOK INTO RIGHT NOW, BUT THIS LIST IS ALWAYS CHANGING.
PINTEREST:
GOOGLE + :
SNAPCHAT:
PERISCOPE:
FOR BUSINESS & NETWORKING
GREAT FOR CURRENT EVENTS & SHORT
UPDATES ( REAL TIME)
IMAGES, VIDEOS, & LIFESTYLE PICTURES
( CURATED)
GOOD IF YOU HAVE LOTS OF VIDEO
CONTENT ( EDUCATIONAL)
RECIPES, QUOTES, & DIYS - ALSO GOOD
FOR SEO
GOOD FOR SEO
QUICK IMAGE OR VIDEO BASED UPDATES
( REAL TIME & NON- CURATED)
LIVE VIDEO BROADCASTS - CONNECTED
TO TWITTER
LARGEST # OF USERS - GOOD FOR
CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS, FAMILY, &
BUSINESSES

3. DETERMINE WHO YOUR
TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC IS &
WHICH SOCIAL PLATFORMS
THEY ARE ON
02
PRO TIP: DON' T FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO BE PRESENT ON EVERY PLATFORM. FOCUS ON THE
ONES WHERE YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE IS AND OPTIMIZE THOSE CHANNELS.
FACEBOOK:
TWITTER:
LINKEDIN:
INSTAGRAM:
YOUTUBE:
PINTEREST:
GOOGLE + :
SNAPCHAT:
PERISCOPE:
55% MALE, 45% FEMALE
MAJORITY OF USERS 18- 34
MAINLY FEMALE
FAIRLY EVENLY SPLIT 18- 64
54% MALE, 46% FEMALE
MAJORITY OF USERS 25- 34
70% FEMALE, 30% MALE
45% OF USERS 13- 24
51% MALE, 49% FEMALE
53% OF USERS 18- 29
56% MALE, 44% FEMALE
HIGHER EDUCATION LEVELS
EVENLY SPLIT BETWEEN MALE & FEMALE
37% 18- 29
65% MALE, 35% FEMALE
41% OF USERS 16- 24
74% MALE, 26% FEMALE

4. CREATE YOUR BUSINESS'
PROFILES ON EACH
PLATFORM YOU CHOOSE
03
FACEBOOK, LINKEDIN,
PINTEREST, AND GOOGLE +
ALL ALLOW YOU TO MAKE
BUSINESS PAGES, WHICH
HAVE DIFFERENT FEATURES
THAN PERSONAL
PROFILES. ON TWITTER,
INSTAGRAM, YOUTUBE,
SNAPCHAT, & PERISCOPE, YOU
WILL CREATE PROFILES IN THE
SAME WAY ANY USER WOULD.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A
PROFILE IMAGE,
COMPLETED BIO, AND
BANNER IMAGE ( WHEN
APPLICABLE) ON ALL
PROFILES.
PRO TIP: THERE MAY BE ADDITIONAL
FEATURES YOU WANT TO MAKE ACTIVE
IF YOU ARE USINGA PERSONAL PROFILE
FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES.

5. FIGURE OUT WHICH TYPES
OF CONTENT YOU' RE
GOING TO POST ON EACH
CHANNEL
04
QUOTES
BLOGS
ARTICLES
QUESTIONS
POLLS
LEAD MAGNETS
MICRO- BLOGS
VIDEOS
EVENT INFORMATION
TESTIMONIALS
PRO TIP: VARY THE TYPES OF CONTENT YOU POST. EACH ACHIEVES A DIFFERENT GOAL AND
SOME FOLLOWERS MAY ENGAGE WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONTENT MORE THAN OTHERS.
PRODUCTS
LIFESTYLE PICTURES
INFOGRAPHICS
TIPS OR RESOURCES
MEMES
GIFS
CONTESTS
CHALLENGES
GIVEAWAYS
DEALS/ SALES

6. CREATE & PROOFREAD
YOUR COPY FOR EACH
POST
05
WHAT IS THE GOAL OF
YOUR POST?
DOES YOUR AUDIENCE
KNOW WHAT YOU WANT
THEM TO DO? TELL THEM.
( I. E. LIKE, SHARE,
COMMENT, CLICK)
WILL YOUR COPY GET
THEM TO DO THE DESIRED
ACTION?
ARE THERE ANY GRAMMAR
OR SPELLING ERRORS?
DOES YOUR COPY REFLECT
YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
OR VOICE?
WILL YOUR COPY FIT IN
THE TEXT PARAMETERS OF
THE PLATFORM? SEE NEXT
SLIDE.

7. BE MINDFUL OF
CHARACTER LIMITS ON
EACH CHANNEL
06
FACEBOOK:
TWITTER:
LINKEDIN:
INSTAGRAM:
PRO TIP: MAX CHARACTER LIMIT ISN' T THE SAME AS OPTIMAL CHARACTER LIMIT. EX. POSTS
LESS THAN 150 CHARACTERS TEND TO DO BETTER ON FACEBOOK.
PINTEREST:
GOOGLE + :
SNAPCHAT:
PERISCOPE:
63, 206
140
2000
2200
500
100K
31
140
( MAYBE)

8. CREATE YOUR IMAGES &
MAKE SURE THEY HAVE
THE OPTIMAL DIMENSIONS
FOR EACH CHANNEL
07
FACEBOOK:
TWITTER:
LINKEDIN:
INSTAGRAM:
YOUTUBE:
PINTEREST:
GOOGLE + :
YOU CAN EITHER CREATE
THESE IN A PROGRAM LIKE
PHOTOSHOP, OR WEBSITES
LIKE CANVA, PIC MONKEY,
AND SNAPPA ALLOW EVEN
THE LEAST ARTISTIC
PEOPLE TO CREATE
AMAZING IMAGES.
940 X 788
1024 X 512
698 X 400
1080 X 1080
1280 X 720
736 X 1104
800 X 600
OR 1200 X 628
THUMBNAIL

9. DETERMINE THE BEST
TIMES OF DAY TO POST
YOUR CONTENT
08
FACEBOOK:
TWITTER:
LINKEDIN:
INSTAGRAM:
YOUTUBE:
PRO TIP: JUST BECAUSE THESE ARE THE BEST TIMES TO POST ACROSS THE PLATFORM, DOESN' T
MEAN THEY ARE THE BEST TIMES FOR YOUR AUDIENCE. TEST POSTING AT DIFFERENT TIMES.
PINTEREST:
GOOGLE + :
SNAPCHAT:
PERISCOPE:
1- 4PM WThF
WEEKDAYS
MIDWEEK 5- 6PM
M& Th 3- 4PM
Th- Su 12- 3PM
12- 3PM
DAILY 8- 11PM
WEEKDAYS
WEEKDAYS
WEEKDAYS
AFTER 10PM
9- 11AM
12- 3PM*

10. SCHEDULE
YOUR POSTS09
SOME SOCIAL PLATFORMS
ALLOW YOU TO SCHEDULE
YOUR POSTS AHEAD OF
TIME SO YOU DON' T HAVE
TO CONSISTENTLY BE ON
THE PLATFORM ( EX.
FACEBOOK) . FOR MANY,
YOU' LL NEED TO USE A
DIFFERENT PLATFORM
SPECIFICALLY FOR
SCHEDULING.
HOOTSUITE
SPROUT SOCIAL
TAILWIND
ONLY PULT
MACHINEGRAM
COSCHEDULE
BUFFER
TWEETDECK
MEETEDGAR

11. SOCIAL MEDIA
CHECKLIST10
PLATFORMS?
CONTENT?
COPY?
IMAGES?
LINKS?
HASHTAGS?
TIME?
SCHEDULED?
PROMOTE/ BOOST?
COMMENTS?

12. THE
END