So you have all these amazing product photos from your product photographer. But you’re not quite sure how to best use them for your small business’s social media. Here are just a few tips on how you can best use your photos on social media for business.

Create a social media calendar.

If you’re into blogging, most blogging platforms allow you to add an event section that’s just like your timeline, but with loads of room for details around when and what photos you post. It’s a great way to promote things you’re doing or events in your life while also reminding people to follow you online.

There are also numerous social media scheduling tools (like Loomly, Planoly, and Facebook Creator Studio) that allow you to schedule content for various social media platforms.

Schedule time for social media.

Before you start posting photos, think about how much time you want to spend editing them and uploading them to your social media. You may find that just a few minutes per day is all you need to get great results. Don’t be afraid to try different amounts of time for scheduling until you find a time that works for you.

Measure your campaigns success.

You can track how successful your social media posts are by using analytics, but there’s an easier way to tell: does everyone you know who sees your post want to receive more information from you? If they do, that’s a great sign that your content was effective.

Monitor your brand.

When you use photos on social media, you need to be aware of how those images look to potential customers. If an image looks dirty or poorly lit, that will definitely cause people to lose trust in your business and your products.

(If you can’t yet afford to hire a professional product photographer, check out my post where I share 5 ways to take better products with your cell phone.)

Learn from your mistakes.

One of the best ways to learn how to use social media images effectively is by looking at what worked and didn’t work in previous posts or accounts. All businesses will have failed somewhere, so take a look at those photos and try to identify any patterns you might notice. This can help you improve your own images or account until you find a formula that works well for you.

Grow with your social media.

The best part about social media is that it’s constantly evolving. One week, you may get 20 shares when posting content; by the next, you could have 400. As your follower count grows, so does your ability to impact more people with your message. And the great thing about social media is that there are plenty of platforms to choose from so even if one platform falls flat, another three will come along to take its place.

Don’t be afraid to make changes.

On most platforms, you can alter your photo at least a little bit, even if you want to keep it entirely original. That’s because there’s always some tweaking you can do with a digital image, whether you’re trying to fix heavy shadows or try something new like an abstract shot.

(Side note: If you’ve hired a professional product photographer, speak with the photographer before making any changes to the images. Most photographers are able to make minor changes to your images.)

So there you have it. Social media is vitally important to your business. You want to make sure you’re using your products efficiently for social media for business. Let me know if I’ve missed your favorite tips.