Hey folks 👋🏽 

Another week has gone by, and so much has happened this week (you can read all about in our new highlight spot, “What’s Happening in Social?”) But that’s just dessert — the main course is all the great content we have on the blog for you this week!

We asked for all your burning questions about growing on social media and marketing your business, and we got a few great ones. Umber answers one of the questions in the latest Ask Buffer piece about developing a distinct voice on social media.

Also, Hailley shares stories from six business owners about the importance of support systems, and I write about vertical social networks, and we launched a great new feature to Start Page, the tool to build a custom microsite in minutes. And no, I’m not biased.

Finally, we’re running a survey to get your feedback on this newsletter in its current form. If you haven’t filled it out yet, we‘d appreciate just a few minutes of filling out this survey so we can keep improving it for you.

Hope you have a lovely start to the week, and we’ll see you next Monday!

Warmly, 

Tami & the Buffer team

P.S. Speaking of surveys, our 2023 State of Remote Work survey is still open to submissions. We’d love to hear from you and all your WFH friends and family about your past year of remote work! 

👇🏽On the blog this week

💬 Ask Buffer: How Do I Develop my Brand Voice on Social Media?

Establishing a clear brand voice will help your online content stand out amongst the crowd and be more memorable for your followers. In this blog post, Umber shares everything you should be thinking about to develop that voice.

🏋🏽 Why Small Business Owners Need Support Systems

In Small Business, Big Lessons, season two, episode six, we detail how the owners of Harlow, SparkToro, Made With Local, Zingerman’s, Destination Unknown Restaurants and Paynter Jackets approach getting support as small business owners.

Small Business, Big Lessons is a podcast from Buffer that goes behind the scenes with inspirational small businesses to explore how they are questioning the best ways to build a business and uncover the big lessons we can learn from their journeys (so far).

🪜 An Introduction to Vertical Social Networks

Vertical networks are social platforms solely dedicated to niche interests. In this article, we go through what vertical networks are and the opportunities for businesses to adopt them in their marketing strategy.

🔔 New from Start Page: Schedule Posts to your Link In Bio for Free

Start Page has just gotten 2x better! Schedule new updates to appear on your Start Page to beat the algorithm and get the reach you deserve (oh and it’s included for free 😉).

📱 Social Tip of The Week from Mitra, Buffer’s Social Media Manager 

“🤫 I have to tell you a secret ”

Use this trend to drop some knowledge or reveal a new product! You can use a video of you lip-syncing with the audio, or do a video that shows some kind of reveal of your product. Right after the audio says “I have to tell you a secret,” have your text pop up over the video with your “secret.”

Here’s an example from @michaelulloapt sharing some knowledge, and here’s an example from @perade_ with a product reveal!

The better question is, what isn’t happening in social? This week, we kicked off with a glitch on Instagram that had users’ follower counts dropping by hundreds. Then, Elon Musk announced a (first) $20, then $8 monthly subscription for users hoping to get verified.

Also in Musk-Twitter news, Vine might be seeing a comeback as the new CEO orders Twitter’s engineers to start looking through its code. My question is: aren’t we past the age of Vine? I’m personally invested in this, so let me know your thoughts @tamioladipo on Twitter.

Thanks for reading! 💟

Which was your favorite piece this week? What do you want to read from us next? Give us a shout out on Twitter, we’d love to hear from you.

Unsubscribe | Update my mail settings 

Sent by the team at Buffer
2443 Fillmore St #380-7163 San Francisco, CA 94115 USA