Social media is a tool that can be incredibly powerful when it comes to marketing your small business, so it is important to know exactly how to go about using it if you plan on establishing your business online.
If you have a small business that is new or in the need of serious marketing revamp, then keep reading, as we are going to be looking at ten handy tips to help you create the best social media strategy possible for your small business!
1. Identify Your Audience
The first thing you need to do when it comes to social media for marketing your small business is to identify your audience.
Once you’ve identified your audience you can start to work out which social media channel (and platform) they will use. For visuals, Pinterest or Instagram are great; TikTok uses short videos and is used across generations; Facebook is massive but no longer used so often by younger generations.
You can’t begin to plan your social media strategy accordingly without knowing exactly who your audience is and how their needs relate to your business, so make sure that you pinpoint your target audience before you get started on anything else with your social media!
2. Create A Suitable Strategy And Stick to It
Next, you will need to create your own, unique strategy surrounding the content that you plan on creating for various social media platforms.
You will want to create a strategy that revolves around your specific brand, so set yourself up with some guidelines related to your brand and use these to define how your social media platforms will portray the look and feel of your business.
Some examples include the colour palettes and the tone of voice that you plan to use in your social media posts.
Make sure that your strategy is well suited to your audience before you put it into action!
3. Post Content That Is Both High Quality And Consistent
It can be tricky to find the time to post consistently, but if you want your small business to flourish as much as possible on social media, then you need to make sure that you keep your audience engaged with consistent content.
A good way to keep yourself organized is to create your own content calendar beforehand so that you know exactly when and what you are going to post.
Whatever you do, make sure that your posts are always high quality! Don’t forget that your content represents your business, so you only want to put the best possible content out there to display your professionalism and paint your business in the best light.
4. Don’t Be Afraid To Get Creative Or Change Things Up
We’ve established that high-quality content is essential, but when it comes to the content itself, then there is a world of possibilities for you no matter what your business is!
Once you have gotten into the habit of posting consistent, high-quality content, then start changing up what kind of content it is that you are making.
All that matters is that the content stays relevant to your brand and to your audience. Everything else is up to you, so get creative with your content and make changes as and when you want to keep things fresh and interesting.
5. Build A Relationship With Your Audience
To keep engagement high and build your customer base, you need to keep building relationships with your audience via your social media.
This means that you need to do more than simply understand your audience, you need to be able to engage with them too.
To do this effectively, communicate with your audience on your social media by responding to their messages and comments, as well as any posts that you are tagged in.
You can also be more proactive in your audience engagement, such as by inviting followers to engage with your page.
Try and reach out to those that might not seem like your typical audience too to try and grow your social media presence as this could lead to growth in your business!
6. Optimize Each Social Media Platform Accordingly
Even though the general tips that we are discussing here are effective across social media, every platform is different in terms of the best way to garner traction.
There are certain ways that you can utilize each platform to its full potential in order to get as much out of it as possible, such as by using hashtags on Instagram and TikTok.
Research each platform fully to find out how you can optimize each one to the best of your ability.
7. Connect With Other, Similar Businesses On Social Media
Developing and building relationships is essential to creating a successful business, and this is the same when it comes to using social media to market your small business. Connections are highly important, and social media is a great way to make them.
Spend some time to find businesses that are similar to yours online and begin building connections by liking or following their pages, engaging with their content, or sending them a message.
This is also a great way to build exposure to your own business if you make connections with established businesses or prominent influencers.
8. Make Use Of Social Media Marketing Tools
It can be time-consuming to manage multiple different social media platforms at once, especially for a small business owner whose time is taken up in all sorts of ways.
Thankfully, there are online tools that you can use to manage your social media that will save you time in the long run, such as Buffer, SproutSocial or Hootsuite. If you already have a CRM system in place, you might find it has features to manage your social media (for example, Zoho CRM includes a social media management feature).
These kinds of tools allow for the management of various social media platforms all within one dashboard which allows you to schedule your posts and engage with followers as well as see any mentions that you might have in one place.
It also offers the choice of automation as well as basic, free versions that you can use if you only need the bare bones of the service.
Social media marketing tools are an excellent way to manage your social media presence for your small business in your own time.
9. Don’t Get Caught Up In Trying To Go Viral
It can be tempting to spend your valuable social media time trying to create a viral post that could draw attention to your business, but becoming a viral sensation isn’t necessary when it comes to building your social media for your small business.
Viral posts can lead to an increase in attention to your social media, but the best way to maintain a consistent following is to focus on creating quality content and getting the highest possible engagement by interacting with your audience as best you can.
10. Monitor Your Metrics
Keeping track of your metrics is a great way to know how you are doing in terms of views and engagement.
The metrics are basically stats of sorts that show you your analytics, such as views and page visits. There are certain metrics that are able to impact your marketing and business goals, so these are the ones that you will want to focus on.
When you look at your metrics, you’ll want to make sure that you act upon your insights. No matter how good a piece of content is, if it isn’t being engaged by your audience, then you will need to reconsider your marketing strategy.
Another tip is to not focus too much on metrics related to pure vanities, such as the number of likes you have, that aren’t related directly to growth for your business.
It is tough to not be tempted to check the more cosmetic metrics, but remember that stats that are important to you are the ones that directly aid your business metrics, such as total engagement.
Again, this might be thought to be a time-consuming activity, but you don’t have to check your metrics that frequently.
Once or twice a week is more than enough for you to get the rundown of how your social media page is performing.
When you have set up your calendar for your social media business strategy, make sure to pencil in a date each week when you will dedicate your time specifically to monitoring your metrics and acting accordingly when it comes to the results that you find.
Summary
So there you have ten tips to help you get started with implementing your social media strategy for your small business!
It might feel a little bit intimidating to go into the social media sphere if you are not experienced in doing so- particularly when it is for your new business- but rest assured that it can be an excellent tool to skyrocket your small business.
Stay focused and remember to always keep your audience engaged, and you are likely to see some growth in your small business thanks to the power of a well-prepared social media marketing strategy!
