Social Media 101 for Small Businesses

If you run a small business—and especially if you are operating on a lean budget—social media could be the best way for you to market your business right now. It’s a low- or no-cost way to engage with existing customers and put your brand in front of new prospects. Besides, one of the most basic rules of marketing is to go where your customers are—and increasingly they’re on one or more social media platforms. And they’re not just there to share pictures and chitchat.

Many users turn to social media to make buying decisions. According to research from GlobalWebIndex, they’re also there to discover brands and products, conduct research, and read reviews before they make a purchase.

Social media enables you to build engagement and foster connections. Every time you post content, you have an opportunity to remind existing customers why they gave you their business in the first place. Additionally, you can stay in front of customers who aren’t yet ready to invest in your products or services but could eventually.

It’s not enough to just do social media—you need to do it right

We believe that social media is still one of the best tools you can use to market your business. In fact, we often make it a priority when we develop marketing plans for clients (after developing a sound message of course) because it is cost-effective and easy. However, it still needs to be done the right way; otherwise, it can be bad for business.

A day barely goes by where we don’t hear about some celebrity, politician, or business owner making a giant social media flub. Even if you avoid sharing something deemed offensive or inappropriate, you can waste so much time without seeing any results.

So, to help you get it right—and make the most of the time and energy you spend on social media—here are some of our best social media quick tips:

·      Fill in all the sections on all your profiles. The more detail you share, the more people will learn about your business. For example, on LinkedIn, add a free custom banner that is punchy and includes a descriptive tagline. Add detailed “About” copy, list industries and market segments, and include contact information. Complete the Specialties and Products section, too. There are people who will take time to read all of this so don’t leave it blank.

·      Don’t spread yourself too thin. It’s not necessary or prudent for you to be on every social media platform. Think about your target audience and the platform(s) they’re most likely to use and focus your efforts there. A quick Google search will offer you ample data on the demographics of users across the platforms. For example, Pew Research says that 79% of adults 30 to 49 use Facebook at least some. 

·      Share content people want. People are expecting to see blatant promotion on social media. In fact, many consumers want to see promotions so they can learn more about you, the business, and your products or services. That said, it’s safe to say that people don’t want to just see promotions, so make sure you are sharing content that they will care about. Articles, videos, images, and interactive content, like polls, will keep them interested in your brand—and receptive to promotions. While you can share other people’s content, make sure you are offering plenty of original content too. That’s how you build thought leadership in your industry.

·      Be consistent. If you want your social media efforts to be successful, you must post consistently and frequently. Don’t post every hour the first week and then go silent for two weeks. It’s better to start slow and build up to more frequency when you have the time or resources to do so. A tool like Hootsuite, which enables you to schedule posts across all your platforms, can be a huge time saver. 

·      Interact with followers. When they comment, respond with a note of appreciation, and answer questions. Most important: Don’t ignore negative comments—or, perhaps worse, go to war with people on social media. Doing so just makes you look bad. Instead, invite the person to call you to rectify the situation. Remember, other followers are watching you, so reply with tact and professionalism. If, after you have attempted to resolve the issue, the person continues to harass you, block him or her, and move on.

·      Ask for help in growing your followers. Ask employees and other stakeholders within your organization to promote your company page and encourage their network to follow it. We’ve seen clients’ followers double or even triple after we encourage employees to go out, focus on building their networks, and then ask directly for follows. Ensuring that your profile is complete and sharing valuable content will make them more likely to do so.

·      Create ample opportunities for people to engage with you. Include your social media buttons on every blog, newsletter, or email you share, and place buttons in your navigation bar. Additionally, add your profiles to printed marketing pieces.

·      Track your progress. Early on, your number of followers, engagement, and conversions will likely be low. It takes time to organically build up a list of followers that are genuinely interested in brand. So, don’t focus specifically on the number of followers you have. Instead, focus on two important metrics: what is driving people to your website and which content garners the most interaction (i.e., share, comments, or likes)? That will help you identify which content is resonating with people, so you can share more of it or highlight it in promotional pieces.

Social media plays an important role in the marketing strategies that we develop for clients. If you want more guidance on how to develop and execute a successful social media plan that will support your business objectives, contact us today.