Odds are, if you are a small business, you are looking for effective ways to use social media marketing to promote your business.
And for good reason! As of April 2022, there are 4.65 billion social media users around the world…almost 60% of the world population!
Creating a strong social media presence is beneficial for your business in three major ways:
Build brand awareness and staying top-of-mind
Nurture relationships with current and potential customers
In some cases, create a direct sales channel for your product or service
If you are wondering how to get started, here are 3 easy tips!
There is strength in diversification, but it is difficult to post consistently if you are spread too thin on too many different platforms, especially if you have a small team (or if it’s just you posting!).
Consider the demographic trends of each platform and list 3-4 platforms that will reach the most people, based on who your business primarily serves.
Don’t make assumptions on where you think your potential customers hang out, either! For example, well-established brands with audiences outside of Gen Z have been using TikTok to much success, even though it is widely considered a platform for teens.
With the massive amount of content online, it’s important to create a variety of different posts, or “pieces of content”.
A feed that only posts sales pitches (“buy now!”) is not captivating. It gets tired fast, and audiences have learned to ignore this type of content.
Instead, they focus on useful and creative content that captures their attention.
A simple rule to follow is called the “80-20 rule”. This is where:
80% of your content will inform, educate, or entertain your audience.
What are some frequently asked questions that you can answer?
What are some benefits of your product or service that stand out from the crowd?
Are there any visually satisfying elements of your business that you can share?
20% of your content will promote your brand or sell your product/service.
Do you have a promotion or giveaway that is going on?
Does your product/service have a new feature you want to share?
Do you have a special going on for a limited time, e.g. new menu item for a restaurant?
Like any new habit, creating and sharing content might be something new that you need to introduce into your routine. The hard part is building consistency: showing up at a regular cadence that your audience comes to expect.
This does not necessarily mean you need to post 10 times a day. Quality is better than quantity!
That said, 2-3 times a week minimum on each of your preferred platforms is a good place to start, if you want to work on building a larger audience.
One of the tricky parts of building your social media presence is training yourself to identify opportunities to capture content!
If you are stuck for ideas, here are three to get you started:
Post once a week leading up to the event, then create a post of what happened at the event itself.
For service-based businesses, this is a big one!
More and more, customers want to know the people behind a business, and whether that business shares the same values they do.
These emotional connections end up being drivers of business, where customers want to know that their hard-earned dollars are going to a business that they believe in.
You can share some “behind the scenes” photos of office life, team bonding activities, or even interviews of team members where they tell the story of how they came to be part of your organization. What do they love most about working with your company?
Are you part of the local Rotary Club, BNI or similar professional organization? Are you deeply involved in a local charity?
Odds are, these organizations have social media pages of their own.
Post a compelling photo from a recent meeting with an interesting caption, and tag those organizations to show your partnership with them!
Building a social media presence should not be viewed as a shortcut to easy sales. The most effective social media marketing is intentional, creative in a way that stands out from competitors, and built slowly over time, in a way that prioritizes the relationship between the business and their customers.
As you experiment and see what works for your business, you can zero in on the type of content that works best, and continue building from there!
