There can be trials and tribulations when using social media as a small business. However, we are presenting you with 9 steps you can take to succeed. Typically, businesses use social media to develop customer relationships, to build brand awareness, and to make sales directly on social media platforms.
Identify the Platforms You Want to Use
The first thing you need to do is choose the social media platforms you will market on. When choosing which social media platforms to use, know each platform has unique assets. In 2022, the best platforms to use are Instagram and TikTok. However, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and LinkedIn are also great options. If you want to promote your brand, Instagram is an excellent option because more people are likely to view your account instead of going to your website. For younger audiences on the other hand, you should use TikTok and for older audiences, use Facebook and Pinterest.
Create a Brand Presence on social media for small business
After choosing which social media platforms you are going to advertise on, you will need to establish goals and create content to reinforce your brand’s presence. Depending on what type of product or service you are offering, it is important to create content that is targeted towards your niche audiences and that keeps users engaged. For example, if you are marketing a company that sells specialty bakery items, it would be beneficial to your business to create Instagram reels of cooking videos. When you are first getting started, be sure to constantly check on how people are responding to your content and whether or not it is aligning with the image you want to create for your brand.
Authentically Represent Your Brand
When you are promoting a small business, it is important to represent your brand authentically. Recently, online marketers have begun making more personalized content to their target audiences that simultaneously tends to a large group of people. Therefore, when you make content for your social media platforms, be sure to make content that is personal, educational, and reflective of your brand’s values and overall mission. Transparency is also an aspect of authenticity, which can be communicated to targeted audiences using testimonials or customer feedback.
Use Live Streams
Using live streams are a great way to raise engagement rates on social media platforms. Statistics from expert markets show that 53% of companies broadcast or stream live videos at least once per week. The more you post live streams, the more you can boost visibility on social media while also engaging with customers or leads. Live streams make customers feel more connected to brands and help them stay informed with visual information — which is by far more memorable than a brand or newsletter. Meanwhile, live streams provide feedback in real-time, which is hard to get from other calls to action.
Ask Your Audience for Feedback
Whether you use live streams or you post polls on your social media stories, you should ask your audience for feedback. You ask your audience whether or not they are enjoying the content you are currently posting. Or on the other hand, you can ask for comments to learn more about what products customers like or want more of. There are many ways you can use social media platforms to give feedback – whether you are looking to hear from leads or you want to hear from current customers themselves.
Share Customer Testimonials and Reviews
After asking for feedback and receiving reviews, it is important to share the positives. Using feedback and customer testimonials is an excellent way to engage your customers emotionally and to ensure to them that your business is trustworthy. This is also another way to authentically promote your business on social media because it is from actual people and customers. This type of content will generate more leads because people will connect with this content and be driven to action faster than other types of content. Also, after having customers write testimonials or positive reviews will influence customers looking to buy products on social media. Your target audience will feel more confident to make purchases or to subscribe to your service. Therefore, sharing this type of content on social media can make a huge difference when it comes to growing your small business.
Post on Multiple Platforms
Once you have established your social media presence, you should strive to post on multiple platforms. Posting your content on multiple platforms will expand your business’ reach. Also, while posting on multiple platforms, you can reach more than one demographic or section of your target audience at once. For example, if you have an older audience that you tend to on Facebook and a younger, more visual audience on Instagram, posting on both platforms will instantly expand your reach. Posting on multiple platforms establishes a stronger brand identity and creates stronger brand awareness for your small business. Each platform is different and offers various aspects of your business.
You can also read about:
- 10 Ways to Earn Leads With Social Media You Should Try Next
- Why You Should Hire a Social Media Agency
- 12 Things You Should Automate Today| Tip for Small Business
Use a Scheduling Tool
If you run a small business or have a small marketing team, you can save time by batching posts to save time. Once you have established a brand identity, gathered data on which platforms are successful and effective, and have received feedback from your targeted audiences – you can now create larger amounts of content and schedule ahead. When you know what works, you can create higher volumes of similar content and schedule it ahead.
Use a scheduling site for drafting content because you will be able to plan social media posts ahead of time and automate the posting process. You can also save multiple drafts of content at once and you can implement an approval process if you need to have content approved by certain employees. Scheduling tools are an all-around awesome way to improve your social media success when running a small business.
If you need help maximizing social media for your small business, give us a call today or schedule a free strategy session with one of our experts in digital marketing. You will have an opportunity to discuss your business and your marketing goals and we will provide recommendations on what you should be doing based on our BOOST Method. This is a sales-pitch-free no-obligation meeting, just real advice.
