Whether you just opened your doors or have been the local’s favorite business for years, social media marketing plays a key role in your overall marketing strategy. But what works for large corporations isn’t always what works for small business owners.
The difference is small businesses need to be a bit more strategic with their social media marketing approach. Without the luxury of a dedicated social media team, small business owners need to be highly efficient with their time, money, and marketing strategies. To help build out a strategic marketing plan, use these 10 social media marketing tips for small business owners.
Find the right social platform
As a small business owner, the task of managing multiple social media platforms is daunting. Make it easy on yourself and only sign up for the social media platforms relevant to your customers. Each social platform engages a different audience and knowing which ones to target is important. For instance, TikTok, tends to draw in a younger crowd, while surprisingly, Facebook and Pinterest have a large following of baby boomers.
Knowing where your target audience is most active, allows you to be strategic in your social media presence. You don’t need to be everything to everyone. Find a platform or two that speaks to your customer and begin there.
Be authentic
The next step is to schedule your social posts. Facebook allows for business profiles to schedule content directly from the platform. But others require a third-party platform like Hootsuite or Sprout Social. These platforms are especially helpful if you have more than one social media account to manage.
People want to share and tell others something that they have found. Let your customers be your marketers for you. Create something they want to share on social media and let the world find you.
Social selling for small business owners is a useful marketing tactic because it puts your product directly in front of your customer that is already there as a follower. Plus, it’s less of a hassle for someone just starting out to set up a social shop than an ecommerce website.
Let’s face it, social media is filled with inauthentic accounts and people trying to be something they’re not. But brand followers and potential customers are looking to connect in an authentic way to small local businesses and the best way to do so is with authentic social media content. Be real. Be you. Don’t be anything you are not. Followers want to see what makes you special and unique from others. Share mistakes and mishaps. Let them see it all, well maybe not all but you get the point!
Respond to customers directly
No matter what social media platform you are on, always make it a habit to respond to messages, reviews (good and bad), tags, and comments. Not everything needs a response but make it a habit to reply once a week or a couple times a month to show you are engaged with the community and are a real person who runs the business. At the very least, set up automated responses to your Facebook Messenger to show your customers you want to hear from them and care what they have to say.
Encourage engagement
Part of a good social media marketing strategy is to have high engagement on your posts. This increases your reach on social media and online. But it also shows your followers you want to hear from them. Ask them questions like, “What do you think about this new flavor of coffee?” or “What do you think about our new logo?” People love to share their opinions (not that you need to listen to every single one) and the easiest way to do that is through social media. Plus, not only does this encourage community engagement, it also provides feedback and insight into what your customers are thinking.
Create “instagrammable” product or store front
With easy access to our phones and the ability to take a photo and share it at a moment’s notice, one of the best social media marketing tactics is to create “instagrammable” content people want to share. Think of the cute coffee house with the pink wall, painted mural and a sign that says “treat yo’self.” You’d want to take a photo of it and tell others where you were. Or think about a purchased product you received in the mail wrapped in the most incredible packaging. You most likely wanted to spread the word and tell people where you got it.
Capitalize on user-generated content
Those same customers that shared your product, store or service on social media, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask to use their photo for a social media post of your own. Most likely they would be happy to be featured on your brand’s page. User-generated content is a great way of putting new content out there without a lot of work.
Plan and schedule your posts
While you certainly should feel free to post content on the fly, planning and scheduling your posts is the best way to ensure you don’t miss a beat. Creating a monthly social media calendar can help plan your content and help avoid redundancy or highlight topics you haven’t talked about in a while.
Ramp up your social commerce
According to insider Intelligence from a new report from Accenture, “social commerce will grow three times as fast as traditional ecommerce, more than doubling from $492 billion worldwide in 2021 to $1.2 trillion in 2025.”
Social media analytics
Use social media analytics to direct your future content. Social media is still one of the best ways to test something out for next to nothing. But the only way you will know if it worked or not is by seeing the data. While there are many paid social media management tools that provide analytics, a simple and free way to start is by using the platform’s professional dashboard for top-level analytics.
Remember to use your community
As a small business owner, a strong community is vital to your success. Social media is the best way to stay connected with them and is also a great way to understand what they truly want. Listen to what they are saying, not just on your social page but on other local business’s profiles. Ask your community what they would like to see from you.
Conclusion
The key thing to remember for social media marketing as a small business owner is staying connected with your followers and community. Stay true to your brand and business and show up as your true authentic self!
Don’t be shy! Get social with us and follow us @ninagivens.co on Instagram and be sure to say hello.
