8 Key Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

While most people are familiar with social media, managing your company profile is different. Many business owners use social media as just another means of promoting marketing material. But this is the wrong approach. Here are some essential social media tips for small business owners.

1. Choose the Social Media Channels that Your Customers Use

You’re doing it wrong if you’re not on the right channels. Figure out where your target customers hang out and go to them. Get accustomed to those channels, whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest and give them content they love. Don’t make the mistake of being everything to everyone. Focus your efforts on one or two channels where fewer but ideal customers are already on.

2. Find Inspiration for Posts from Big Competitors

Established brands are a great source of inspiration. Plan your social media content based on what the big players are doing or posting, but don’t take it too far. Inspiration does not mean copying. Follow their channels and visit their pages often to check what posts work best for them. Look for their best-performing posts and take notes. Monitoring websites in your niche and signing up for newsletters is also a great way to find relevant content to share.

3. More Entertainment, Less Marketing

Yes, the main point of your social media channels is to promote your products/services, but don’t do it directly. While sharing a few promotional posts every now is OK, give your followers entertaining, informative or useful content first. If your promotional content also has those values, then kudos to you. Engagement (the number of clicks, likes, and shares) and, thus, more brand awareness are what matters in the end. Conversions will naturally follow.

4. Use High-Quality Visuals

Images significantly increase social media engagement. Viewers are less apt to scroll past a picture without looking and are even more likely to watch a posted video. Tweets that have a photo are 35% more likely to be retweeted. Great tools like Canva and Adobe Spark allow you to create your images. Unsplash has free high-quality, downloadable stock photos. Do not use pictures from the web. Take the time to learn about copywriting and what you can and cannot use. 

5. Create a Posting Plan and Post Regularly

Posting consistently is key to letting potential customers and loyal followers know you’re “alive” and care about offering useful content. Make a posting plan for the next week or month and follow it. A few posts per week should be enough at first. Try posting more often if you get a good engagement rate (more than 5%). And don’t worry about spending too much time on posting – use a scheduling tool like Hootsuite, Facebook Scheduler, or Buffer. They allow you to schedule posts on all your channels days, weeks, or months in advance.

6. Get Engaged with Your Audience and Local Businesses

Do as Romans do in Rome – so be social on social media. Respond to comments (good or bad), react to mentions, answer questions, and respond ASAP. Let your followers know you’re listening, and they’ll feel more connected with you. In addition to this, find local organizations or businesses and interact with them. Mention them and repost their content to grab their attention. This way, you can attract their audience to you.

7. Interact with Influencers in Your Industry

A retweet or a share from an influencer can increase your content visibility and boost your website traffic. But how do you get influencers to share your content? Begin by sharing their content and engaging in topics you are an expert in. Identify smaller influencers at first and try to make lasting relationships with them. Then, aim to reach your top influencers in the long run.

8. Use Built-In Analytics Tools

Take advantage of the free analytics tools built into every major social media channel. These tools can help you learn which posts work and which don’t. However, we know getting lost in all those metrics and numbers is easy. Start by measuring the impressions and engagement rate. You can learn the most about your posts in those metrics.

Finally, be patient. Building an effective social media presence takes time. You’re on the right track as long as you plan your strategy and follow these social media tips. A recent study from Tony Robbin’s research institute reveals how business owners certainly have the will but often need to find the way.

Check out more social media tips to express your brand. As Facebook is at the forefront of any social media marketing plan, here are 9 ways to promote your business on Facebook.

Do You Need Help with Your Company Profile?

If you need help getting started, we’re here for you. Our team of experts can work with you to create a social media strategy that meets your specific needs and helps your company grow. We work with any business, including franchises!