Social media strategies can be tricky. If you’re a small business owner, here are some tips to make the most out of your content.
If you’ve decided not to hire an outside company to run your social media, we understand. Maybe it’s a budget, or maybe you figure you can handle it on your own. With small businesses, this is typically true. However, you should be aware of some strategies that will give you a leg up in the social media race. At NS Branding, we offer affordable social media services. If you’re interested in getting someone to strategize with you, we’re here to help.
Create a plan
If you’re just getting started with social media, it’s important to create a general plan you or your employees can use. First, it’s a good idea to take a look at your competition. Is there any brand in your field whose social media you admire? Is a brand similar to yours getting tons of engagement on their posts? Take a look through multiple competitors’ socials and get some inspiration. Maybe people go crazy over a good video, or they enjoy light-hearted posts. Or, depending on your business, maybe they are interested in infographics or polls. Whatever it is that you see succeeding, make a note to draw inspiration from it in the future.
You should also take a look at your previous social media posts, if you have them. What’s been successful? What’s failed miserably? Maybe some posts did really well, and other posts didn’t. Try to find a common denominator between both types of posts, so you can know what to replicate going forward and what to leave behind entirely.
It could be possible that you’re brand new on social media, or you’ve been relatively inactive and have a low follower count. If followers are your issue, you’ll want to steer your plan towards gaining more. This could mean offering incentives through your business in exchange for a follow, such as a small discount on the next purchase. You’d be surprised how well these tactics can work.
Lastly, when it comes to a plan you’ll need a schedule. Make sure you set realistic expectations for when you can dedicate some time to social media. Depending on your business, this may only need to be a couple times a week. However, when you’re first starting out, you may need to devote a little more time in order to kickstart your results. Remember, platforms like Facebook have a “scheduled posts” feature, meaning you can schedule out all your content for the next week or more in one quick session. Use features like this to your advantage.
Pick a platform
The key to choosing a platform (or two) is to know your business. There is a lot of research involving demographics and the different social media platforms out there. These can be somewhat accurate, but not always.
The two major players to focus on will be Facebook and Instagram. You can post identical content on both, but the way you use them may be different. Facebook is generally used to direct customers to your website and gain some traffic. Videos are popular on the platform, as well as customer testimonials. Instagram can be very useful when it comes to online shopping. If you’re selling a product, you can include a link on the photo to immediately purchase online. Both platforms have valuable tools that should be researched and employed for your business.
Know your audience, grow your audience
You know better than anyone what kind of people are attracted to your business. There are great tools on Facebook that give you insights into who’s looking at and engaging with your posts. This is also where the experts (like us) might come in handy. We can handle the social analytics for you, and give you a report showing who is looking your way. This gives you the information necessary to start targeting your content.
Once you know who you’re targeting, it’s time to grow the numbers. This can be very practical. For example, let’s say you’re a craft jewelry salesperson. Now that you’ve used Facebook to show a Live video of you stringing a piece together, and Instagram to provide links to your direct online site, you can boost certain posts to the audiences that shop with you the most. Maybe this is women in their 40s-50s in certain towns or areas. Choosing a target audience can do wonders to boost your business.
