Social media marketing has become one of the most effective ways for small businesses to attract new customers and generate leads.
But to succeed on social media, you need to develop a comprehensive strategy and create compelling content that educates your audience and shares valuable information. Here is how you can get started.
Narrow down your platforms
One of the first decisions you will have to make is how many platforms you should cover because it is all too easy to feel overwhelmed at the prospect of dealing with multiple social networks.
So, you might narrow down your options to popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram. This is because every stat will tell you that there are more users on these two platforms than on any other social media platform.
But every SMB is unique and must have its own social media strategy that it can capitalize on. Just like not every small business needs a blog or newsletters, they don’t need to have a Twitter account with thousands of followers either.
It is up to you to decide where you want to take the company and then, find the best way to leverage that platform in order to build brand awareness in your industry.
So, ask yourself, “What social media platforms do my customers use?” Because you should be where your customers are.
All Marketing Starts with a great website.
Define your audience
Once you get into social media marketing for your business, the first thing you have to know is who your audience is. This will help give you an idea of what kind of tone to use when communicating with them.
Defining your audience can be tricky though. The easiest way to do that is by sorting people out on the basis of age, gender, income level, education level, etc. For B2B, you might want to look at the company’s profile, and primary contact’s designation, and seek out the decision-makers who can help you make a sale.
Another way to define your audience is by looking at your website’s existing statistics, analyzing your visitors, and following the same lot on social media because you know they are definitely interested in your company.
Engage with established content creators
Social media marketing is a great way to increase your business’s reach. It is literally free marketing for small businesses with immense potential to build trust and authority around your brand or product. And it also gives you the opportunity to build relationships with people in your niche.
You can connect with influencers, promote your small business, and learn new things from other entrepreneurs like you. Your newly built community can also help you spread the word about your business’s social media presence.
Follow the trends
Social media marketing is a game of trends. New trends pop up every day and it is important to follow what’s trending because that is what gets results.
Paying attention to the trends can also give you a better idea of who your target customer is and a good idea of how they like to be marketed to.
While understanding the trends can help you come up with ideas for marketing campaigns, they can actually help you create content that is relevant to your customers.
Avoid flooding your account with content
A lot of entrepreneurs think that social media is all about posting regularly. They assume that if they post more content on their business account, then more opportunities will come knocking on their doors.
But what they don’t realize is that by flooding their social media platforms with content, they are doing more harm than good.
Sooner or later, you will experience a creative rut and will have to resort to low-quality content that does not hold much value or relevance to your customers.
Instead of exhausting your resources and ideas, pace yourself. And that is actually one piece of advice that not many marketers will usually offer you. So, note that down!
Monitor and improve your content
Social media allows you to have a conversation with your customers, but it is also an excellent source of data that can help you target your audience better. It allows you to take part in this valuable feedback loop, and use the information provided by your followers to shape your future activities.
If a certain type of content is generating more traffic and engagement, note that down and create more like them. If something does not work, change it.
Remember that every business situation is different, so each social media strategy will look different, as well. Don’t worry about your competitor enjoying more engagement. See what works for you and improve your social media game based on your own metrics.
Social media marketing is probably one of the only ways to analyze your audience without spending any money. It might take some time and persistence. But if you can keep at it, you can acquire some interesting results and you will learn a lot in the process – which is critical for creating posts with maximum impact.
Create a brand personality
Many brands use social media to be quirky, caring, and even responsible. And just like your buyers need to have a specific persona for you to cater to them, the audience also likes to invest in businesses that resonate with them or speak their language.
Creating a brand personality helps your audience understand your brand, relate to it, and most importantly trust it.
The best brands have a specific personality that is more than just tapping into social sentiment. That said, your social media personality should be in sync with your brand’s values to actually make you stand out from the crowd.
At Evolve Websites, we understand the importance of social media for small businesses. That’s why we have developed a suite of social media solutions that are specifically designed for companies with limited resources. Get in touch to work with a dedicated team of professionals who can help manage and grow your social media presence right away.
