5 Social Media Tips for Small Business
If you are a business owner, social media is can feel like both the low hanging fruit and the monkey on your back. One the one hand - it can be FREE advertising! On the other, is anything that takes up your time truly "free"?
Here are five strategies for using social media effectively, and addressing the overwhelm.
Less CAN be more.
Many business owners feel like they need to be on all platforms, all the time. Instead, pick one or two and focus on doing it well. For a business with a highly visually appealing product or service (think boutique retailer, Etsy superstar or restaurant), Instagram is a no brainer. Loads of great blog content? Facebook. Selling to businesses or major organizations? Twitter + LinkedIn are the go-to. Think about where you will find your target market and choose that channel.
Spend some money.
Advertising on social media is often intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. If Facebook Business or Ad Manager are too cumbersome, just post some amazing content as you normally would on Facebook. Make sure your Instagram account is linked (if you have one) and then “boost” the post. Choose audience, budget and duration. Believe it or not, even a small spend will have an impact.
Automate your content.
So, you need some awesome content to put advertising dollars behind? Maybe you already have a beautifully written blog post or a perfectly curated gallery of images. If (like the rest of us) that isn’t the case, don’t sweat it. Think about what your business offers, and turn that in to a regular content cycle. Personal trainer? #MotivationMonday was made for you. Financial advisor? How about “Tip of the Week”, focusing on a simple step to protecting or building wealth. #TBT, “Ask an Expert”…. there are endless possibilities.
Engage.
Many businesses use their social media platforms as broadcast accounts, constantly sending out messages about sales, events, promotions and happenings in their business. This is only half of the process. Think about a conversation; usually, a good part of the time is spent listening. Social media is no different. Support small business in your area by liking and sharing their content. Comment on Instagram, retweet and engage! The love will come back. It’s like being the perfect party guest – someone with witty stories but who is also genuinely interested in others.
Take advantage of free tools.
There’s so many it can feel hard to pick. Here are some of our favourites: Canva for online graphic design, Hootsuite for a curation and scheduling, hashtagify.me for trending Twitter hashtags, Unsplash for beautiful stock photography. And the native scheduling tool on Facebook is another great option.
Happy engaging everyone!
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