The big bad world of social media… Do you love it? Or hate it? We know that sometimes social media can get a bad wrap, but it’s also known to be the difference maker for TONS of small business owners. If you’re not on social media (at least 3 platforms), please consider starting your profiles and getting them branded with your website. Then, continue reading these helpful tips for using social media to market your business!
While we wish we could tell you that social media is easy to use for business, unfortunately, it’s a competitive field to be in. However, competitive should not scare you away from using it and should certainly encourage you to get in the game. Not only could you beat out your competition on social, but you also have a chance of reaching an untapped market.
Social media can give your business tons of opportunities, but let’s quickly take a minute to discuss why we recommend using it.
First, it’s a *mostly* free tool that you can use without having to expense a lot into. We say “mostly” because you CAN choose to invest in paid social media posts or resources to build your account, but you don’t have to.
Secondly, social media is widely used and has diverse demographics, ranging from young teens to senior citizens. Depending on your target demographic, social media could be the fastest way to reach potential customers and when used correctly, could bring in more revenue than even a brick-and-mortar storefront.
Now that you know why you should be using social media, let’s go over how to use it effectively to help market your business!
3 Must-Do’s for Using Social Social for Your Business
1. Have a posting schedule and stick to it
We hope “schedules” are your thing, because they are definitely ours! Having a social media posting schedule can make the world of difference for your business and also allow you the creative opportunity to map out how you want your feeds to look throughout the month.
We highly recommend making a monthly calendar that you fill with these 3 elements:
Educational content (information, resources, or tips related to the industry of your business)
Entertaining content (posts that will inspire joy, laughter, and fun - this is why people stay on social media platforms!)
Direct marketing for your business (promotions, product details, service explanations, etc.)
As you can see, not ALL of your content should be about selling your products or services to your audience. In fact, that may push them away. By having diverse content that can educate, entertain, and market your brand, you will have more success on social media.
If you’re just starting out, try posting 3 times per week consistently (with at least one of those days being a weekend day). If you’ve been on social media for a while and want to step it up a notch, work towards 5 days a week and eventually daily. Even one or two stories is supporting your activity on the app!
Whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Tik Tok, posting to the various locations on the app will help the algorithms boost your posts organically. Get creative with reels, carousel posts, stories, shared tweets, and more. You got this!
2. Engage with your followers AND other accounts
Engage, engage, engage! That is definitely a tip that all social media experts will tell you. By engaging, you are telling the app that you care about the feedback and comments you receive and in turn, your content will get seen more. Not to mention, it builds relationships with your followers and keeps them around longer!
When it comes to engagement, we’re referring to replies in comments, DM’s, and Messenger messages. These replies are quick ways to have conversations and should be prioritized!
Additionally, engage with other accounts that you find and follow naturally. Build relationships with these accounts and it could lead to a future collaboration. Be real and genuine in your engagement and make sure to avoid negativity. Nobody likes that!
Lastly, you don’t have to follow every single person that follows you, but keep in mind that they decide to hit the “follow” button because they see something in your account that interests them. Once they start following you, hopefully they will stick around for even more awesome content.
3. Maintain your branding
Since branding is KEY, keep in mind that this also applies to social media! The potential customers you obtain from social media may ONLY recognize your brand from your social profiles and never even set “foot” on your website. By having consistent branding across all platforms and accounts, you are more likely to retain potential customers.
When we say “maintain your branding”, we’re referring to the following elements:
Name on profile
Handle name
Logo
Bio (shortened versions are okay)
Voice
Your “voice” on your social media profiles should be consistent with your website voice. If you have a “face” to your social media presence that is not on your website, this is okay! Just make sure that it supports the goal of the website and doesn’t distract from it’s main purpose.
A great way to test out if your social media profiles are branded correctly is to ask someone to find your business account on social media without giving them your handle or page name. If they are unable to find you with relative ease, then your profile may not be branded well enough.
We hope that social media is a game you’re willing to participate in AND enjoy! It can be so fun to build relationships, make connections, and see your business grow in a unique way. We love being on social media and helping our clients implement their brand into their profiles. They really can work so closely with each other to build success!
Want more marketing advice? Check out these posts!