Small businesses often don’t realize the importance of social media marketing. The platforms offer a great opportunity to connect with existing customers and engage new ones. After all, most companies spend more time talking to themselves than they do listening to their audience. This guide is going to show how small business can improve their social media presence.
Choose the Right Networks
Social Media networks are everywhere. However, not everyone has chosen the right one for them. Some may have been around for years, but only your target market uses them. To find out which network is best for you, consider what products or services you sell, who your potential audience is and whether your competitors also use that network. If you’re going up against them in terms of traffic, then check their performance on Twitter (and other networks) as well.
Set a Goal
It doesn’t matter how useful or popular a platform is if no one uses it. Set a goal for each month and make sure you accomplish something. It could be increasing followers by 100 people per day, growing your email list by 50 subscribers per week, or simply writing two blog posts every Tuesday. These small goals will help keep things moving forward at any stage of your business.
Come up with a Strategy
Once you know where you want to go, you can start preparing to get there. What kind of content should you produce? How often should you post? Which platforms should you use? Social media strategy is much like planning an advertising campaign; you need to create plans and benchmarks for success. And like anything else, you must evaluate results regularly. If you’ve just started using social media tools, be patient. Once you learn how to use them properly, you will see positive growth in sales and leads for months to come. If you stick with it, it will pay off.
Make a Content Creation or Curation Plan with Your Audience in Mind
The best way to take advantage of social media marketing is to listen to your audience. Who are they? Where do they hang out online? What topics interest them? By knowing your audience better, you can create more engaging content that attracts those who share similar interests. Don’t forget about the power of sharing. Posting links to your website or resources related to your industry helps others discover additional information about your niche.
Select Tools to Schedule and Automate Posts
After deciding on a few networks, you still need to plan your content strategy and schedule it for posting. For example, you could schedule Facebook ads to run during certain times in the morning or post specific pictures to Instagram throughout the workday. This gives you complete control over when and what you post without having to think about it constantly.