Even if you have not used social media for professional purposes, it isn’t hard to understand that it can in fact be a critically important tool for your business. Here in the digital age, it is rarer to bump into someone who does not have an account of some form of social media than to find someone with one. So what does this mean for you as a small business owner? It means that you need to be where the people are.
Below are just a few ways that you can harness the power of social media to give your small business the boost and exposure it needs to excel.
Keep and Manage a Steady Stream of Content.
The biggest problem that companies have with their social media accounts is that they believe that simply having a profile is enough to qualify as being “active”, but really, a passive social media profile is on par with not having one at all.
The idea of social media itself lies within the concept of “sharing”. The more you share, the more exposure you have to your audience, and the more exposure you have will lead to more success for your company. There are individuals all over the world who have become celebrities just by sharing what’s going on throughout their daily lives –and most of these individuals are not after anything more than just the exposure, and they have millions of followers just by sharing (and sometimes oversharing).
You on the other hand, as a small business owner who wants to be on social media, do want something –exposure that will eventually convert audiences and lead to sales. To achieve that, you need to be active with your profiles. Post regularly, post consistent pieces of content, and minimize the gaps of time in between your posts. Nothing is easier forgotten in the realm of social media than a quiet profile, so be sure to fill your newsfeeds with genuine content!
Understand Where Exactly Your Market is.
When you are just starting out, you need a grip on who your market is as a business. Understanding who your audience is in depth is important when it comes to social media marketing for your small business because you run the risk of wasting time and money on the wrong platforms.
For example, if you want to target the demographic of women who are mothers within the age range of 25 to 40, then you would consider making the Pinterest platform a priority because it has been proven that women in that particular demographic spend more time there as compared to the others (versus Twitter and Instagram).
That was just one example of a demographic, but understanding who your desired audience and what kind of platforms they prefer to use and what kind of content has been proven to be successful is exponentially helpful in saving you time and money when it comes to boosting posts and creating content. Know who you want to reach and where to find them, and you can do that relatively easy with all of the information available online these days.
Refine Your Digital Persona.
After you have established who you want to reach, you as the small business owner should consider creating a kind of personality for your social media presence. A business account is helpful for social media users to have access to, but to really be engaging for users, keep them interested with a brand personality.
A brand personality is the voice that you use with your captions and posts, as well as the general tone of the content that you post. Tying in with the first point that we made earlier, having consistent content that is regularly added to the newsfeed helps your followers know exactly what kind of content they are going to be viewing if they decide to follow you. Behind the scenes content of your business, your companies work culture, your latest products, bios on your company’s teammates and employees…these are just a few ideas of content that you should consider posting consistently.
With social media, consistency is key, both in how often you post as well as with your online personality. Having a schizophrenic voice behind your social media profiles may be off-putting for your followers, so try to keep your voice and tone consistent.
Follow, Like, and Interact.
Past putting up your own content, you need to be interacting with the rest of the digital world through your profile. Interacting through social media looks like you following back individuals who follow you first, and even liking or commenting on a few of their posts that your business would find interesting or relevant. Interacting can even be reaching out first to potential customers by following their profiles and liking or commenting on a few of their posts.
Social media users like to feel that what they post is also appreciated, so having your business interact with their own content helps get their attention to share your own content with them. Think of it as a trading of awareness.
If someone sends comments on your content, sends you a Direct Message (DM), or even just likes your stuff, don’t be afraid to say “thanks” and tag them back. Letting your followers know that you see and recognize that they are reaching out to you helps form relationships online, and that may in fact lead to conversion from being just an online follower into being a customer.
Social media is much more than just a way to keep tabs on your friends, but a way for customers and businesses to interact on an intimate level. Take advantage of this tool and become connected to your market. Reach out and you will find that they will be more than willing to reach back out to you.
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