The 10 Key Things Small Businesses Should Know About Social Media Marketing

Being a small business or startup can be daunting and getting your name out there is imperative to any success. You can’t make any money if no one’s heard of you after all, can you? Of course with all the initial tribulations and costs of starting up, marketing is often done on a shoestring, and not a very long one either.

Social media, if mobilised correctly, can be one of the most effective marketing tools for any business, let alone a small one, but learning to use it in the correct way shouldn’t be underestimated. Get to grips with the world of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the like, with these essential social media tips. And gentlemen, no selfies…

PLAN A STRATEGY

Just as you’re bank manager wouldn’t give you a loan without a credible business plan, don’t go into social media blind. Have a clear, defined strategy for taking cyberspace by storm, rather than tripping up in the Twittersphere.

ENGAGEMENT

No one’s going to follow an account that for all intents and purposes is automated, be active on your social media accounts and engage with users along the way. Ask questions and answer followers, talk to them like a human being not a machine and you’ll quickly reap the rewards, after all there’s no use pushing product to a bunch of fake accounts is there?

CONSISTENCY IS KEY

One status update or picture post a day may be enough for your personal social media presence, but your business’ platform should be a little more active. Gain a reputation for being active but not spammy, keep it regular but don’t push it down your followers’ throats. Find the sweet spot for your activity and stick to it.

INSTAGRAM

Instagram is one of the fastest growing social networks on the planet and with the right understanding it can be one of the most powerful marketing tools for your business. Don’t just peddle product, cultivate and curate a lifestyle and image around your brand that followers connect to and will want to engage with.

VIDEO/IMAGE CONTENT

People engage with visuals far more than just plain text posts. Attach interesting images to your online content to really get users tuned into your business; videos can even boast an increased reach of up to 135%, it’s time to start moving away from boring status updates, gentlemen.

PAYING FOR FACEBOOK

Spending money on Facebook can seem odd at first, after all you can and we all do, use it for free. Putting some money behind your posts for promotional purposes isn’t expensive in comparison to so many other avenues. If you can spare the cash advertising your content on Facebook, the results can be more than fruitful.

LOOK BEYOND THE OBVIOUS

We’re all aware of the power of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram even Google+, but it’s time to start looking further a field for maximum reach. Tumblr has a huge community for the right business to interact with and market to. Pinterest is another who’s demographic is highly active and when matched with the right business can prove incredibly profitable. Now’s the time to diversify your social media strategy beyond the big platforms.

DON’T BE PUBLICALLY PUSHY

The early days of begging for retweets on Twitter and likes on Facebook and Instagram are well behind us, and no way for a business to conduct themselves in a public arena. When starting off it’s acceptable to privately message a few friends and ask them to help build your following but keep it under the table. Boost reach through engaging content and even the occasional competition, don’t push and bully followers into sharing your site.

MAINTAIN A TONE

Just because you’re a business doesn’t mean you have to be boring or overly corporate, unless of course it fits your image. Keep a certain style to your social presence and stick to it, be professional but still stimulating, talk in a relatively informal manner and engage with people, it’s called social media isn’t it?

IT’S NO LONGER JUST FOR FUN

The biggest thing for many small businesses is realising social media is no longer just for fun when you start to use it in a professional sense and for marketing purposes. Leave the selfies, mundane updates, needless TV commentary and most of all, flirting out of it; keep all of that to your private profile. Ensure you’re analysing your usage and sticking to that all important strategy, generate reports and make notes of post that generate the most reach and engagement to find a winning formula that works for you.