Top 8 Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Business

If people do not know your business is out there your business will not get off the ground and you will not be successful. So how do you get the word out there? Making use of a social media marketing company that can provide you with a social media marketing strategy can be very helpful. So many small businesses underestimate the value of social media for small businesses and try to do it themselves. This results in mistakes over and again. Fortunately with the right guidance, these mistakes can be rectified easily.

What needs to be done?

You should evaluate your current social media profile and consider a strategy that can benefit your small business.

How to Do It

There are 8 social media strategies that small businesses can employ to enhance their online performance in a way that will work for them and their clients or followers.

  1. Post Frequently 

Consistency is vital. Your online presence should be consistent and predictable. Most people start with a large bang and post several posts a day and as time passes, the posts decline as well.

See your online presence as a conversation in a group of people. You have to present the conversation with attracting and thought-provoking thoughts to keep it going and maintain the conversation. It must be worth it for your followers to stay interested in your online conversation.

  1. Not Just About Your Company

Between 1970 and 1990 companies used an approach that we will pester and call out and flood you with our advertising until you buy our product. That approach certainly does not work anymore and too many small businesses today think it does! Social media made it possible for people to have a personal experience with your business.

Make the 80/20 rule applicable. 80% of what you post should offer value to the reader of your post. This can be news, information, or developments in your particular industry. The other 20% of what you post can be just about your small business. This can be specific promotions or bring your readers up to date with what is happening in your specific business. Therefore, if you post 10 posts, 8 should be valuable information of the trade or industry you represent and 2 should be about your business.

  1. Assorted Types of Media

Providing your targeted audience and followers with interesting posts is really not that hard. Posts should include an assortment of media types.

This can include: 

  • videos,
  • links,
  • case studies,
  • images,
  • reports,
  • infographics,
  • white papers etc

It is important to provide your readers and followers with decent,beneficial,and trustworthy information, but it does not mean your information must be dull and always provided in words. Spice it up with some of the mediums mentioned above to retain interest.

  1. Good Old Call to Action

You might think that it is apparent that the driving force of social media marketing strategy is to actually make sales and that people should know you want them to buy. No it is not so obvious and moreover, if you call for action it is more likely that they will act if you ask them to.

It is however important to remember the 80/20 rule again. Do not ask in more than 20% of your posts to purchase something or take up a special offer.

  1. Make Use of Different Sorts of Posts

Apart from different sorts of content in your posts, you should present the posts in different manners too. Do not just post articles with videos and links and photos. Ask thought provoking questions, set up a survey, or beyond belief facts. From this you will gather what posts work and which does not so well.

Another great idea is to ask the people on your social media platforms what they like to see and what they want to see less. People like to give their personal input and you can gather valuable information from them to adapt your social media marketing strategy.

  1. Interaction and Complaints 

You must visualize social media as an informal conversation you would have in your store. Put them at ease, talk to them, and address their problems and requests. If you get negative comments, obtain as much information as you can and resolve the problem in private. Once the problem is solved, announce the outcome and resolution on the page or platform.

Never just ignore it and treat someone rude. Negative comments and complaints are a perfect opportunity to showcase your customer care attitude. This can result in significant positive results the more it become evident that you care and take their concerns at heart.

  1. Promote Your Profile to Increase Followers

Social media for small businesses is not that difficult at all. If you really struggle, you can always obtain the help of a social media marketing company if you find it difficult to promote your profile.

The easy way to promote your online profile to increase your followers is to give them reason to follow you! A prize draw is always a good idea. Just make sure that it is really worth their while. A decent dinner, tickets to a game or concert, or one of your products to name a few. Select the winner by random draw. In addition, make sure that the rules of the competition or draw is simple and easy.

Do promotion of the contest on and off line. Make people aware of your social media contest. This will cause people who are not followers to follow you to enter the competition.

  1. Use All Social Media Platforms

The most popular social media platforms are:

  • Facebook,
  • You Tube,
  • Twitter,
  • LinkedIn,
  • Google+, and
  • Pinterest

However be careful social media can be time consuming. There is no doubt that you should start by using these platforms. Each has its own benefits and pitfalls, some more than others. Facebook is the quickest way to get business while Google+ is perfect for seo purposes but has no user engagement. Twitter is becoming the place if you want to reach a younger market and Pinterest is the place to go is you want to engage in visual marketing or want to reach a mainly female audience.

Once again you should monitor the success rate of each platform and decide which compilation of them is best suited for the specific strategy you need to employ.

There is one fact that cannot be disputed. A social media strategy for small business, or any other kind of business for that matter, is hard work and requires perseverance and commitment. If this is a too difficult task to pull through on your own, make use of a reputable social media marketing company to get your social media marketing strategy in place and off the ground.