5 Tips for Marketing Your Business on Social
5 Tips for Marketing Your Business on Social
If you own a business, you know how important it is to get your brand out there. You want to attract new customers and keep the ones you already have coming back for more. That's where social media comes in!
Social media marketing (SMM) is essential to any successful business. In fact, roughly 4.2 billion users spend an average of almost 2 1/2 hours on social media daily. That's a lot of people! And if you're not reaching them, your competition probably is—and they're using it to their advantage. It all comes down to one simple fact; you need to be where the customers are, and that's on social media! A well-executed strategy will increase your brand's visibility and level the playing field, giving small businesses a way to compete with larger companies.
Social media isn't just a marketing tool; it can also help you learn specific information about your customers, including their needs, behaviors, and desires—which makes it easier than ever to create products and services that will meet those needs! Today’s customers don’t just expect brands to be present on social media; they expect them to be engaging and responsive. SMM allows you to connect with your audience in a way other forms of marketing simply can’t, allowing you to build relationships with existing and potential customers. With the ever-changing algorithms, and numerous platforms to choose from, social media can feel daunting to already busy small business owners, but it doesn’t have to! All you need are the basic building blocks of a successful social strategy, and that is precisely what I’m going to teach you! First things first...
Get to Know Your Target Audience
Don’t try to reach everyone—understanding and targeting your ideal audience will help you send the right message to the right people. So how do you find your target audience? That’s easier than you may think! Many social media platforms offer analytics to help you learn about your followers’ habits. These tools are free to use and can tell you the days of the week and times of the day your followers are most active on the platform. This functionality is extremely beneficial because it takes the guesswork out of deciding when you should be posting your content.
Set Your Goals and KPIs
Setting measurable goals is essential in executing a successful social strategy. Therefore, you should follow a goal-setting process like the SMART System. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. By defining these parameters as they pertain to your goals, you will set yourself up to attain your objectives within a specific time frame.
Post Relevant Content Consistently
You don't need to post sales pitch after sales pitch to be successful on social media. On the contrary, a hard-sales approach will likely cause your followers to scroll past your content or even unfollow you altogether. Eek! People go on social media to be entertained, so give the people what they want! As a general rule, your content should follow the 80/20 rule - 80% relevant and trending content that either entertains, inspires, or educates your audience. This type of content may seem like "pointless fluff," but in reality, it is an excellent way to build brand loyalty, authority, and an overall consistent presence, without becoming spammy and driving your audience away. Oh, and when you find you can't seem to think of a piece of content (which happens to us all from time to time!), think to yourself, "What would someone type into the Google search bar if they were looking for the services or products that my business offers. The website www.answerthepublic.com is one of my favorite tools for this exact purpose—and it's free!
Now that you understand what a well-rounded content strategy looks like and you've assessed your social media platform's analytics to determine optimum posting times, it's time to post! But you're not going to post in real-time, are you? Nope!
Pre-scheduling your content is a no-brainer if you are truly committed to maintaining a long-term and consistent social media presence. For Facebook and Instagram, you can utilize creator studio—a built-in, free content scheduler. For other platforms, www.buffer.com is another great free option to try.
Commit to Community Management
Community Management is the process of building and maintaining a community of customers through interactions and is an essential part of your SMM success. Not only does this part of your strategy an effective way to build a loyal customer base but, it also helps your business rank well in the social media algorithms. Platforms reward users who often interact with their audience. So the more active and engaged you are, the more likely you are to show up on more and more of your potential customers’ feeds.
Use Analytics to Plan Future Content
It’s crucial to note what works on social media and what doesn’t to improve your future posts. Social media analytics tools can help track your progress over time and identify which content your audience resonates with. As the saying goes, “Work smarter, not harder.” So if you spot a piece of content that performed well, try to apply those same tactics in future posts.
So what are you waiting for? You’ve already worked to make your business unique and unforgettable, and now, you can take your marketing strategy to the next level to show the world just how amazing your brand is!