It is part of our lives in a lot of ways, but nothing stops you from using it to your advantage by advertising your brand, products & services. Marketing through social media platforms let people discover and start to understand why this brand exist. Thinking of it as inserting your identity as a small business owner into the lives & conversations of others. There’s 3 key things you should know about the strategies which are;
Create content that links back to your website/shop/social media account
Reply to every questions people might have, whether ridiculous or not.
Reply to every comment, even if it’s a simple thank you.
That will help you achieve organic reach, which means the number of people you have reached without having to pay for its distribution or being seen. That means you don’t have to pay to get things optimized in order to create a great marketing strategy. Simply learning the fundamentals can greatly increase your business in the short & long term goals.
What is it all about?
Social media has been a source of income for so many businesses because the average amount of accounts a user has is 8.4. That means there’s plenty of options for you to choose from in order to get a great marketing plan on the go.
Even though most people don’t notice it, plenty of businesses use different strategies to try to get to people. Whether it’s through evoking an emotion or a simple contest to get people to interact. It does not have to be a traditional ad you can see on the TV.
Here’s what we explain further down;
Why you need to have a social media presence with your business
Which one to choose from that makes sense for your business
Creating your social media goals
The best times to post on your accounts
Why do you need to have a social media presence?
If the sole fact that almost everyone you might know have had an account on a social media accounts don’t convince you enough, here’s a little more information that might motivate you.
What does it bring to the table?
It can increase your overall brand awareness
Help potential customers to discover & learn more about your business
Reach out to customers and possibly refer them to your website to increase your sales
Build interest over your upcoming events
Provide easy answers to questions customers might have about the business
Enhance and gives a leverage over the competition by being present where they are
Now this is different than what you could get from traditional digital marketing like TV & Radio. It has a potential to reach directly to customers on a more personal note. Making the relationship between you and the customers even more special.
Which one is best for you
Lucky for everyone, there’s a variety of platforms that can cater to your clientele. You don’t have to choose them all, but some companies try to reach out by at least being present. But that can have a bad influence on your strategies because if you are not able to deliver good content on each platform, it will show to the customers.
You need to analyse and really think what you can afford or manage, especially if it’s a one man/woman show. It’s best to only choose those that relates best to you and your business. Having a Twitter account for a sower might not have the same impact as having a Youtube account for example.
Have a look at each one below;
This is probably the best one to have if you only want one simple account. Simply because they have a great way for businesses to grow with their business pages. With over 1.5 billion users, with around 19 million in Canada alone, it’s a great way to start and learn the ropes of social media for business.
Not only they allow businesses to create pages that can engage customers & let you share plenty of details around your business, you can have all your business information listed on it. It’s also a great way of communicating as customers can message you directly from that page (which won’t be your personal account)
If you are more looking to do business with other businesses, twitter might just be the solution you are looking for. It’s a great way to also communicate directly and speak truly about things related to you and your business.
The downside, is that in order to keep things flowing, you have to be able to reply in a timely manner to customers as it is known as a fast evolving app. Meaning subjects that are hot at the moment can change the very next day.
You can always set up notifications so that each time a customer asks a question, you will be sure not to miss it.
This platform is ideal for businesses that create a lot of visual content, such as restaurants, boutiques, and retailers. It’s a compelling way to showcase exactly what your business offers through pictures and video content.
Plus, if you use Instagram stories, you can take viewers on all sorts of journeys, whether it’s a behind-the-scenes look or store update.
Something that companies overlook is the power Pinterest has in social media. Seemed as a second Instagram, it focuses primarily on the subjects of fashion & beauty, home, food & fitness.
While as a user is able to search very specific subjects, they might end up liking what you do even more as it might connect in a more easy way. Like most social media options, if you can create content relevant to its users, you will be like a pro!
If you want to make connections and find like-minded individuals, linkedIn might just be worth it.
LinkedIn allows employees and business owners who are searching to make new connections & share content related to their fields. It’s a great place to have professional information shared in order to grow as your business & build relationships that could lead into bigger projects further down the road.
If you want to make connections and find like-minded individuals, linkedIn might just be worth it.
LinkedIn allows employees and business owners who are searching to make new connections & share content related to their fields. It’s a great place to have professional information shared in order to grow as your business & build relationships that could lead into bigger projects further down the road.
What should be your goals?
To make sure you don’t get overwell or lost, you should write down specific objectives that follow 6 key criteria; what, why, how, when, where, who. Making sure you clearly answers those will help you create efficient goals.
Here are a few example;
What: What is your business and what does it cater to the social media world? In a word or two, describe what your business is (ex: clothing store, painter, candy maker…) and what would it bring to social media? Maybe for the clothing store is a way to share fashion pictures so customers can see themselves in the clothes.
Why: Why is it important for your company to be on social media? It can be as simple as having a quick an easy way for customers to reach out to you. It could also be more complex like increasing revenue streams through targeted marketing strategies. Whatever your reasons might be, make sure to clearly identify them as this will help to understand the concept even more.
How: How do you plan to make it a reality? Are you going to invest in a social media management company, work on your own time, or learn the ropes by taking courses. Define how you are going to make it a reality.
When: This one is simple, figure out when you want to allocate time to work on building your social media presence. Whether it’s once a week or 3 times a day, the main thing is to be consistent. Choose which days and hours you want to post or work on it.
Where: Where are you going to be present? Have you decided which platforms you want to venture to? If you don’t know where to start, simply start with one and grow from there. Remember that you can be on all platforms, but you will most likely have to give more time to each in order to create relevant content.
Who: When creating your content or social media, try to understand who you are doing this for. Is it for a broad range of clients or specifically woman’s in their mid 40’s. It could also be for people living in one specific city. Try to create your ideal customer and who they are as a person. This can immensely help you create posts or content that your clientele will surely appreciate.
Mornings, days or nights? When should I post content?
Not everyone wakes up every morning to check their social media accounts. Knowing or trying to figure when does your main clientele uses their social media is a great way to know when you should release a post. Posting about a bakery late at night might not be as worth it as posting it early morning.
Targeting when your audience is on social media and corresponding that with a post can greatly impact the results of your efforts. Just keep in mind that if you post at key times during the day like 6-8am, you are also competing with all of your competitors at the same time.
You can even go further and figuring out which day works best for you. Tuesday’s might be the best time to post on Youtube, but the worst on Facebook.
If you are not sure where to start, there’s no better way than testing out. Let’s say you want to post, but you are not sure if every Friday at 4pm or Monday’s at 8am are the best. Be consistent for a month or two and compare the data to see which ones have performed the best. It’s not an easy, fast process, but over time, that data can serve you well.
Final notes
Growing your social media & it’s strategies being long road where you will learn new things. It’s best to keep revising it so that once you receive new information, you can be on track.
Not everyone has the power to hire people to work for them, but with the right dedication, anyone can achieve success. It might take you months if not years, but many businesses have proven this to be true.
Keep learning, be consistent, provide great content and enjoy the ride!