Are you missing an opportunity?
If your business is not currently pushing social media, then you’re dodging a huge opportunity. Social networks are one of the most significant sources of inspiration for consumer purchases.
Now, ignoring social media in your marketing plan can cost you. There are millions of local business pages on Facebook alone, so if you’re not touching those possible clients, your rivals will happily pick them up!
Social media not only lets your business connect with new customers but also preserves your current customers. By connecting with your customers and maintaining relationships, your chances of retaining them build… as well as their possible lifetime value!
Rise with a plan
Social tools are effortless to use, and you can get started with initial posts for free. That might make it tempting to jump in and just start posting. But like every great marketing strategy, using social media for small business success needs to start with a good strategy.
Without a plan, you have no clear intention for what you’re trying to accomplish. That means there’s no way to measure your results. Take the chance to create a social media plan up-front. This ensures that all your social efforts support specific business goals.
- Set your goals and aspirations
Base your aims on metrics that will have a solid influence on your business. For example, aim to earn customers or raise your conversion rate, rather than solely racking up likes.
- Research the opposition
How are your rivals using social media? While you don’t want to imitate them, discovering something others have done is a great way to reduce your learning curve. Competitive analysis can assist you in discovering what’s working and what’s not for other businesses like yours.
- Get inspiration
You’ve seen what your competitors are doing online, but what about others? Where can you discover these success stories?
Go to the business section of most social networks, and you’ll see useful case studies. It’s also an excellent idea to ask current followers what they want to see more of, then give them specifically what they ask for.
- Create a social media calendar
A social media calendar assists you in posting the most desirable content to the right social channels at the best time. It should incorporate a plan for your content mix.
Try beginning with the 80-20 method. Use 80% of your content to inform, educate, or inspire your audience. Use the other 20% to promote your brand or sell your goods.
Determine which platforms are best for you!
Don’t think about where your audience spends their time online. Your intuition will tell you that if you’re targeting millennials, you shouldn’t use Facebook and focus on Instagram and Snapchat.
The data shows that 84% of millennials use Facebook. To make sure you’re utilising social media for business efficiently, you’ll need to convey some research of your own. This will help you understand how your fans spend their time online.
Keep in mind that this doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing way. You can use multiple social channels to reach various audiences or to meet several business aims.
- Understand your audience
One reason using social media for business is so powerful is that you can micro-target your audience. But initially, you need to know who your viewers are.
Begin by collecting data on your current customers. Then, dig deeper with social media analytics. You’ll start to receive a solid picture of who is purchasing from and engaging with you online.
- Grow your following
Once you have a fair idea of who your audience is, you can visit your social media plan. It’s a chance to see ways to reach more people just like them. You can also use social media to send new consumers to your local business.
- Strengthen connections
The unique advantage of social media marketing for small businesses is that it permits you to speak immediately to customers and followers.
You can establish relationships over time, rather than begging for a sale upfront. Part of that process is getting to know who you are as a brand and what you stand for. When people engage with your original content or advertisements, a great idea is to engage back.
This helps in building trust, and develop a loyal following. As followers share and love your content, you rise in the social algorithms and gain free exposure. You also nourish connections that can develop into sales over time.
Conclusion
Possessing a Facebook profile alone is no longer adequate if you want to promote your social media marketing ability. Create profiles on many platforms as long as your target audience is active on them.
You should post content frequently. Just make certain your posts are all related to your approved marketing purposes. Your profiles need to be interesting to consumers. Run campaigns created to gain more followers.
To further lengthen your reach, discover social influencers to boost your business. Promote user-generated content. Add ephemeral content and live videos to your social media marketing strategy.
If you don’t have the time or knowledge to handle all your social media pages, consider speaking to us about our social media management package.
