Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses

Social Media Marketing

Many people are often confused about whether using social media can help their business grow. Well, the answer is YES!!

According to Statista, nearly 50% of the world’s population uses social media. That’s over 3 billion users worldwide. With these numbers, social media can be a huge market with numerous potential to run a business.

For small businesses, interacting with the right audience on social media platforms can be a very useful tactic for marketing their business and generating sales. If you are successful in social media, you will have an opportunity to interact with your customers one-on-one, deepen your relationships, and earn their trust even when they’re not on your site or store.

What is Social Media Marketing?

Marketing in social media is the process of creating and sharing content, interacting with potential customers, and mapping out the use of different social media platforms to achieve important business outcomes.

Social media marketing is a long-term commitment. So, be sure you have enough resources to maintain it. And the most important thing to remember is “Go where your customers are!”

Here are three simple points to remember while getting started with social media marketing:

1. Shift your marketing focus from you to your customer
2. Map your customer’s pain point and create content that solves their problem
3. Start figuring out how to connect with your audience on social media and develop your online brand personality

Choosing the right social media channel

Being active on every social media platform can be overwhelming at times. People are often confused, and they end up ruining their digital reputation.

A business does not require to be active in all social media sites to maintain its online presence. What matters most is that you understand your business, your audience, and how social media fits into your digital strategy.

Follow these steps while considering the right platform for your business:

1. Identify your audience:

The first step in choosing the right social network for your business is to identify your potential customers. You must be able to recognize the type of people who might be interested in your product.

Creating a customer persona can be the best way to do so. Personas make your ideal clients more relatable, so you can create content that speaks better to them. You should be as specific as possible while creating personas since it makes the decision much easier.

2. Set your social media goal:

After you’ve known your audience, you need to define a set of goals for that audience. You must determine what type of content will best reflect your business, product, or service and what is your major motive behind using social media.

Different companies use social media for various purposes. Some use it for brand recognition, while others use it for developing a friendly relationship with their potential customers.

3. Understand your customers’ social media habits:

Now that you have created customer personas and set your goals, it is time to determine which platform your audience use. You can do that by analyzing your personas’ demographics and behavior and finding out what platform they are most active.

Marketing on different platforms

Different social media marketing sites require different approaches, so develop a unique strategy tailored for each networking site.

1. Using Facebook for Social Media Marketing

With 1.56 billion daily active users, Facebook is a powerful tool to get in front of your potential and existing customers. Your presence on Facebook serves as a cornerstone for your online identity and often can be just as important as a website.

Here are few tips on Facebook marketing for your business:

• Create a fully optimized Facebook Page for your business. Make sure your page has a profile picture, cover image, and an about section that reflects your brand image.
• Create an engaging and compelling post that resonates with your audience.
• Be consistent while posting content. Plan what you are going to post and when. Consider creating a “content calendar.”
• Join Facebook groups best suited for your business and interact consistently.
• Ask for feedback and always respond promptly to questions and comments.

If you are a new Facebook page user, remember “Consistency is the key.” Don’t go through all the work of setting up a page not to update it regularly. And if you want to level things up, why not try Facebook Advertising.

2. Using Instagram for Social Media Marketing

More and more people are turning to Instagram instead of Google to search for brands. That’s why it is crucial to take a hard look at your Instagram profile. By creating and optimizing your Instagram profile, you can turn casual visitors into engaged followers.

Here are few tips on using Instagram for your business:

• Use a business profile rather than the classic personal account. The Instagram business profile gives access to many advanced features like insights, promoted posts, and contact button.
• Make sure your profile name is your business name. Also, your bio should explain what your business is and how it is different from other companies.
• Make sure your feed has a consistent aesthetic that best represents your brand.
• Use user-generated content. Reposting can be the perfect way to build a bond between you and your followers.
• Use a mix of all the post formats(photos, carousels, and videos) to make your feed fresh and interesting.
• Use Instagram stories to connect with your audience and improve your brand visibility.

3. Using Twitter for Social Media Marketing

When achieving your marketing goals, Twitter can be a powerful platform. With over 330 million monthly active users, it’s easy for companies to speak to their audience and build their brand.

Here are few tips on using Twitter for marketing your business:

• Make sure you have a complete on-brand, professional Twitter profile.
• Use hashtags on your tweets to expose your brand to new audiences who may be interested in what you have to say.
• Create content that encourages your audience to engage with your tweets
• Add your website URL beneath your bio and incorporate links to your website in your tweets.
• Schedule your tweets during peak hours.

4. Using Pinterest for Social Media Marketing

Pinterest can be a powerful tool to build a strong community that engages with your content, drive brand awareness, click-throughs, and ultimately result in more sales. Make sure to use the right Pinterest marketing strategy to build your brand.

Here are some tips for marketing your business on Pinterest:

• Get a pin/save button on your website so that browsers can easily pin/share a link to their board.
• Include keywords in your board/pin title, description, and images.
• Use rich pins to increase the visibility of your brand.
• Pin consistently
• Use eye-catching images

Determining the right social networking platform for your business may be a daunting task, but with the right strategy and resources, you can get the most out of it. So, start working on your business’ social media marketing strategy today to grow your business.