Social media can be a powerful marketing tool for developing your business. And if your marketing budget is limited, as it is for most small businesses, organic social media content is a great way to get your business in front of your audience. If you own a small business, figuring out how to market yourself on social media can be daunting. What platforms should you use? What should you post? How often? Why is no one engaging? Social media is a critical part of any marketing plan, so if you’re new to social media, having a game plan is important.
Set Reasonable Goals: Contrary to popular belief, growing engaged followership doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to organically grow your social media following. It takes even longer to monetize your following once you have them. If you’re expecting to start a Twitter account tomorrow and start making revenue from your followers in a few months, you may need to adjust your goals. It takes time to build enough trust with your audience that they’ll purchase from you. It’s important to set realistic metrics and goals as you build your following and leave room for trial and error as you find what works for your audience.
Post consistently: In addition to setting reasonable goals, it’s important to be consistent. It’s not uncommon for small businesses to quit posting when they don’t see results right away. Posting good content consistently is the best way to grow your following. If you post inconsistently or whenever the mood strikes, you’ll have a hard time building a following.
Tailor content for the channel: A common mistake of people new to social media management is to copy and paste the same content to every channel. Each channel has its own requirements for posts. For example, Twitter will only allow you to post 280 characters per post and Instagram has specific sizing and timing requirements for photos and videos. Understanding the nuances of each platform and adapting your content accordingly is a crucial part of social media management.
Plan ahead: The best way to approach social media management is to build a content calendar and plan what you want to post ahead of time. Planning ahead of time helps you post consistently and allows you to coordinate social media with other marketing activities, like product launches or sales.
Understand your audience: Not every business has the same audience and not every audience is on every channel. For example, if your ideal customer is men aged 40-60, the likelihood that they’ll be on Tik Tok is low. Knowing where your audience hangs out online will increase the likelihood that they lay eyes on the content you spend so much time creating.
Repurpose your content: One of the things that prevent most businesses from consistently posting content is lack of time. As a business owner, you likely wear a lot of hats, and growing your social media channels organically can fall lower on your list of priorities. It’s important to remember that it’s OK to repurpose content. If you created a blog post, take the highlights and turn them into a graphic to share on social. If you host a webinar, take a few points and make a recap video. Every idea doesn’t have to be a novelty. Repurposing content from other marketing activities is a valid way to fill your social media calendar.
Social media management doesn’t have to be hard. If you manage your expectations, create thoughtful content, and post consistently, you can start growing your channel with quality leads who can eventually become loyal customers. Learn more about social media marketing on our blog or through IAW’s weekly events!
For a great example of a business owner rocking social media marketing, check out IAW member Ashley Hart! She co-founded She Plays in 2019 and, since then, now has a profile on every major social media platform you can think of including a podcast. Check her business out and give it a follow!
