Making sure your social media is fresh and up to date can feel like feeding a hungry animal. As soon as you have done one post it’s time to start thinking about the next one.
But with a little thought and our handy ideas prompt you will be posting like a pro in no time!
Whether you like it or not, social media is pretty much an essential for small businesses these days, with customers expecting you to have a presence.
Failure to engage with this line of communication can mean you miss out, not only on potential leads, but also on the opportunity to build brand loyalty with new and existing customers.
As this Hootsuite blog starkly puts it: If you’re not taking advantage of social within your digital marketing strategy, you’re missing out on a fast, inexpensive, and effective way to reach almost half the world’s population.
If you need any further convincing check out our recent blog on why it is worth investing in your social media.
As well as giving you the chance to push people towards your website, social lets you tell your story in your own words, building your brand’s personality and engaging on a far deeper level with new and existing customers.
It can help boost your understanding of your customer base too, with the real benefit of offering an instant way to promote and share information about your business.
Importantly though, when you decide to get to grips with your social you need to see it as a marathon rather than a sprint.
Small Business Geek’s Liz Smith explained: “When small businesses make up their minds to tackle their social media, they are often very enthusiastic at first, posting multiple times a day. However, soon that eagerness starts to fade and the ideas for new posts to run out.
A much better approach is to decide how many times a week you are planning to post, and on which channels, working out how many of these will be sales-based posts. You then have a clearer picture of how many other slots you need to fill and can start to plan out the kind of messages you want to share with your customer base.
Of course, there are the obvious ideas for content. Say you sell clothes you will want to show off images of your outfits; if you make celebration cakes you will want to let the world see your new creations; or if you are a kitchen fitter you might want to reveal the before and after of your latest installation.
These are all great posts which need to feature regularly on your social media schedule. But, to really start to forge a relationship with your followers, and to make your social accounts more interesting, it pays to mix it up a little. It will make the task of scheduling posts more interesting for you too!
Here are some ideas for the other kinds of contents you may choose to feature:
Get personal
Give your followers an insight into what led you to start your small business. Maybe there is a personal connection to the products you sell or service you provide. In which case, this is a great opportunity for you to explore the real-life problems your small business can help to solve.
Introduce the team
Celebrate your employees by sharing who they are, what they do and how customers may come into contact with them. If you are a one-man-band you can always introduce your pets instead!
Provide answers
Think about the kind of questions you are most commonly asked by potential customers, and use your social to answer one of these. This can also offer a way to demonstrate what makes your small business stand out from the crowd.
Share something funny
Whether it’s an actual event that’s happened to you during the working day, or a meme you’ve come across that relates to your line of business, making your followers smile can really help to build the relationship. Mind though to pitch your humour according to your audience.
Promote your blog
As well as keeping your website fresh, a regular blog offers you another source of content to share on your social. Don’t be afraid to share each blog multiple times, just write a new post to accompany it.
Show how your product or service is used
If people can see how your product or service works in real life it can really help to illustrate what makes your business stand out from the crowd. For example, if you sell fabric you might want to share photos of some beautiful cushions that are made from it, or if you are a dog trainer you might want to highlight one of your four-legged participants who has made real progress. Everyone loves a before and after story.
Ask for input
Make the most of the two-way conversation that social media provides and ask your followers for feedback. Be specific with the area where you would like input maybe you are thinking of adding further products to your offer or taking your service in a new direction? Note though that for this type of post to be a success you need to be prepared to really listen to the feedback you receive. And if it does help you shape your next steps, then don’t forget to let your followers know and thank them for their input.
Be a fountain of knowledge
Show your followers that you truly understand the arena you work in by sharing relevant information. It could be in the form of a book, a website or an interesting news story. By recommending other sources which in some way support your product or service you can boost confidence in your business.
Every now and then give your followers a gentle reminder of the positive impact they can have by simply sharing or liking your posts or tagging you when they have received great service. These small actions can really boost your social performance.
And finally, remember that social media really does require a two-way conversation if it is to work so make sure you reply to comments and take the time to thank your followers for their support.
Need a hand?
If you need support to build your social media presence SBG can help. Whether you need advice on content to upload yourself, or you would prefer to hand the task to us completely, get in touch.
