How to Use Social Media for Your Small Business

Today, practically everyone is present on at least one or two social media platforms. 

Facebook alone has 2.8 billion active monthly users, while platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Linked In, and TikTok each boast several million more users! 

All this to say that social media is more popular than ever before! 

Therefore, brands that use social media have the opportunity to reach their massive, potential untapped audiences using both free, organic marketing and paid PPC advertising. 

Below, we’re taking a look at social media strategies and how your small business can start today with creating and building a social community of its very own! 

Being Active

If you’re dead-set on social media success, it’s no longer enough to create a branded social media profile. 

Instead, your small business must be regularly active, posting content and engaging with your followers. 

Therefore, it can be beneficial to use tools like Buffer or Hootsuite, which allow you to seamlessly schedule posts and content so it can be delivered at consistent times, each day, week, or month. 

However, aside from posting regularly, it’s important to regularly engage with your followers by liking their posts, reading their comments, and providing feedback whenever your brand is mentioned. 

Being active on social media keeps your brand in front of potential customers as much as possible. It also works towards helping consumers view your brand as genuine and authentic rather than just a stone-faced social profile. 

Creating a social media calendar is another excellent way to ensure that you’re posting and being active consistently throughout the year.  

Offline Marketing

It might seem obvious, but to grow your social media success, you’ll need to be active in terms of promoting yourself both on and offline. 

In other words, on top of being active and engaged on the platforms of your choice, you’ll also need to get to work, spreading the word about your business and actively promoting yourself through word of mouth. 

You can do this by handing out custom business cards or simply telling your friends and family about your business and asking them to like, share, and follow your social activity. 

Essentially, the more people that know about your brand, the less work you’ll have to do trying to find new followers. 

It can be daunting to talk about yourself at first, especially when you’re just starting, but your social media success is reliant on both your on and offline marketing efforts. 

So don’t be scared to spread the word!

Online Events

There’s no better way to generate a buzz about your brand than by hosting online events, giveaways, discounts, and other promotions. 

Even if an individual isn’t interested in the products or services offered by your brand, when they hear about a free giveaway or a discount, they’re much more likely to check you out! 

In social media marketing, loss aversion is a genuine psychological factor that can help drive higher engagement rates, more likes, and more shares! 

In other words, running limited-time events or giveaways that “won’t last long” is a great way to increase engagement from your followers. 

How To Attain Social Media Success in 2021

In today’s digital landscape, social media is one of the best ways brands can connect with their target audience. 

But to be successful, you need to create and implement a social media strategy to help you connect with your audience. 

Creating a publishing calendar, promoting your social media offline, and hosting events are only a few simple strategies you can use today. 

You can also use many other tricks to help gain new followers, increase engagement levels, and grow your online presence!

This article was contributed by Doyle James