Top 7 Tips for Small Businesses on Social Media Marketing

Social media has valuable marketing potential in 2021, whether it's to boost sales or raise brand exposure.

Why then do 47% of small business owners believe social media to be of little importance?

Even though we can see how difficult social media marketing can be, social media is simply too important to ignore.

So, regardless of how much time, money, or business experience you have, here are some of our best social media recommendations to help make social media work for your business.

Social media is fundamentally all about how people interact and behave. After all, its main purpose in existence was to enable communication and the exchange of ideas and information.

Therefore, knowing and connecting with your target customer is the most crucial step you need to do if you want to maximize the potential of your social media strategy.

Let's learn how to accomplish that.

1. Establish your goals for social media marketing

Setting clear social media goals is the first step in adopting social media for business.

To help you categorize what you want to accomplish on social media, we advise that you adhere to the SMART goals structure. The abbreviation means:

• Specific — be clear and specific. For instance, instead of simply saying "improve engagement," specify by clearly stating the percentage and the platform.
• Measurable — set your objective figures so you know what you're aiming for.
• Attainable or aspirational — be sensible when establishing your objectives. The objective should test your capabilities while yet being reachable in order to strike a nice balance between attainable and aspirational.
• Relevant — your marketing objectives should line up with your main corporate objectives. Therefore, if your company's annual goal is to increase by X percent, your marketing objectives should also reflect that.
• Timely — create a timeframe for completing your tasks and establish a firm deadline to assist you gain motivation and drive. For each social media network, you might wish to set daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals.

To create your own SMART goal for social media, use the following template:

“Increase [goal] by [target percentage] on [social platform] by [timeframe/deadline] to [purpose]”

Try using OKRs, Google's go-to goal-setting methodology, if you want to establish a stretch goal. Unlike SMART goals, OKRs are intended to be challenging and not entirely attainable. OKR is short for:

• Objective — comes from the question "where do we wish to go?"
• Key Results — based on the question, "How will we pace ourselves to track if we are getting there?"

Here are some excellent examples of social media objectives and KPIs you might utilize for your company.

It will be easier to develop and carry out your social media strategy, track your success, and make wiser decisions if you have defined goals.

2. Recognize who your target audience is

The secret to successful social media marketing is knowing who you're writing for and where to put it.

65% of Instagram users, for instance, are under the age of 35. So publishing images on Instagram might not be your top priority if you run a small business that sells goods to an older clientele.

Your audience can be categorized in one of two ways: through psychographic or demographic segmentation.

Demographic segmentation is a technique for grouping your audience according to 'concrete' characteristics like age, gender, region, and socioeconomic level.

Contrarily, psychographic segmentation divides audiences based on more 'intangible' characteristics like values, beliefs, attitudes, and interests. Basically through their character.

A buyer persona, or more simply, a depiction of your ideal consumer, replete with an estimated income level and purchasing habits, can be created from these data points.

Consider the case when your ideal customer is a logical shopper in their mid-20s.

You might wish to provide more informative, factual content in light of this knowledge. For instance, surveys and promoting client evaluations on social media sites like Facebook might assist your customers in making a choice.

However, if your target audience is in their mid-20s and is prone to making impulse purchases, you can use scarcity strategies while posting on Instagram, such as saying "Sale expires tomorrow!" A more urgent call to action can be added by posting on your stories, which vanishes after 24 hours.

Making a buyer persona is a simple yet effective technique to boost your social media efforts and improve your strategic choices.

3. Select the right social media network

It's time to choose a social media platform now that you are aware of your target market.

There are several social media platforms available, and each one caters to a distinct population and has a different function.

For instance, Facebook has 2.4 billion active users per month with an average user age of about 40. However, according to recent data, Facebook users 65 and older are expanding at the highest rate.

Facebook users frequently "follow" or "like" company pages or groups in order to stay updated on new products and deals.

Make sure to communicate with your audience in an interesting but informative manner when blogging on this site.

On the other side, Instagram claims 1 billion monthly users, 500 million of whom use the Stories feature every day. For consumers who are 34 years old or younger, it is the preferred platform, and marketers love it.

It is easy to understand why Instagram is essential for the majority of businesses. 90% of users, according to the platform, follow at least one company account. About 72% of users claimed to have bought something on Instagram, either through shoppable posts or advertisements.

Microblogging, or "tweeting," is the main focus of Twitter, one of the first social networking sites. There are 550 million tweets posted each day by its 336 million monthly active users.

According to their own website, the vast majority of Twitter users are millennials or Gen Z-ers between the ages of 18 and 34 who are more "engaged and curious" than other platform users.

Compared to other top platforms, Twitter users spend 26% more time watching advertisements. Because of their high level of engagement, 53% of users are probably going to be among the first to purchase new goods from businesses.

On Twitter, consumers follow businesses to engage in dialogue with them, whereas users on other platforms follow corporate accounts for product updates and promotions.

Twitter is a terrific venue for informal two-way communication between you and your audience, from soliciting and responding to consumer issues to providing real-time feedback.

You should concentrate on having the greatest or most robust social media presence possible on just one or two platforms as a small business.

Examining which social media networks your competitors use to post frequently or engage with their audience most effectively is an excellent place to start.

4. Keep your brand consistent

Your posts must adhere to your brand in a world where social media is inundated with thousands of businesses for them to succeed.

What distinguishes your business or service is its brand. Consider these components to strengthen your company's brand:

• You want your company name to be memorable. Try to tie it to what you do or who you are, and keep it brief, sweet, and to the point. Excellent examples include Netflix, Disney, and Spanx.
• Your company's logo can be thought of as its "face." Choose a strong logo because customers are more likely to recall it than your name.
• A brand slogan is a succinct, pithy, and typically memorable statement that sums up what your business does or what it can provide. The catchphrases of both companies, "I'm lovin' it" by McDonald's and "Because you're worth it" by L'Oreal, are excellent examples of what their brands promise to provide to their customers.
• Having a consistent online presence throughout your website and social media is essential to building credibility. Just see how a firm's website and social media pages might influence your initial perception of this Swedish stationery company.
• The way you speak to your audience on your website or in social media is known as your tone. Your industry or line of work will determine your tone. A university, for instance, would probably have a formal tone, whereas a fast-food restaurant may have a more casual one.

5. Increase engagement and forge connections

Communication is key to fostering trust and loyalty among consumers, who are becoming more sensitive about the companies they patronize.

While it's true that more than 50% of sales are made through social media, users log into these sites mostly for entertainment and socializing.

It's crucial to ensure your content reflects the demands of your audience because 71% of consumers are more inclined to make a purchase from a business they follow on social media.

The 80/20 rule, which states that you should post 80% informative and engaging material and 20% promotional content, is a solid guide to follow.

However, as no two businesses are alike, only use this rule as a general suggestion.

Here are some suggestions to get you started if you need some help finding the right combination of educational, entertaining, and promotional content:

• Request feedback. If you are releasing a new product, you can ask your audience what they think of it.
• Encourage customers to take pictures of themselves using your product and tagging you on social media to increase user-generated content (UCG). Then, to express your gratitude, repost their pictures.
• Rewards: You can use giveaways and competitions to thank consumers and work with other small businesses. These are very well-liked by audiences and, simply by taking part, might introduce you to new clients.
• Be responsive because more clients are turning to Facebook and Twitter for help. In fact, 71% of your Twitter followers currently anticipate your reaction within an hour.
• Utilize various features. Instagram Stories may be used to present a more entertaining aspect of your company through behind-the-scenes videos. For live Q&As and product debuts, you might also use Facebook Live. A great way to engage millennials on social media is to post surveys, tests, and stickers.
• Use emotive language since, according to studies, social media posts that inspire amazement, comedy or wit, or enjoyment receive the most likes and shares. People desire to exchange enjoyable information with one another, elicit reactions from others, and demonstrate their excellent taste to friends.
• Customers want to know that there is a human behind the account, not simply an automated content robot, so make the experience more human. Emojis and GIFs can up to three times enhance interaction when used in conjunction with expressing who you are, sharing your story, and using common language.

The good news is that your level of success on social media doesn't always depend on your fan base.

Being a small business may actually be to your advantage since you can give your customers individualized attention.

6. Employ social media analytics

It's essential to evaluate your social media efforts so you can identify the postings that are successful and those that are unsuccessful. It will assist in ensuring that you are on track to meet your social marketing objectives.

Thankfully, the majority of social media platforms come with free analytics tools that let you keep tabs on your progress.

Depending on your objective, you should consider four primary categories of analytics: awareness, engagement, customer service, and, of course, return on investment (ROI). Here are some fundamental terminology related to analytics to help you get started:

Awareness

Consumers must first have confidence in you before they will buy from you. Whether you choose to use sponsored promotion or organic content, the metrics listed below can help you gauge your audience's size both now and in the future:

• Reach — the number of unique individuals who view your post.
• Impressions — this is the quantity of times your material has been viewed. Reach is often lower than impressions since even when a person views the identical content or advertisement twice, it still counts as two impressions.
• Organic — this is content that you did not pay for to be promoted.
• Paid — this is content that you paid to promote, like ads or sponsored posts.

Engagement

The term "social media engagement" describes how users of a platform engage with your content.

Metrics like likes, shares, comments, and retweets are used to gauge its success.

It can also be based on how many followers utilize your hashtag or rebroadcast your material for timed social media marketing.

The average number of likes, shares, and comments on your most recent posts serves as a gauge of engagement rate. It is divided by 100 multiplied by the number of followers you have. Depending on the industry, a small business should aim for an engagement rate of 0.8% to 4%.

Including hashtags in your campaign broadens its appeal and encourages participation. Coca-Cola’s #ShareACoke campaign is a wonderful illustration.

It sparked widespread customer involvement. Selena Gomez's photo holding a customized Coke even rose to the top of Instagram's most popular posts at the moment.

Consider the feelings of your viewers when writing content. It refers to how your audience feels about your brand as a whole.

It evaluates your post's mentions, tags, and comments to determine whether they are generally favorable or unfavorable. Knowing your feelings can assist you inform and, if necessary, modify your marketing strategy.

ROI

The most accurate indicator of your social media success. ROI enables you to monitor the financial impact of your marketing initiatives.

• The Click-Through Rate (CTR) on social media gauges how frequently users click on your call-to-action link.
• Cost-Per-Click (CPC) measures if the money you spent on your sponsored article was worthwhile.
• Measures the quantity of successful conversions or purchases achieved through social media.

7. Professional social media managers and automation tools

One-on-one social media marketing can be challenging, especially if your company is just getting off the ground and you have other priorities to attend to.

However, it's crucial to interact with your audience and update frequently. Your audience will simply lose interest if your social media accounts are silent for an extended period of time.

Fortunately, there are several automation solutions available to assist you in producing quality content and posting directly to your audience on the social media sites you use.

Let's examine the various categories of automation tools available today:

• Lead generation counts the number of visitors to your page or website and gathers their information.
• Social listening is a technology that can help you monitor what customers are saying on social media about your goods and business. This tool aids in understanding audience sentiment.
• Content creation — based on what is popular and advised for your particular market, these tools can assist you from the idea generating stage all the way up to the content development stage.
• Schedule content to be posted weeks in advance using platforms like CoSchedule.
• Monitoring — these technologies, which are frequently used as a prerequisite for social listening, collect data and keep track of important social media metrics like mentions, hashtags, competitors, and trends.
• Analytics are the tools that determine how successfully a social media campaign is performing in relation to your objectives.

The use of these content automation technologies is entirely free.

You can also find moderately priced plans for premium services, so you can deliver the greatest content without going overboard, depending on your particular business demands and your budget.

You could wish to hire a qualified social media manager if you're prepared to step up your social media game at this point.

Social media or content managers keep an eye on and oversee all of a brand's social media activity.

A smart manager will know how to use social media strategically to meet your company's goals, from audience building and customer service to campaign execution and content analysis.

However, their rate can range from $25 to $200 per hour, depending on their level of experience and the complexity of your social media marketing strategy.

You can enlist the aid of social media firms if you don't believe you'll have enough work to employ a full-time social media manager.

Social media consulting firms are committed to working with businesses to manage their social media presence across all platforms, grow their client base and brand recognition, and accomplish all of this in a smart and tactical manner to help you quickly reach your objectives.

In order to assist you win your market, these firms are highly adept and knowledgeable about capturing your brand voice and handling competition.

Currently, agencies bill by the campaign project and can charge anything from $15 per hour for a consultant with 1-3 years of expertise to $120 per hour for someone with a track record.

No matter where you are in your social media marketing journey, it's critical to realize that you may need to invest some money if you want your company to succeed on social media.

So set aside some money so that you can use automated technologies and social media marketers to simplify your life.

Why do I need social media marketing, and what is it?

Social media marketing is a fantastic tool for increasing brand recognition and connecting with customers.

Through five primary pillars, it aids companies in being found and reaching a wider audience:

• Having a plan that is precise, doable, and measurable.
• Publishing meaningful content that satisfies consumer expectations and demands.
• Genuinely listening to and interacting with an audience to establish a connection.
• Analyzing outcomes to attain goals and improve and make better decisions.
• Using social media techniques like ads to expand the brand

In 2021, there will be 3.8 billion social media users and hundreds of internet enterprises. Social media is no longer an option. It's a crucial tool if you want to compete in your market and be a real player in the game.

Here are five advantages that social media marketing may offer your company, keeping in mind our top 7 suggestions for attaining the pillars:

• Boost brand recognition — social media is a fantastic platform for people all over the world to learn about your brand.
• Humanize your brand — by letting customers know who you are and what your company stands for, you may win their loyalty and inspire trust in ways that conventional marketing techniques still find difficult to match.
• Create leads — consumers who are fans of your brand will buy from you. This assistance can lead to conversions and repeat business.
• Cost-effectiveness — considering everything discussed above, you can effectively open a social network account for nothing. Additionally, Facebook sponsored ad posting might cost as little as $2.50 each day.
• Maintain your progress — social media gives you access to ideas, audience involvement, and you can even see what your rivals are up to. All of this data and the built-in analytics can be used to refine your plan and continue to develop and better for your audience.

Conclusion

We've provided you with our top social media advice for small businesses in this article.

Let's sum up quickly:

• Use strong and precise goal-setting frameworks, such as SMART or OKRs, to specify your social media marketing objectives.
• Creating a buyer persona using demographic and psychographic information will help you better understand your target customer and guide your decision-making.
• To reach your goals, use the best social media platform for your target demographic.
• Maintain your brand's consistency to increase recognition, and to develop credibility and trust for your business.
• Utilize various features on each social media platform and pay attention to what your consumers are saying to forge connections with your audience and increase engagement.
• Utilize social media statistics, especially those pertaining to awareness, engagement, and ROI, to guide your strategic choices and, if necessary, adjust your approach.
• To advance your business and social marketing, use automation technologies or hire a qualified social media manager.

We hope you found this post helpful in your social media journey.