Social Media for your Small Business

Good relationships start with good communication. Great relationships keep that communication going. If you think about the way you are with your friends, the people that you care about and that care about you, you don’t talk AT them. You don’t constantly tell them about how great you are, because that would make you a bad friend. The fundamentals of a great relationship start with understanding. You keep in touch with each other, you have fun together, you engage in thoughtful conversation, you share your feelings & stories, you’re able to be yourself and most importantly you listen to one another. The same fundamentals you share with your friends, are the ones you should share with your audience as a small business or brand. And it’s those fundamentals that you should be thinking about when you are maintaining your social media. Because those are the platforms where you’ll be able to keep that communication going.

When thinking about social media, the most important thing is to make sure you’re not always talking about yourself. It’s important to provide a balance of content. Think about it in these four themes: Educate, Entertain, Inspire, and Promote. There should always be a sense of at least ONE of these themes when you are pushing out your content to your audience. And they should all be equally weighted, because like we said before, if you’re constantly telling your audience about how great you are, they’re not going to engage.

And when you’re able to invest in this long term relationship a few things happen. Your audience wants to engage, you earn their trust, they listen to you, they accept you for who you are, and they introduce you to their friends! And in term, for your own business, you increase awareness, you improve your perception & exposure, you boost SEO, and maybe you even gather some organic customer testimonials. So now you have a loyal community, and your brand has great value.

That being said, social media marketing can be scary, especially if you are just not sure where to begin. But once you get going, it becomes easier than you think! If you have ever wondered just how to get started and would love some guidance, you are not alone and we are here to help! Let’s get started and review a few simple steps to get you on your way.

Step One – What is your Goal for being on Social Media?

Social media marketing supporting small business can do wonders to promote your product or service. Also, remember that different channels work better than others depending on your product or service. So do some prior research on where you want to focus your efforts. If you are a retail business, Instagram can work wonders for promoting new items or announcing sales. If you work heavily with other businesses, LinkedIn might be the right move for you. You can also have more than one goal – but just be sure you know what you are hoping to achieve through social media before you even begin.

Step Two – Who is Your Target Audience?

Take a moment and think about who your target audience is? Who is your current customer? Furthermore do they have certain characteristics that you can pinpoint based on your product or service? If so, how could you reach this same customer base through social media? Some things to consider – do you know the age segment that you want to target, is there a specific nationality or geographic location that might work best for you? All this makes a difference when using social media advertising as you can set specific segmentation filters which is why it’s important to understand your audience even before you begin.

Step Three – Be active

If you want to develop a relationship with someone, it is always advisable to take the lead and to be active. Social Media are all about sharing and interaction, so ensure that your content is always fresh and that you engage in discussions with your customers on a consistent basis.