In these days of digitization, social media serves as the lifeblood for brands. Connecting with prospects and clients may become challenging without social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and many others. If coherent strategies are implemented at the right time, social media can give you much success in no time.
The immense success of small businesses through social media is an astute example – from catering to cleaning, small businesses have used social media intelligently to grow their business and beat big businesses.
Boosting your small business through social media is not difficult. All you need are the correct tactics for reaching the target audience. Let us learn these tactics today:
1. Don’t Jump Directly, Plan Your Objectives!
Jumping directly into social media with zero objectives is useless. Many business owners wish to have a unique identity on social media. They use all the latest features, spend ample time, put great efforts but get no result. It is because they are directionless and have failed to set objectives.
To get the desired outcomes, you should follow the below steps:
- Define your objectives
- Create a social media plan to achieve these objectives
- Pick up the latest features for attaining success
- Evaluate your performance every month
For instance, you have just started a small business that sells tech hardware such as routers and coaxial cables, and you want to attract new customers. Then your digital marketing objectives should be to reach 5000 followers in 2 months, setting a deal with at least 2 influencers, and posting 3 short videos every month. Once you set objectives, it becomes easier to achieve them.
2. Build Authority
As a small business owner, you must have a limited budget for marketing. You should invest your efforts and time in building your authority. For example, if you are a tech company, invest in providing reliable tech info to your clients. Apple has credibility when it comes to technology; the Wall Street Journal is considered reliable for news, and SEMrush is considered the last word on SEO.
Therefore, to gain social acceptance, you should build authority. This authority has the power of turning you into a celebrity. When you have good authority on social media networks, you can use it for endless opportunities.
Tip:
Create a business profile, use a professional logo, and grow your followers. Apart from your business page, focus on your personal page as well. If you get a huge number of followers, diverting them towards your business page will be easier.
3. Initiate Conversation
Do you know how Facebook ranks your posts? The Facebook algorithm gives importance to posts that have greater interactions. No matter how many posts you do each month, if there are zero interactions, Facebook will never rank it. Ultimately, prospects will be unable to see your post. Thus, be interactive in making your posts; instead of being pushy.
For Example, if you have a clothing business, ask questions in your posts like what are your favorite colors for summers? Take suggestions, give choices, and then ask which one is the best? Similarly, respond to your clients quickly when they ask queries.
4. Stay Unique
Try to stay as unique as you can. Be yourself. Create a distinctive identity and let people remember you. The same goes for your brand. Tr to create a unique proposition for your brand. You can differentiate your brand by offering a unique value such as upcycled clothing, or you can offer a unique service such as clothing subscription boxes customized according to your style and preferences.
5. Focus on One Platform
Instead of working haphazardly, you should focus on the platform where your target audience is present. It solely depends on the nature of your business. For instance, if your small business is related to clothing, jewelry, or gadgets, you should focus on Facebook and Instagram. Food businesses should work hard on Instagram, whereas B2B businesses should focus on LinkedIn. However, it does not mean that you do not have a presence on other social media platforms. Remember that having an active profile is mandatory on all sites.
6. Manage Time Smartly
Social media sites have gazillions of pages, and research takes a lot of time. Do not spend all of your time on research. Plan your activities and make posts according to time. In this way, your potential clients will see consistency in your efforts.
7. Use Visuals For Better Outcomes
Though visual-oriented platforms are present, your target market may not be present there. So, use visuals on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Research shows that people prefer watching videos rather than spending time reading content. So, make small and catchy videos.
8. Hire an Expert
Though small businesses have a limited budget, spending in good areas might reap fruitful benefits. Social media is one of them. Contrary to offline marketing tactics, social media strategies might take your business to a higher level. So, invest in hiring a social media expert. You can also consider paid advertisements if you have the budget.
9. Arrange Contests
The key to success for small businesses through social media is customer engagement. Work hard to create enthusiasm and interest among the clients. Arranging small contests is a common trend on social media. It also helps in making your business viral besides attracting present clients. If you have a food business, arrange competitions like the best recipe, best food picture, quick recipes, and so on.
10. Stay Updated
Whether we talk about Facebook and Instagram or Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, every social media site is coming with new features all the time. Instagram Stories and Reels are the latest features of Instagram these days. Knowing the hot features helps us in following the trends, thus keeping the business name in the limelight. You should know every feature of the social media site, which is your primary focus. Staying updated with the features of other sites is also a plus point. Regularly read blogs, watch YouTube videos, and follow social media experts to get all these updates.
Conclusion
In short, it is vital to arm your business with exceptional social media tactics. To stand apart from the horde of competitors, having an active social media profile, arranging contests, using visuals, staying updated, and focusing on customer engagement is mandatory. Above all, a social media expert can also boost your business identity in no time.
Nouman provides ghostwriting and copywriting services. His educational background in the technical field and business studies helps him in tackling topics ranging from career and business productivity to web development and digital marketing. He occasionally writes articles for Shireen inc.