Social media is no longer an option for small businesses, it’s a must. Facebook isn’t just for uploading holiday pictures and selfies, it’s a place to find your audience, engage with them and sell yourself. Your consumers are out there, don’t ignore them! Social media enables us to understand our consumers, so how do we make the most of it?
Don’t Talk AT Your Following
It’s important that you aren’t just reeling off a tonne of information you think your following should read, because they won’t. Don’t talk at your audience, talk with them. Get involved in the conversation and truly engage with your potential customers. It’s a two way street and you’re unlikely to build a loyal following if you’re just shouting out all the time. Strike up conversation, listen and watch your follower base grow.
Get Involved With Twitter Chats
There are lots of scheduled and organised chats via Twitter which can be a great opportunity for small businesses. Usually held at the same time each week the chats are a chance to get talking to other businesses and potential customers. Find out if there are any scheduled chats for your industry area, and perhaps even offer to host the chat one week? It could bring you a great amount of traffic and boost your follower number too.
Get Creative With Video
Videos are particularly great for engaging Facebook users, and the more creative the better! Shares of your social content should be encouraged as this is a contributing factor for SEO too. Video content can always be made relevant to your business whether it be demonstration videos, behind the scenes snippets or even something funny. Don’t be scared to be humorous, it’s a great too for increasing engagement.
Always Use Imagery
Imagery is essential for capturing attention, and studies have previously shown that tweets that include an image receive up to 150% more engagement. Whether it’s a ‘Yay it’s Friday’ funny image or a funny picture from the office, think about what would get your attention and don’t be scared to try something different on your social channels.
You Aren’t A Robot
So quit acting like one! Don’t be boring on social media, you aren’t going to gain much from posting boring content. Your creative content should be inspiring, funny or emotional. Ensure that you social channels have a distinct personality and run with it.
An Offer They Can’t Refuse
Exclusive offers are probably one of the easiest ways to grow a following quickly, but you shouldn’t rely on this as growing your followers organically is important. If you’re a B2C, offer a 10% code off or something similar for ‘liking’ the page. If you’re a B2B then why not offer a competition to win a free consultation? There are lots of possibilities. Followers are then likely to stick around if they think they might be able to benefit from another future offer or competition, so make sure you treat your social friends well!
Hopefully these tips will give you a good starting point if you’re a small business diving head first into the world of social media!
Taylor is a freelance marketing manager for Barker Storey Matthews and has a range of marketing experience within both private and public sectors.