It's not enough to throw money at a problem and hope for the best. Social media is a tool that can be used to reach your target audience. These are the top social media marketing tips to help market your small business in 2023.
Social Media is a Great tool for Small Businesses.
You've probably spent time researching small business social media marketing. It's a good thing. There are currently 4.2 billion social media users. This is almost twice the number of active social media users than there were five years ago. These users spend, on average, 2 hours and 25 minutes daily on social media channels.
Social media isn't just for large businesses. 71% use social media for marketing their businesses, with 52% posting once per day. Online marketing is essential if you want to be competitive. Here are five reasons to use social media for business.
Attract More Customers
Business owners need help finding new customers. It doesn't matter how many hours you spend creating the perfect product or designing an eye-catching website; it's useless if people know about your existence.
Social media has made it easier for small businesses to compete with large companies. Using social media platforms to create engaging and exciting content, you can reach a larger audience and encourage people to buy from your brand.
Increase Brand Awareness
Your business will be more visible if you have a well-executed strategy for social media marketing. People will share your content with their friends if it is exciting and relevant. This will increase your visibility and exposure. Your brand will be more visible online, which increases the chances of people learning about it and making purchases.
Get to know your Customers Better
What do you know about your customers? Although you might have some basic information about your customers, social media can give you more detailed information about their needs, behaviors and interests. You can use this valuable data to improve your social marketing strategy and ensure you create content that appeals to your target audience.
We have compiled demographic data for all major social networks. It can be used to determine where your audience spends most of their time online. These demographics only provide an overview.
A Better Understanding of Your Competitors
Online competitors are everywhere. Period. Chances are they have already thought about their social media presence. You can get ideas for your strategy by looking at their work. Also, you'll be able to learn from them what works and what doesn't. Having information about your competitors is essential to create a social media marketing strategy that works.
Competitive analysis can help you find out what is working for similar businesses. Look beyond your primary competitors and take inspiration from successful businesses in other industries.
Establish Long-Term Relationships and Trust with your Customers
Social media is more than just posting pictures and funny captions. It's about building relationships and trust with your customers. These people will purchase your products and services and then tell their friends about them. It's crucial to maintain these relationships.
It will significantly help build long-lasting customer relationships by showing that you care about their experience with your Company. You will also see your content rise in social algorithms as more people share and like it. This will allow you to gain free exposure.
Remember that the average internet user has 8.4 accounts on social media. This means you can connect with them across different platforms for different purposes. Use Facebook to grow your network and generate leads and Twitter to provide customer service.
Let's look at the advantages of each platform below for small businesses.
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Which Social Media Platforms Work Best for you?
It's time to get on the internet and learn how social media can be used for small businesses. When researching the best tools and platforms to help build your social media strategy for small businesses, please refrain from assuming your audience will spend their time.
You might instinctively think that Instagram is better for Gen Z than Facebook. The data shows that almost a quarter (25%) of Facebook users are between 18 and 24 years old. Social media is not a priority if you sell to baby boomers. It should. Boomers will likely use Pinterest and Facebook as their top social media platforms. The fastest-growing segment of Facebook users is the 65+ crowd. You don't need to choose all platforms. Different social platforms channels can reach different audiences and achieve different business goals.
These are the top social media platforms that small businesses should use.
Facebook is still the most widely used social media platform, regardless of how you feel. Facebook boasts over 2.9 billion active monthly users and over 200 million businesses.
Facebook is an excellent platform for your Company because:
- Facebook users come from all walks of life.
- It's multi-use. It allows you to create a Facebook Page, run advertising campaigns across Meta products and track audience data. You can also create an ecommerce shop from one platform.
- It can serve as a one-stop shop. Facebook offers a complete customer service experience, from the first contact to the final sale.
These are the questions to ask if you are considering using Facebook for your Company:
- Who are you targeting? The most engaged users on Facebook range from 18 to 44 years old. Consider switching to another platform if your target audience is outside this age group.
- What are your business goals on Facebook? Facebook goals include increasing brand visibility through a Facebook page, selling products in Shop, or using Facebook Ad campaigns. Your goals will help determine if Facebook is right for you.
- What is your time commitment? According to research, posting 1-2 times per week is the best way to achieve results on Facebook. You should reconsider your resourcing strategy if you need more time.
Facebook is a generalist platform. Instagram allows you to be specific about your niche. You can be sure that most of your target audience, whether you are in the film, fashion, or food industries, is on Instagram.
Younger users dominate the platform. Most of them are aged between 18-34. Focusing your efforts elsewhere may be a good idea if your target audience includes baby boomers.
Instagram is an excellent platform for your Company because:
- It allows users to shop in-app.
- This platform is visual, which makes it great for businesses in fashion, beauty, travel and food.
- Instagram users are actively engaged - the average user spends 11 hours daily on the app.
These are the questions to ask if you are considering using Instagram for your Company:
- Is my brand visually appealing? Instagram can be a visual platform.
- Can We commit to posting regularly? Instagram, like any other social media platform, requires consistency. Posting to Instagram between 3-7 times per week is recommended.
- Can We find the time and resources to create engaging content for my business?
Twitter is another platform that appeals to a broad audience. Twitter ranks 9th in global website visits, boasting over 200 million active daily users. Twitter users are highly engaged shoppers. 16% of internet users between 16 and 64 report using Twitter to research brands, while 54% say they are likely to buy new products. Twitter's CPM rate is the lowest of all major platforms for advertisers.
Twitter is an excellent platform for your Company because:
- Conversational: Twitter allows you to have conversations with others. This could be between you, your customers, or other businesses.
- Twitter: Twitter allows people to check out the latest news and events. This is why journalists and news organizations love Twitter.
- Hashtag friendly: Hashtags are an excellent way for your content to be seen by people who are interested in the topic.
These are the questions to ask if you are considering using Twitter for your Company:
- Are you following your customers on Twitter? Twitter can be a great way to build relationships. However, if you don't have active customers on Twitter, it may not be worth your time.
- What type of content are you sharing? Twitter can be great for quick updates. However, a different platform might work better if you post images or long-form content.
- Can you commit to Twitter at least once a day? If you can commit to this, Twitter may only be the right platform for small businesses.
Pinterest has evolved from being a creative catalog platform to becoming one of the most potent visual search engines online. Pinterest users love to save, find new ideas, and use the platform to make purchase decisions.
Pinterest is an excellent platform for your Company because:
- Pinterest is a positive place: 88% of users agree that the platform makes them happy. Your brand's reputation and image can be improved by being present on positive platforms.
- The brain receives 90% of the information from images: Pinterest is the ideal place to share stunning visuals of your products and services.
- Reach new audiences: Pinterest is a visual search engine that allows you to be found by people actively searching for similar products and services.
These are the questions to ask if you are considering using Pinterest for your Company:
- Can you create enough visual content for Pinterest? Pinterest is a visual platform. High-quality images are necessary to make your pins stand out.
- Are you targeting the right audience on Pinterest? The Pinterest ad audience is 29.1% female and 15.3% male.
- Do your products have a Pinterest listing? 75% of weekly Pinterest users report that they shop regularly, so make sure to have something to offer.
YouTube
YouTube is the world's most widely used video-sharing social media network, with a potential reach of 2.56 million. YouTube is a great platform to promote products and services.
YouTube is an excellent platform for your Company because:
- Driving traffic to your website can be as easy as adding a link to your YouTube videos.
- Your SEO can be improved. YouTube videos are often found in Google search results. This can improve your SEO.
- Brand awareness can be built. YouTube is a vast platform that has a large user base. YouTube can be used to create engaging video content to increase brand awareness.
These are the questions to ask if you are considering using YouTube for your Company:
- Can you dedicate time to content creation? YouTube videos are more challenging to create than TikTok clips. A decent camera and editing skills are essential (or you can get help from someone who does).
- Do your videos have something to offer something new? YouTube is full of content, so it's essential to have something to add to the mix before starting a channel. What can I offer other businesses in my field that they don't have?
- Can you regularly commit to uploading videos to YouTube? It could be once per week, once per month, or once daily - consistency is essential.
Creating a Social Media Presence: 10 Tips
Social media is manageable for your company owners today. What do we know? According to the Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 93% of small businesses use Facebook, 79% use Twitter, and 71% use LinkedIn. However, being present and accounted for differs from having a social media presence.
It may seem simple on the surface. You can share some information about the Company and continue your day. However, growing social media takes time and effort. Many businesses, large and small, turn to automation for this reason.
We've compiled a list of helpful tips and best practices to help you grow your social media presence.
1. Use Consistent Photos, Headshots, and Logos
It is vital to maintain brand consistency across social media channels. It is essential to be easily identifiable. However, many small business owners will leave their profiles with blurred logos and poorly sized photos.
This carelessness can cause unnecessary confusion for customers and make you appear unprofessional. Instead of using any photos that you have or following a one-size-fits-all approach, create a consistent brand image across all social media networks. Then optimize the photos to fit each network's requirements.
Here are examples of minimum profile sizes (in pixels) required by major social networks.
- Facebook: 180x180
- Google+: 250x250
- Twitter: 400x400
- LinkedIn: 400x400
Let's face it. You can hire a professional photographer to get a great headshot. You can quickly create the right images with your smartphone using the essential editing tools available on the networks.
LinkedIn's photo tool allows you to rotate, reposition, and resize images. This ensures that no information is lost in cropping. You can also see a preview of your photo's look in different formats on LinkedIn.
2. Let the World know that you are on Social Media
It takes time to get found in organic searches. To get found in organic search, you must build a network and increase your reach over time. Friends, family, colleagues and customers are the best and most cost-effective places to begin.
You are not adding these contacts to expect a sale. You are not adding them to increase your number. You want to increase your reach and be top of mind with prospects (preferably) as much as possible. This is why it is essential.
- Eighty-five per cent of small business owners report that word-of-mouth referrals are their best source for new customers.
- 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family more than any other type of advertising.
Social media and word-of-mouth referrals go hand-in-hand. Even if they don't actively encourage your business or make recommendations, your family and friends have endorsed your Company by liking your page. This alone can help you expand your reach exponentially.
3. Make and Share Industry-Related Content
While it is natural to want to be a thought leader in your field, the content you create, curate, and share should not always revolve around your business. You'll lose your followers if you only make thinly disguised advertisements.
It's like a cocktail party. Nobody wants to listen to a guest who keeps talking about himself. Social media makes it easy to escape. There is no need to hesitate or feel hurt. You need to click "unfollow." Be a salesperson who is self-important and doesn't drive customers away. Think about your audience. What can you offer to satisfy their needs or pique their interest? You can stay relevant and top-of-mind by providing industry-relevant content.
Coca-Cola shared this post in honour of National Cheeseburger Day. Based on the number of shares and likes, quite a lot of people enjoy a Coke with their cheeseburger.
4. Make a Schedule and Post Content Regularly
Consistency with your posting schedule is one of the biggest things that could be improved in social media for your company. This can reduce post visibility and make getting traction on search engines difficult.
It may be because once you post, the content will remain there for the posting, and you don't have to respond quickly. This thinking must be revised because most people frequently check your profile page. Instead, your followers will see your content while scrolling through their Facebook feeds.
Content moves quickly, and there is a limited window of opportunity to connect with people. This is even more true if you only post occasionally. This is particularly true for Facebook, where engagement plays a vital role in determining which content appears in a user's news feed.
A social media editorial calendar can help you maintain consistency and keep your posts on time. It also allows you to create a comprehensive and integrated content strategy. Plan your posting schedule and fill in events and promotions relevant to your business. You can also brainstorm content ideas that relate to your industry and will be of value to your readers.
To determine the time it will take to complete each post, it is a good idea to monitor how far you have come from your initial idea to execution. You're more than just coming up with topics. You're also researching, writing, editing, and finding the appropriate images. This entire process can take quite a while.
5. Visual Content: Make the Most of it
Visual content is essential. According to marketers, 82% believe images are essential to social media goals and content optimization. 52% of them claim that video content has the highest ROI. Despite this, visual social media networks are rising in popularity. Instagram boasts over 800 million monthly users, and Pinterest has 100 million.
You can use images and videos in many different ways. This video promo from Taco Bell was viewed over 66k times. You could use videos to demonstrate a technique or to promote a charity cause. Or, ask your followers to upload videos of your products working as testimonials. Videos and images can be shared across all social media marketers' channels.
6. Cross-promote Content Across All Channels
Cross-promote your social media profiles whenever you can. It's a good idea to link your profiles. Some networks even provide social icons. Also, add icons to your website and links to your email signatures. You can also include social commerce information in your printed and content marketing materials.
Cyber Infrastructure Inc. makes it easy for blog readers to share content by providing a widget that allows social icons to appear at the top and bottom of our blog as you scroll. Next, you can share content across social networks, but remember that each social network is unique. What works on Instagram may not work on LinkedIn. The same goes for Twitter. This means you can share similar content across all these platforms. It would help if you adapted the presentation to fit the network.
Twitter is an example. Twitter's 140-character limit can make it challenging to write an excellent headline for Facebook. By presenting the content using a Twitter-friendly title, you can avoid losing important information that could impact your click-through rates. We recently published a blog post, "The Best Online Learning Resources for Tight Budgets." We introduced the post to Facebook by asking questions and setting up a solution.
Bonus Tip: You can create custom tracking URLs for multiple platforms to measure engagement.
7. Don't be Afraid to Advertise
Although avoiding paid ads on social media platforms is normal, paying to play doesn't necessarily mean you should. Facebook and LinkedIn offer more data than you could imagine. This makes it possible for you to run highly targeted, actionable campaigns.
You can now go beyond demographic- and location-based marketing to explore the world of interest-based or behavioral targeting. Targeting look-alike audiences is possible, or you can create your audience using your contacts. Sponsor posts on LinkedIn or look into the many advertising options available on Facebook. You can start as low as $5 per day.
8. Keep Up-to-Date with Twitter's Latest Trends
Twitter offers bite-sized information for keeping up with industry trends and breaking news. Follow local Twitter accounts if your business is location-based. Try to aim for at least 20. You can think of local celebrities, news anchors and businesses you support.
Trending hashtags can be used to your advantage. Hashtags help to organize content and make it easier for people to search on Twitter. Clicking on a hashtag will take you to all posts with the keyword. Use restraint and keep hashtags relevant to the point.
Starbucks shared this image, inspired by fall, with the hashtag #BlackAndWhiteMocha to promote their seasonal drink.
9. Gain Insight Into Your Facebook Posts
You must monitor your social media posts results to improve your presence. Facebook's Insights allows you to view a quick overview of your strategy with statistics such as page likes and engagement. This allows you to see how far your reach is and also shows which aspects of your strategy are performing well so that you can make adjustments.
10. Automatization is Not to be Dismissed
Automation sometimes conjures up the most friendly of visions. Automation sounds detached and distant. Automation can save you time if done correctly. Your social strategy networks need nurturing. You can only sometimes give your friends the attention they deserve. Automating social media conversations is a great way to start conversations you can then join and carry on with your own.
Small Business Social Media Management Tools
If you're like many small business owners, there are many hats you can wear. You might be the CEO, CFO, or top salesperson. Marketing is often overlooked.
Even if you aren't a professional marketer, it doesn't mean you can't use social media to market your company effectively. With the right tools, you can save time and money by using social media to reach your audience.
Hootsuite
We may be biased, but Hootsuite is especially useful for small-business owners. Hootsuite is a social media management platform. It allows you to track and post to your social media channels. This will help you save a lot in the long term.
It also provides suggestions on when and what content to post. It's an easy-to-use platform accessible to people with little time and who don't want to spend too much time crafting the perfect strategy.
We think one last Hootsuite feature is useful for time-strapped small business owners.
What About Native Tools?
We understand that spending on another monthly subscription may not be feasible for small businesses, especially when there are free tools. However, these native tools have limitations.
Let's take, for example, the message you wish to send on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Using most social media management tools, you must post the same message on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn three times. However, with Hootsuite, you can create one message and send it to all three networks simultaneously. This means you can spend less time on social media and more time growing your business.
The free tools these networks provide do not give you much insight into how social media is performing. Hootsuite Analytics allows you to track the engagement of your tweets and posts and adjust your strategy accordingly.
If you are serious about using social media to grow your business, investing in a tool such as Hootsuite could save you money over the long term.
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Wrap-Up
Although growing a company for social media presence is possible, it can take work. These 10 tips should help you get through the challenges. Cyber Infrastructure Inc is here to help you if you're in a pinch.
