Four out of every five American corporations now leverage social media to help expand their client base and build relationships with customers. This is not limited to large companies with a wealth of resources – small businesses need social media now more than ever.
Level the Playing Field
With increasing competition comes the pressure to brand your business in a unique way. Sure, Brand X can spend millions on a national TV campaign. But smaller brands can level the playing field on social platforms. Organic social media is authentic and free. Sure there is ad spend on social media, and bigger brands will have a wider audience. But if you create compelling content and engage your audience, you cultivate loyal brand ambassadors, and stand out in the noise.
Set A Monthly Goal
Having a goal will help your team focus on what it needs to accomplish each month. For small businesses, your first goal should be to build your presence online. This starts with consistency and reliability. On Facebook for instance, start a system where you are posting twice per day, morning and afternoon, and stick to the same schedule of posting news articles, photos, inspirational quotes or whatever you deem most relevant to your audience. Staying true to that schedule for one month without making changes will allow you to analyze your analytics after four weeks and see what is working and what you need to swap out. Do not be afraid of going bold your first month – trial and error.
Stay Relevant
Small businesses can easily get stuck in a certain niche and never expand. While it is important to be an expert of your brand, you also need to pay attention to your competition. Taking the time to research other small businesses in your area to see what they are doing on their Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages will help give you a better idea of what works and what doesn’t. Monitoring how many fans and interactions your competition has will assist you in cultivating your goals. Also, posting relevant news to your industry will help with keeping you in the mainstream and establish yourself as more of an authority.
Small businesses have a big opportunity to use social media in a very intimate way to connect with their fans. Using media and exchanging dialogue can bring a familial feel to the business. Fans appreciate when brands appreciate them. This is your chance to create brand ambassadors that will sing your praise.
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