Marketing for small businesses can be challenging. There are so many factors to consider, from the timing of your posts to the type of content you provide. With that in mind, we wanted to share some tips with you on how to optimize your efforts when it comes to social media marketing and make sure that you’re getting the most out of your time spent on social media.
Social media is a great place for business owners because they have direct access to their audiences and potential customers as well as the opportunity for free advertising through sponsored posts or ad campaigns. You don’t need an expensive marketing degree or years of experience; these 19 quick marketing tips will help get you started! Keep reading below for more information:
1.Engage with customers by asking questions on social media posts
This is a great way to engage with potential customers and build your brand’s reputation. You can choose from two different options of engagement questions:
The first option provides you with the opportunity to reach out directly to an audience who has shown interest in an aspect of your business or niche by simply asking a question. The second option allows you to promote a contest by asking people to tag friends in a post or use a specific hashtag when responding.
The key to success with this tip is choosing the right questions for your audience.
There are a few ways to do that:
- Ask engagement questions that aren’t too personal or related to an individual’s personal life. This puts your readers at ease and makes them more likely to answer.
- Ask questions that aren’t easily answered by a simple Google search; these are the ones your readers will be willing to answer because they’ll think they’re being exclusive.
- Use questions or surveys that ask for an opinion and get people involved with your brand. People are more apt to participate if it feels like they’re being heard.
Posting pictures every once in a while will get people more involved with your campaign or contest and it’s always a nice visual balance to the content you provide. This can be done by holding contests that require users to post their best photos on Instagram, tagging @instagood when posting an image of your product, or providing a before and after picture of a customer’s home.
Let your followers know that you are reading, listening to, or watching what they have to say by using the @mention or @reply options in Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. This will help build trust with customers and will encourage them to continue connecting with your brand.
2.Use hashtags to increase your reach
Hashtags are used heavily on social media and can increase the number of people that see your post if it’s relevant to a popular hashtag. Choose hashtags in your niche or related to an upcoming contest, event, holiday, etc. If you’re using Instagram, be sure to use at least two hashtags in your posts because they’re more likely to get added to a “popular” list if they have more than one.
3.Post at off-peak hours for more engagement
The best times to post on social media are usually on the weekends; Tuesdays through Thursdays can be less successful due to work obligations. But more importantly, post on the hours that you can commit to consistently being active and engaging with your audience.
4.Build relationships with influencers in your industry or niche
Influencers are people in your industry or niche that have a large following on social media. This can be musicians, artists, bloggers, bloggers attract, etc. They usually audiences by being relatable and providing value to them in some way such as entertainment, education, or entertainment (if they’re comedians).
5.Create contests that are fun and engaging
This can be accomplished in a few ways, but the key is keeping it interesting for your audience:
Offer prizes that are related to the contest theme. This could include tickets to an event, merchandise with your brand’s logo on it, or discounts to customers. Make sure participants have fun by asking them to use a specific hashtag for a chance to win. Make sure there are enough prizes or a large grand prize for the contest to be worth the time invested by participants.
6.Try posting content that is relevant to your industry or niche in order to attract people who are interested in what you offer.
Each social media platform has different types of posts that do well, but it’s important not just to post about what you want to advertise. Post about what your customers want to see or share pictures of things that they’ll be interested in.
7.Make sure all of your contact information is correct on every page of your website – this includes phone number, email address, and mailing address.
It may seem obvious, but it’s easy to miss a step when you’re working on different aspects of your website at once and it’s important that the address, phone number, and email you provide are listed on every page.
8.Create a social media strategy before implementing any changes so you know how to best use it for marketing purposes.
It’s important that each platform is treated differently because they all have ways of being discovered and interacted with by customers. Research the different platforms and demographics involved in using them in your niche or industry, then create a plan that has specific
9.Engage with other companies and individuals by commenting, liking, or retweeting their posts.
Use the @mention and/or @reply options in Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to engage with customers that are talking about your industry or niche (this includes companies). Being active on social media not only shows potential customers that you’re a real brand they can trust, but it also gives people a chance to interact with you directly.
10.Pick at least 3 platforms to focus on and then use 80% of your time on those 3 platforms.
Once you’ve chosen the social media sites that are best for reaching your target audience, put a lot of effort into developing a presence and following there; it’s not enough to just create an account. It takes time, energy, and consistency to engage with others and grow a following – but the payoff of doing so is worth it.
11.Create a video about your business or industry and post it on YouTube
Update the video regularly with events that are happening or new things that you’re offering to customers. This helps to keep your business relevant and up-to-date for potential customers, which is helpful if you have a very specific niche.
12.Post pictures that engage with customers by using engagement triggers in each description
For instance, if you’re posting pictures of a new storefront that you’ve just built, mention the phrase “Open for business” to see how many times it’s used in comments. This gives you an idea of what your audience is most interested in and what kind of content they’d like to see more of from your company.
Engagement triggers are things that cause viewers to feel emotion when they see them – usually happiness, surprise, humor, and fear (in order of effectiveness).
13.Post from a variety of places to increase your reach
Use different platforms for posting content and ask friends or employees who follow you in the industry to share those posts with their audience. It takes time for customers to find you, but when they do, make sure that it’s easy for them to connect with you.
14.Use hashtags and keywords wisely
This can be tricky. For instance, a picture that has the phrase #Walmart and #Retail in the description will show up on Twitter feeds for people who search those phrases – but it won’t necessarily show up in any other context.
15.Create a call-to-action on every social media post that asks customers to interact with you in some way.
A “call-to-action” is a phrase or word that leaves potential customers wondering what they can do next. A typical example of this would be: “Join us on June 21st for our grand opening! More details will follow, so check back often!” There’s no pressure to buy or attend here, but there is a sense of urgency to get the information as soon as possible.
16.Be mindful of the time you post – don’t post at 3 am!
The best times to post are on the weekend and afternoons. This is when people aren’t rushed at work, but they’re still sitting at their computer or phone. If someone sees a post from a business that’s engaging with customers around lunchtime or early in the morning, they’ll see that businesses care enough about them to reach out at those times.
17.Share pictures of customers using your products or services.
Get permission from the customer and tag them in the picture (if you use Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram) so their friends or family members can see that they’re doing business with a reputable brand. This also gives you an opportunity to ask them for feedback on how you can improve your product or service.
18.Use an email newsletter to stay in touch with customers
Create a monthly or weekly newsletter that highlights the newest products, sales, and news about what’s happening at your business. People love receiving these things from companies and they’re one of the best ways to keep people updated on what’s happening.
19.Ask people to share your page with their friends and family
Offer a discount or free product if someone can get a certain number of people to “like” or follow your business page. This encourages customers to spread the word about you on social media, which increases the chances that they’ll run into someone who could buy your products.
20.Encourage customers to leave reviews about your business
Ask them to write a review on places like Facebook or Yelp, then highlight the section of your online store that has these reviews – this can help increase conversions when people are searching for certain items and they see that other customers have already used it successfully.
21.Post content with visuals or videos if possible
Starting a video on YouTube and sending people to that page instead of the profile is a great way to get them to watch an entire video. Leveraging visuals in your marketing strategy will help you stand out from competitors who rely strictly on written content, images, or videos for their marketing efforts. This takes time and effort, but it can pay off when customers see that you’re willing to go the extra mile.
22. Reply to comments on your social media pages within 24 hours
This isn’t a great idea if you have an army of customer service people who already take care of this, but if not it’s important to let them know that you appreciate their business. It can be hard to find the time to do this but try posting at off-peak times or set aside specific days when you’ll reply to every single comment that comes in. This is a great way to show people that you value and care about their opinions – it gives them confidence in your business when they know that someone’s listening.
Note: Responding publicly may not always be appropriate as some comments are negative and may result in an argument online; however, sometimes these arguments can lead to positive outcomes like increased awareness of the issue or company being discussed)
It’s important to have a strategy that will help you increase your marketing reach and social media engagement. Social Media 2021 has compiled some of the most helpful tips for small businesses in this blog post, including how to use hashtags to get more followers on Instagram or Twitter. If you need any additional advice or assistance, we are happy to offer our services as an SEO company. Our team is always willing and able at providing guidance when it comes to digital marketing strategies! We hope these quick marketing tips were useful- please let us know if there’s anything else we can do for you!
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