Are you looking to apply a new social media strategy to your digital marketing plan? Do you want to improve your social media marketing strategy for your small business?

You’re not alone.

In 2018, 77% of small businesses in the US used social media for marketing, sales, and customer service. Those that don’t have a social media presence got left behind in the dust, especially in a post-pandemic age. It means all businesses today use a variety of digital marketing plans.

Yet, not all are using the strategies and techniques that fit their business model best. In this guide, we’ll show you a few tricks to find success in your small business social media marketing.

Keep reading to learn what they are and how they can help you out.

1. Create Great Videos and Photos

Two of the top content types in digital marketing are images and videos. A social media post with a photo is 10 times more likely to get engagement. Meanwhile, videos generate up to over 1200% more shares than texts and images put together.

This is a key step, especially if you’re using YouTube or Instagram marketing. For small businesses that use Facebook or Twitter, it may not seem as important. When we go back to the statistics, you’ll see that photos and/or videos matter, no matter what the platform.

Thus, you want to make sure you get shareable photos and videos. If you’re busy, go for photos, since they are easier and faster to take. As photographers often do, try to look for interesting angles for your photos.

2. Set Clear Goals and Lead With Them

Setting your goals is a vital step in planning your digital marketing campaigns. However, it’s not as simple as writing down something like “more brand awareness.” You need to be more specific with what you’re trying to do.

Do you need to gather more leads or more conversions on your Facebook marketing strategy? Let’s say gathering leads is your goal, for example. The next step is to learn how to target core audiences.

If you want to improve sales on social media, you need to lead with sales points. Make sure you use your goals to guide you in the right direction and social media strategy. Also, you want them to be measurable, so you’ll know with hard numbers if the strategy is successful.

3. Engage With Your Audience on the Social Platforms

Don’t forget the “social” component of social media. It’s more than a platform where your target audiences are. It’s also a channel of communication and a way to connect with them.

Let’s say you’re holding a contest on social media. Don’t sit and wait for entries to come in. You also want to make sure that you’re engaging with the participants.

4. Keep Content Creation Simple

Content is king, especially in social media marketing. However, you don’t need to make content creation complicated. Small businesses can create fun content without having to jump through hoops.

The key is to use tools that simplify content creation. For example, use your phone instead of buying a DSLR camera for ephemeral photo content. You can get the vital resources online for free, like YouTube guides on how to take professional-level photos.

If you have trouble writing content, use tools like Grammarly to check your grammar. If you need quick photo edits, use Canvas or your phone’s photo editor. If you like to keep tabs on relevant websites, bookmark them or use Inoreader.

When you have a small business and you’re marketing on social media, you don’t need to get caught in a hectic schedule.

5. Offer Something Valuable and/or Relevant

The secret to successful small business social media marketing is to offer something of value. Big companies and brands can spend extra money to offer big sales or discounts. Some can even afford risky but high-payoff strategies.

Small businesses don’t often have that kind of privilege. The best thing small businesses can do is to be straightforward. Show what they can offer to customers right away.

As we mentioned earlier, you need to know what your goals are first. After that, you need to know what your customer wants. Put these two things together when you create your posts.

If your goal is to drive brand awareness, then make sure that your social media posts are more than posts. For example, you’ll hold a photo contest with your product on social media. The prizes can be a spa treatment for two.

6. Put More Focus on One Platform

Small businesses don’t often have the resources to hire a big team to help them out on various platforms. Thus, most small businesses tend to be present on only a few social platforms. That’s fine since you don’t need to be present on every social media site or channel.

It will help to have accounts on the various platforms. Your customers who prefer those platforms will appreciate your availability on them. However, this is useless if you don’t monitor those social channels to answer queries or post updates.

It’d be smarter to learn where your target customers spend most of their time and focus there instead. Use it as your major platform and let your customers and target audiences know.

7. Automate Your Posting Routine

Consistent posting and updating are one of the best ways for you to create an impact. It’s also a message for customers that let them know when you’re active or available. However, posting every day often can be exhausting.

You may even confuse which content you need to post sometimes. This can lead to mistakes like early sales announcements, information leaks, and more. Plus, you won’t have enough time to come up with new content and strategies if you spend it all on posting.

One of the best social media tips for small businesses is to use automation. Use programs or tools for managing your social media and content. Hootsuite and Social Media Poster are apps that will let you set a publishing date for your next posts.

Find Success in Your Small Business Social Media Marketing

That ends our tips for successful small business social media marketing. We hope you enjoyed reading these social media marketing tips. We also hope we helped you create a more effective social media marketing plan.

Do you want to see more content on social media marketing for small businesses? Explore our blog!