Social media for small business owners can be a valuable tool for building brand awareness and driving growth. However, you need to do more than just create an online profile and post a few times a week to succeed on social networking sites.
If you want to start seeing results and properly utilize social media for small business owners, it’s important to have an optimized strategy.
In today’s guide, we’ll discuss the steps to creating a social media strategy and suggest the best tools to maximize your results.
Let’s get started!
5 Reasons Why Small Businesses Need Social Media Marketing
From improving brand-customer relationships to gaining a competitive edge, there are several important reasons why small businesses need social media.
Let’s discuss these below:
#1. Improve ROI
Unlike traditional marketing tactics, social media campaigns offer more cost-effective and targeted solutions that can help improve your return on investment (ROI).
Additionally, these platforms come with built-in analytics features that track social media KPIs in real-time, allowing you to measure your current performance and adjust your strategy as needed.
Moreover, one of the greatest advantages of social media for small business owners is that signing up is free. So, even if you don’t have a large budget, you can establish your brand and online presence right away.
#2. Increase in Brand Awareness
For small business owners, social media is also one of the most effective ways to build brand awareness and reach new customers.
In fact, according to Gitnux, 61% of small businesses already use these platforms for brand awareness, with 88% finding this method successful. Aside from this benefit, a study by Jones et al. (2015) also found that businesses on social media have much better chances of reaching global customers.
However, it’s important to maintain a strong and active social media presence to build awareness successfully. This involves posting regularly, keeping your audience engaged, and familiarizing yourself with each platform’s unique algorithm to boost discoverability.
#3. Improve Brand-Customer Relationships
Social media for small business owners allows real-time interaction and communication, which can greatly improve brand-customer relationships. Plus, consistently engaging your followers creates a sense of community, which can lead to better brand loyalty and customer retention.
#4. Gain a Competitive Advantage
With social media, small business owners can reach a broader market, engage their audience, and promote their products more effectively, giving them an advantage over the competition.
Plus, 82% of consumers already use these sites to discover and purchase new products, so you have better chances of generating leads and converting followers into customers on social media.
#5. Enhance Customer Service Efforts
Social media for small business owners has become necessary to meet the demands of consumers and improve customer service efforts. According to Microsoft, 66% of consumers now have higher customer service expectations from brands.
Unfortunately, providing support at all hours of the day is impossible, especially for small businesses with a limited team and budget.
With social media, however, you can easily streamline your customer service efforts. For instance, if you have an Instagram business profile, you can add a Contact button to your profile so customers can reach you via email or phone. This will allow you to address concerns more efficiently without having to open the app.
You can also use social media AI tools to provide automated responses until you are able to go online.
How to Develop a Successful Social Media Strategy in 7 Steps
Now that you know the importance of social media for small business owners, it’s time to create a marketing strategy that will lead you to success.
Here is our seven-step process for developing an effective social media marketing strategy:
#1. Set Goals
The first step in properly utilizing social media for small business owners is to set goals to guide their efforts. Your objective could be one of the points we discussed above, such as increasing brand awareness, or a completely separate one, like driving traffic to an external website.
Having a solid idea of your objectives will help you track your progress and your strategy’s success. If you’re having trouble defining your goals, consider conducting a social media SWOT analysis to help identify weaknesses and potential opportunities.
#2. Analyze Competitors
The next step in creating a social media plan for small businesses is to analyze your competitors. By performing competitor analysis, you can determine where they are performing well and discover any weaknesses you can target.
Make sure to keep track of the platforms they use, the kind of content they create, and how effective they are at engaging your target audience. This way, you can mirror the successful parts of their strategy and avoid their mistakes.
If you don’t have any direct competitors on these platforms yet, using social media for small business owners can give a general idea of how other businesses are marketing themselves. This will help steer your social media strategy in the right direction and ensure you appeal to your audience.
#3. Understand Your Target Market
To effectively use social media for small business owners, it’s crucial to have a thorough understanding of your target market. After you identify your primary audience, you can develop detailed buyer personas to guide your strategy and create more targeted content.
To determine the best way to market to your audience, you can ask the following questions:
- What topics are they interested in?
- What social media platforms are they on?
- Why do they use social media?
You can also leverage social media analytics tools to learn more about your audience and how they interact with your content.
#4. Develop Your Content Strategy
Once you have enough information about your competitors and target audience, it’s time to develop your content strategy. A solid strategy is key to the success of any social media marketing plan, as it will guide all content you create.
Common content types on social media include:
- Text-based posts
- Images
- Infographics
- Blogs
- Live streams
- Videos
- User-generated content
Regardless of the format you choose, make sure that your content aligns well with your brand voice and platform objectives to help you attract the right audience.
You also need to develop a consistent posting schedule to keep your feed active and your audience engaged. Fortunately, there are social media scheduling tools that you can use to easily create and schedule content in bulk, helping you save time and effort in content creation. We’ll discuss these tools later in the article, but for now, let’s go back to developing a strategy.
#5. Choose the Right Platforms
Social media sites cater to different demographics, so be sure to choose the right platform.
Here’s a quick overview of the top platforms you should consider in your strategy:
As the largest social media site with a diverse demographic, Facebook is a great starting point for small businesses. The app supports a wide variety of content formats, from text-based posts to video content, so it’s perfect for businesses new to social media.
Plus, it’s easy to get started on the platform; all you need to do is create a Facebook page, and you’re all set. You can even start running ads using the Ads Manager to increase your reach.
X/Twitter
The X/Twitter algorithm and the app’s primarily text-based posts make it perfect for communicating with followers in real time. If you plan to set up an account for customer concerns, then X/Twitter is an excellent choice.
Instagram is popular among the younger crowd and is best for businesses that want to focus on visual content. While the app mostly has visual content, there are a variety of content formats you can use to engage your audience, including Instagram Carousels, Reels, and Stories.
Instagram is also a great platform for content collaborations due to the many influencers on the platform.
TikTok
With its potential for virality and unique algorithm, TikTok is arguably the best social media platform for small businesses. The platform is also largely focused on short-form video content and live streams, so it’s the perfect avenue to connect with and engage your target audience.
Moreover, you can easily set up a TikTok Shop on the platform, where you can directly post and sell products. Aside from Shops, there are several ways to monetize your content on TikTok so that you can create additional revenue streams.
As the leading social networking platform, LinkedIn caters to companies and professionals alike, making it the best platform for B2B marketing. Whether you are looking to find potential hires or build credibility as an expert in the industry, LinkedIn is the place to be.
After choosing a platform, make sure to actually use it outside of just posting content. Familiarizing yourself with the app and its features will help you navigate the platform effortlessly. This will also make it easier for you to leverage each platform’s unique features to your advantage.
That said, you don’t have to select only one site; you can sign up on all these platforms to target a larger market. Just make sure you can manage multiple social media accounts while still running your business.
#6. Build Your Audience
The next step in building your marketing strategy should be to determine how you can build an audience on your chosen platforms.
There are several ways to do this, but one of the most effective methods is through influencer marketing. Influencers are seen as credible figures in their respective niches, and they often have a dedicated following likely to purchase the products they promote.
With collaborations, you can introduce your brand to an audience likely to be interested in it and benefit from the reputation of the said influencer.
Another way to build your audience using social media for small business owners is to encourage user-generated content (UGC) from your current following. UGCs are viewed as authentic testimonials and can be highly effective at attracting new followers.
#7. Monitor Analytics
Monitoring analytics and performance allows you to assess the effectiveness of your strategy, making it crucial for small business owners on social media. If you find that your current content isn’t performing well, then try experimenting with different formats or posting times to see if it improves your results.
You can also take note of your top-performing posts to determine similarities in their content or style and then replicate these in your future posts. However, remember that what’s working for your strategy now may not work tomorrow, so check your social media analytics regularly and adjust your strategy accordingly.
The 3 Best Social Media Management Tools for Small Businesses
To help you successfully navigate social networking platforms, here are three social media management tools you can use:
#1. Publer
Trusted by over 350,000 brands and marketers, Publer is the best social media management tool for small businesses. With our tool, you can easily plan and schedule social media posts and manage your online presence.
Meanwhile, our app’s robust analytics feature monitors all your KPIs and provides comprehensive insights into your audience demographics. You’ll also find information about your audience’s activity on different platforms, as well as the best times to post on each social media site using this tool.
If you’re worried about the time-consuming content creation process, you can use Publer’s AI Assist tool to speed up workflows and ensure that you consistently create high-quality content. Meanwhile, our built-in competitor analysis tool can help you stay ahead of the competition and keep your strategy optimized.
#2. Later
Later is another social media management tool that supports multi-platform integration. Some of its notable features include post-scheduling, a user-friendly interface, and a convenient Link in Bio tool.
With Later, you can find collaboration opportunities, discover new content ideas, and conveniently store all your assets in their media library.
While the app can connect to multiple social media sites, Later is most optimized for Instagram. This means it may not be the best option for small business owners who want to get the most value from their social media management tool.
Check out how Publer compares to Later in our in-depth comparison guide.
#3. Buffer
Buffer is a feature-packed management platform that can streamline your social media workflows. The app allows cross-posting across multiple platforms, provides comprehensive analytics insights, and offers convenient scheduling options.
You can also set up and manage new social media campaigns right on the app. However, Buffer charges per social media site, so the more social networking platforms you use, the more expensive it will be.
Can’t decide between Publer and Buffer? View each platform’s pros and cons in our comprehensive review.
3 Expert Tips for Small Business Social Media Marketing
If you’re just starting out on social media, keep these expert tips in mind to successfully grow your brand:
#1. Choose Trends Strategically
Jumping on trends can be a great way to increase your visibility on the platform, but you don’t have to participate in every viral challenge, especially if it has nothing to do with your brand.
Instead, make sure you choose trends relevant to your business or your audience. This will help you get considerable engagement and views without alienating your existing followers.
For instance, if you own a cafe or restaurant, the viral Dalgona coffee trend is an excellent challenge to participate in. You can showcase your creativity and skills and even put your twist on the challenge by incorporating existing menu items into the coffee.
#2. Stay Authentic
Catering to your audience’s preferences is one way to increase your following, but to generate leads and attract followers who are genuinely interested in your brand, it’s important to stay authentic.
According to research from Asendia, 75% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands that they view as authentic. So, when creating posts or participating in social media challenges, always keep your brand’s values in mind and avoid getting swept away by current trends or competitor strategies.
#3. Establish a Recognizable Brand Identity
Standing out from the hundreds of similar brands on social media is one of the main challenges for small businesses, so it’s crucial to establish a recognizable brand image early on. By being consistent in the font, color scheme, and logos in your posts, you can reinforce your branding and improve brand recognition.
This way, when people see your posts on social media, they’ll immediately be able to associate them with your brand and the specific products or services you offer.
Key Takeaways
- Social media marketing for small business owners is essential as it can help improve ROI, increase brand awareness, and enhance customer service efforts.
- When creating a social media marketing strategy, it’s important to set goals, analyze your competitors, and research your target audience. You also have to develop an optimized content strategy, choose the right platforms to build your audience, and monitor analytics.
- With its intuitive interface and wide range of features, Publer is the best social media management tool for small businesses.
- For small business owners to succeed in social media, make sure to choose trends strategically, stay authentic with your branding, and establish a recognizable brand early on.
Ervin Kalemi
