Social Media Marketing: Learn the Basics for Your Small Business‍

Social media marketing can be a bit overwhelming for business owners and managers who are just getting started. With so many platforms and techniques, it can feel as if you’ll never succeed at marketing your small business on social media. Fortunately, you don’t have to become an expert overnight. And with a little commitment and some help from outside resources, you can begin to build a loyal following of clients, customers, and potential vendors. Social media marketing helps connect businesses directly with their target market in order to sell more goods and services. It can be challenging at first because there is so much content out there that it can feel like you’ll never find the time to consistently post content that people want to read. However, once you get the hang of it and work your way up the social media ladder, it becomes easier every month until your small business is driving consistent traffic from all of your posts.

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing is the practice of using social networks and online platforms to market products and services. In this sense, it’s different from traditional online advertising, which is more focused on attracting more clicks and impressions with less consideration for the benefits of the end consumer. Social media marketing is based on the premise that people will engage with the brands they care about more if the brands are actively engaging with them. Social media is an incredibly useful marketing tool, but it’s not a replacement for other forms of advertising and marketing. Instead, it's a way to extend your reach by tapping into people's increasing desire to remain part of a social network no matter where they are.

Why Is Social Media Marketing Important?

Social media is not just about getting your brand in front of as many people as possible. Instead, it’s about connecting with your target audience in a way that allows your business to build a long-term relationship. Social media can help you to build stronger relationships with your customers and prospects by giving you the opportunity to interact with them on a more personal level. Customers and prospects will be more likely to choose your brand if they feel like they know you and are getting a sense of who you are as a person. Social media allows you to establish a relationship with your customers that goes beyond a transaction. It gives you the opportunity to build a relationship with your audience that can lead to a partnership. This is especially important for service businesses that rely on repeat business and referrals from satisfied customers.

How to Start with Social Media Marketing for Your Small Business

Like any other form of marketing, your best chance at success starts with a plan. Create a social media marketing strategy that outlines your plan of attack. The strategy should outline when you’ll post, what types of posts you’ll create, and how you’ll measure and track results. If you don’t have a strategy, you’ll be posting things on social media without any real purpose. You’ll be missing out on the opportunity to build a following and drive traffic to your website. Setting a goal for your social media efforts, such as growing your followers or increasing the amount of content you publish, will help you stay focused and consistent with your efforts. Planning your social media strategy is just the tip of the iceberg. You’ll also need to find time in your schedule for consistent posting. Make sure you have specific times throughout the day that you’ll be posting content so that you don’t forget when you’ve scheduled something.

Get People to Follow You on Social Networks

The first step to growing your social media following is to get people to follow you on social networks. Yes, this sounds a bit contradictory, but it’s not as difficult as it might seem. You can simply create a Facebook page, a Twitter profile, and/or a LinkedIn account that people can follow if they want to know more about your business. It should go without saying, but don’t be aggressive or pushy about getting people to follow you. Instead, be polite, friendly, and helpful when someone asks for help following you on social media. Post regularly on social networks. It’s important to post content at least once a day so that your followers don’t forget about you and so they’ll be able to find your posts when they need more information. It’s also important to remember that social networks are primarily used for sharing content, so make sure your posts are engaging, informative, and helpful.

Create Social Media Content That Prospective Clients Want to Read and Watch

When posting content to your social media channels, focus on specific topics that relate to your industry. When creating content for your social networks, be sure to include links to relevant content on your website. For example, if you sell accounting services, you might post about which books you recommend for small businesses. You can also create content that helps prospective clients visualize how your products and services could benefit their businesses. Visual content works best on social networks because people like to share images. For example, you could create Pinterest boards that illustrate how your products and services could benefit your clients. You can also create video content that helps prospective clients visualize how your products and services could benefit their businesses. A good place to start with video content is creating business-related animated GIFs and posting them on social networks.

Track and Analyze Results with a Blog or Website

Social media channels like Facebook and Twitter offer tools to track and measure your content. While it’s important to track your social media posts, it’s also important to track your website's traffic and conversion rates. If you only track your social media posts, you’ll be missing out on opportunities to post content on other channels, write content that people want to read, and track and measure your overall efforts. The next step is to set up a blog or website. You can create these platforms with free resources, like WordPress, or you can hire a web development company to create a custom website for you. A blog or website is the perfect place to publish social media content. You can post as often as you like, write about specific topics that relate to your industry, and create visual content that helps prospective customers visualize how your products and services could benefit their businesses.

Conclusion

Social media marketing can be a bit overwhelming for business owners and managers who are just getting started. With so many platforms and techniques, it can feel as if you’ll never succeed at marketing your small business on social media. Fortunately, you don’t have to become an expert overnight. And with a little commitment and some help from outside resources, you can begin to build a loyal following of clients, customers, and potential vendors. Social media marketing helps connect businesses directly with their target market in order to sell more goods and services. It can be challenging at first because there is so much content out there that it can feel like you’ll never find the time to consistently post content that people want to read. However, once you get the hang of it and work your way up the social media ladder, it becomes easier every month until your small business is driving consistent traffic from all of your posts.