If you still have doubts about the power of social media for small businesses, know that there are more than3.2 a billion users around the world, the equivalent of 42% of the current population, and that number is only going to grow.
And with so many people focused on these online channels, they have become important work tools.
Thinking about strategies for digital marketing for small businesses naturally includes creating social media channels relevant to your business.
A study of the global web index pointed out that, on average, a person spends 2 hours and 22 minutes a day on social networks and texting.
Faced with this scenario, there is an almost magical mix: a large number of people online spend much of their time looking for information.
Have you ever thought about being the provider of this content that your potential audience consumes within social media?
We have gathered in the topics below some tips on how to use social media for small businesses. Thinking strategically is the key to success. Check out!
4 tips for using social media for small businesses
Companies are more connected than ever to marketing within social media.
THE buffer surveyed marketers in the industry and 73% of them said they believed their efforts through social media were “in some way effective” or “very effective” for their business.
To harness the full potential of social media, it's worth investing in a small business marketing strategy.
Think about the service your company offers, the differences in relation to the competition, what you see potential to innovate.
All of this can become promotional material to work on social media for small businesses.
Check out some tips to put into practice today!
1. Build a plan
When talking about social media for small businesses, we cannot think of a random strategy.
Before creating your Instagram profile, think about the following items:
· Who is my target audience?
· What are my main services?
· What are my differences from the competition?
These are simple questions that will help you define which social media your company will be present on. There are numerous networks, but you don't have to be on all of them.
Research each one, its objectives, user profile and business resources to choose where your company will be.
Your services and differentials will be the basis for your content. You can give tips on common questions, explain your services using texts, videos and images, show the benefits of working with your company, etc.
Your social media plan will guide you through this initial process. And even if you already have an online presence, you can go back at this stage to see if you are leveraging the full potential of networks.
2. Create a posting schedule
Marketing and being part of the work team is a common routine for SME owners. That's why, continuing with the idea of planning, create a schedule of daily posts.
To help with ideas, get suggestions from your team, research relevant news in your industry that you can resonate with, research your main competitors to find out what they are talking about.
With the themes defined, you can produce images, create subtitle texts and record short explanatory videos.
A useful tip is to be as multimedia as possible, that is, use videos, photos, GIFs and anything else that can instigate users to interact with your content.
Has hot news surfaced in your industry? Don't waste time and take the opportunity to pass on the data/information/event.
Scheduling the posts
Another tip for not forgetting the publications you have planned is to use a content scheduling tool.
There are a number of free tools you can use to make sure your posts come out every day.
Hoot suite, Postcron, Buffer, among others, are service options that have a free plan. It is worth checking!
3. Interact with your audience
Planning and publishing social media content for small businesses means generating conversation.
So don't just post content and ignore customer interactions and questions. This “negligence” can generate a negative image for your company.
One Lyfe marketing consultancy study pointed out that 71 % of consumers who have had a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend it to their friends and family.
Daily monitor your posts to check comments, private messages and answer questions, praise and criticism.
Leverage features like the Instagram Stories poll, questions, and quizzes to drive engagement. But do this at a time when you are available to respond right away. Agility is key. Or use automation tools like chatbots to stay in touch with your audience at all times. You can easily create chatbots for WhatsApp, Instagram, and other messengers and social networks on a service like Sendpulse.
Showing interest in what your followers think suggests, and exchanging through social media for small businesses reinforces your brand value.
4. Invest in social media advertising
Another arm to use social media for small businesses efficiently is by advertising on these platforms.
One advantage that social networks offer over traditional media is greater control over the budget to be invested.
Do you have R$ 100 to invest per month? You can make a compatible ad and set the audience to target it — gender, education, age, city (even neighborhood you can target), preferences are some examples of audience filters.
Facebook and Instagram have a joint system for advertising within the two media, which is the Ads Manager. Ads can even be scheduled to start at the time you prefer.
Tip: If you're not sure which content to boost, check out the performance of the week's posts and select the one with the best reach/engagement to boost.
That way, you keep posts with relevant topics high and you can split your monthly budget between posts without overloading yourself.