Social Media tips for small business
Need some social media tips? The first steps a small business takes into the chaotic world of social media can define the course of the business as it grows and develops. For small businesses starting their social media journey, it can often be a daunting and confusing experience and may prove difficult for them to stand out in the crowd.
Networking sites such as Facebook can be a great communication channel for your business, however, in order to generate and sustain long term sales and profitability, branding across these platforms is essential. When done correctly, social media branding can help to boost brand awareness and connect a business with its target market across a variety of platforms.
Here at Adoni Media, the digital team have assembled some tips small business owners may find useful when kicking off social media branding or even when re-evaluating current branding.
Identify your target audience
While social media channels may allow for a small business to more effectively reach its market niche, understanding this niche is also fundamental to success. This can be achieved by collecting data from social networks or even using other social media tools available to help deepen and strengthen any prior information known about the target market. This allows a business to ascertain who is interacting with their brand online.
Select the most appropriate social networking sites
In an age of technology where social media platforms can now significantly influence the rise and fall of a business, establishing your business’ online presence is essential. Managing Director, Leisa Goddard, says it is crucial to understand which site or sites may be the most appropriate for your business.
“While branding presence across multiple platforms is beneficial, it’s usually better to do a really great job on one or two platforms as opposed to an average job across 5 or 6. For example, if you’re in the B2B space, it’s important you focus your resources on making great profiles and content where your audience will be looking, such as LinkedIn and Twitter,” she said.
Instead of making assumptions, focus on data collected from reliable sources. This will assist in gauging where your target audience may spend the majority of their time online. Remember to keep in mind that not every social channel will reach the same audience nor will it be suitable for every business objective.
Social content calendar (optimal times)
Running a business – small or large – is no easy feat and requires copious amounts of work. To help lighten this load, implementing a social media content calendar can be a beneficial course of action. By planning regular posts ahead of time this will allow you to stay connected with your audience and allow for the output of quality content. This will also work to improve your overall social media branding and allow you to stay on the ball.
Consistency
Building an online brand presence does not have to be a complicated task. Instead, crafting consistent messages will allow for brand growth to happen organically across a variety of social channels. While relying on consistent messages across these platforms may seem tedious, constant messages over time can help to build positive relationships with consumers and win trust from your target markets.
