How to Use Social Media as a Small Business Owner
As business owners/entrepreneurs, we wear so many hats during the day. We are trying to work our zone of genius while taking on the role of digital strategist, social media manager, graphic designer, community manager, accountant, project manager, etc. It can quickly get overwhelming, especially because digital marketing is a full-time job. I hear a lot of the following:
I am not sure how often I should be posting
I don’t feel like I am utilizing the platforms correctly
I am not sure if I am on the right channels for my brand/business
I don’t have time to grow my accounts
I don’t have time to be a community manager
How do I create the right content?
How do I create a strategy for my brand/business?
How do I know what is working and what isn’t?
These are just a few of the pain points that I hear on a weekly basis, but it’s very true — social media takes a lot of time and effort. Luckily, there are a ton of resources, platforms, and ways that you can set yourself up to optimize the platforms you are using and not feel frustrated with your efforts.
First things first: I have learned that you truly need to set yourself up ahead of time; if you don’t, a few things will happen:
You will become burnt out because you’re rushing to do 50 tasks in a day
You will just post to post, which does nothing for your brand but act as a filler post
You won’t have time to check your analytics or build a social strategy for yourself because you are caught up doing the day-to-day tasks
You won’t be able to focus on the big picture analytics, growth, or strategy because you will be too busy trying to catch up with the day-to-day
The biggest piece of advice I can tell you is to first get yourself set up for success on social media:
Choose a content management platform. I use Later, but other options include Tailwind, Planoly, & Hootsuite
Next, you need a task management system. I use Trello; other options include Monday and Asana
Then you need to build out a brand guideline. It can be a slide deck, a Google doc, whatever you choose, but it needs to be done. This should include who you are, what you do, what your mission is, your client avatar, how you are going to reach your audience, your mood board (visual), your tone and messaging, what platforms and digital marketing tasks you will be doing, and how you will track progress. (This is big, you need to understand everything about your brand so that you can show up with a plan on social media.) If you aren’t confident in your social media efforts, how do you expect others to show up for your brand?
SEO AUDIT
Next, create a strategy for your brand (over here we do a quarterly strategy to make sure we are reaching our goals). Ask yourself the following questions:
What social media channels are right for my brand?
Will I be utilizing email marketing?
Will I be utilizing influencer marketing?
Am I launching anything in the near future?
Where is my ideal client so I know to put my efforts there?
Am I able to do all of these tasks or do I need to outsource?
Strategy outline:
What platforms you will be using
What tasks will be done
Are you using organic or paid reach or both?
Your customer journey (How will you get them from Point A (social media) to Point B to your lead magnet?)
How you will monitor success/growth?
Where will you get analytics to analyze each month that you are reaching your social goals?
Now on to social media management:
Choose the platforms that are right for your business, do your research, and/or work with an agency (Hi, we can help you :)) Pro tip: do not try to be everywhere when you are first starting out; go all-in on 1-2 platforms and once you feel successful and established, then branch out.
Make sure that for whichever channel you are using, the profile is built out to include who you are, what you do, how you can help, and where you want them to go.
Map out your content (what is coming up in the next month, what are your top products, what is your mission, how can you reflect everything happening in your business on your social media account). Pro tip - Utilize Later to map out an entire month where you can add your visual, copy, and hashtags.
Your copy/captions are everything - this is the tone of your brand, this is your way to speak to your audience. Make sure it matches your brand guideline.
Post consistently: make sure you are posting to the platform as constantly as possible BUT do not post just to post; make sure your content reflects your strategy. Pro tip - if this is already set up for you ahead of time, you won’t have to worry about posting just to post.
Don’t only post on your feed; utilizing stories and lives are great ways for you to reach more of your audience. Also, if you utilize stories, you can encourage your audience to reach out to you through your direct messages - this is where the real connection lies. Pro tip - use your stories as a way to be more personable with your audience (examples: show behind the scenes, your product or service in real life, influencers, reviews, promote other businesses, be community-minded)
ENGAGE!! This is very important and often missed; I see a lot of business owners not answering the comments or messages they receive. This is your way to build a community over a following. Engage with your audience, engage with your ideal client outside of your audience, and use your brand’s social media to really be present with your audience. Pro tip - set an alarm in your phone to engage every day at the same time so it becomes a consistent task.
Every week, set aside time to review your content insights and analytics - this is going to help you monitor what content is doing the best, what really resonates with your audience, and how you can continue building that connection with them. It will also help you see if you are reaching your benchmark goals.
Show off your brand’s personality: while it’s important to do market research and take note of what is working for your competitors, you don’t want to be them. You are unique, your brand is unique; you trying to be just like your competitor is not helping your brand stand out. Really think about this when you are creating content: “How can I reflect my brand and our uniqueness when I am creating content?” Pro tip - personable/relatable content over perfection all day. Your consumer wants to feel a part of something; if you are always showcasing the perfect life/feed, you will miss out on really connecting with your audience.
A few words you should remember when managing your social media for your brand:
Connection
Value
Impact
Engage
Is my social media creating a connection with my community, am I providing value daily, am I making an impact and putting out content that resonates with my audience, and am I taking the time to engage and treat my audience like a community and less like a number?
While numbers are important, having an engaged community is more important than the number of followers/likes you have. Remember, just because someone follows you or likes your post doesn’t mean they are engaging or buying your product or service.
Recap:
Get yourself set up to feel less overwhelmed each month
Make sure you have done the work to truly understand how you want to reflect your brand on social media
Make sure you are tracking, monitoring and taking note of your social media and if you are reaching your social goals
Being consistent in your daily social media management is very important
Still, need help, and want to outsource your social media? We got you covered! Email us today so we can chat further! info@healthydashofsocial.com
