Social media provides an excellent opportunity for small businesses to attract new customers and build relationships with existing ones. Social media also increases exposure to your brand, especially when you are starting a small business.
If you are planning on using several Social Media channels for your business, here are five ways to enhance your presence this week:
1.) Have a plan before you start posting. It is easy to become overwhelmed with all the social media channels available to your business. We suggest you create a plan to post on one to two social media channels where you can be active and engage with your new followers. This way, you can get a handle on what you like or don’t like about the platform and develop your own voice. Add more channels once you start to feel comfortable with the two you have already grown.
2.) Do it daily - or at the very least, have a schedule. This point ties in closely with having a plan. Making Social Media posts without any consistency will ensure that no one follows you. Instead, pick several times during the week when you'll be active (ideally 5-6) and post about the same thing every time so people know when they can expect to see new content. Remember to have a mixture of content types so you can keep your audience interested in what your business has to offer.
3.) Engage with your audience! This is where Social Media can get fun - because it's social, after all! Don't just post content and leave. Make sure that when someone interacts with you (by commenting or sending you a message), you interact back. People like talking to people, not robots. As a general rule, hang out on your Social Media channels for about an hour after you make a post to respond to people’s comments right away. If you lack the time, try to respond to people within 12 hours of their comment or message.
4.) Join conversations happening in your industry. What we mean by this is: if your business is in the food industry, and someone posts "looking for a good steakhouse near me,” that's something worth getting involved with! By joining these conversations, you're demonstrating that you know what's going on out there and that your business is up-to-date. You can also use this opportunity to mention or link to some of your other content (as long as it makes sense).
5.) Promote other businesses - But don't just promote, give suggestions! If you're posting about a business that provides the same product/service as your own, give them a shout-out because why not? If it's something unrelated to what you do (e.g., restaurant), but someone might still be interested, suggest it, knowing that people might check out their profile too, and maybe they'll strike up an online friendship or at least send them some traffic.
So there you have it. Social Media can be an excellent resource for your small business startup, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Just break things down into manageable actions and start with one to two social media channels first. Keep things consistent so people know when they can expect new content from you and post regularly, engage your audience, join relevant conversations, and recommend other businesses that might be a good fit.
Which Social Media channels have you used or plan to use in your small business? If you are looking for more small business support, we would love to chat! Get in touch with the Trenval team to book a free consultation with one of our experienced business counsellors.