How to Market Your Small Business on Social Media

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If you’re just launching your business or if you’ve been in business for over 10 years, chances are, social media marketing is something you’re considering. The same goes for any industry, from restaurants to clothing to event planning. You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Social media is a great way to engage potential clients and customers. I want to be a part of it and I know the benefits. But, how do I get started? How much does it cost? What’s the best platform?”

The truth is, you can get your business up and running on social media without breaking the bank or wasting hours every week trying to figure out how it all works. That’s why we developed this quick guide on how to market your small business on social media.

Determine what exactly is your small business

Determine if you want it to be just a small business or is it something bigger – if you want it to be something bigger, do you have a plan for that? The reason for this is because if you just want it to be a small business, your SMM should reflect that. So, your SMM might look different. If you want it to be something bigger and have a plan for it, maybe that’s a good time to launch with some strategies and not just throw up some posts and hope for the best.

Prioritize Social Media Platforms

There are thousands of social media platforms out there, from Snapchat to Instagram to Facebook, so where do you start? The next thing you want to do is figure out which platforms your target demographic is active on. For example, if your business sells baby products, then you’ll want to be on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. If you sell business services, then LinkedIn would be a better choice for you.

Give people reasons to follow you

If you’re a small business owner on social media and you’re looking for more followers, here’s my step-by-step guide for nurturing your audience into a highly engaged community.

The first step is to give people a reason to follow you. If customers or clients don’t see the value in following your brand, they’re unlikely to stick around. Let’s say that you’re selling homemade dog treats. If you keep sharing photos of your cute dog, but you never actually sell any dog treats, people are going to lose interest quickly.

Build Relationships with influencers

I can’t speak a lick of the Spanish language, but if I were to take a guess, I’d say “gracias” is one of the most popular words on the internet. That’s why you should thank influential people who help your brand and your business. And, it’s not enough to just say “thanks.” Build a relationship with your online fans by asking them questions and knowing their needs. Reach out to them with something they want and they will want to pay it forward. In fact, they’ll be so eager to help you that they’ll do things like promote your brand on their own social channels or recommend you in a blog post or article.

Take advantage of automation tools

One of the main challenges small businesses face is finding the time to market their business online. What’s even more difficult is tracking how your efforts are working so you can keep improving. The most effective thing you can do is implement tools that will help you automate your marketing on social media. They’re easy to use and free or low-cost right now, with plenty of developers offering free trials.

“Social media automation works by allowing you to set a goal or task you want done or a specific message or post you want to send out and then automate it with a timescale,” says Social Viral founder, and the author of how to buy followers on tiktok, Faizaan Ally. “For example, if you’ve been doing social media marketing for a while and have a good idea of what image posts have performed best, you could have automation set up to ensure those are never far from the top of your social feed.”

With automation tools it’s possible to post across multiple platforms from one central hub and schedule them for specific times during the day when many new people are likely to see them. You might want to schedule images for the morning when people are likely to be ready for their first coffee and a chat, or schedule more promotional posts for after work when people are more likely to reach for their phones.

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John is a serial entrepreneur and writer who is passionate about helping small businesses launch and grow. His work has been featured in Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, and Forbes.