Running a small business is one of the most rewarding things you can do in this life. You get to be your own boss, set your own hours, and chart your own course. There’s a reason most small business owners are more satisfied than others.
However, there are more challenges to overcome than ever when it comes to pushing forward an independent enterprise. There’s so much noise to breakthrough. If you hope to connect with consumers in the modern era, you need to know how to market on social media.
It really isn’t an option anymore to stay off social media platforms. How can you best connect with all the potential customers out there online? Read on and we’ll walk you through what you need to know.
Take Time to Understand Each Platform
There are a lot of different social media websites out there these days. What once used to be just Facebook has really exploded across so many different websites.
There might be a temptation to stick to what you know and avoid these other outlets. That could be a mistake, as you could cut yourself off from a whole range of potentially interested consumers.
There’s also the sense that you might need to create a platform for yourself on every single social media website that exists. That’s also not necessary and could easily backfire: taking on too much can draw you thin and have you running things at a less than quality level.
The approach you should really take? Get to know each of the existing social media websites one by one. They all offer a different experience and a different way to connect with others.
Dig into how creating posts work, what kind of elements you can share, how easy information seems to get in front of those you are interested in.
Then, be honest with yourself: which platforms seem best suited for your business? You might find that Instagram suits you well because you have a very visual service. Thus, a photo-based platform has a lot of benefits.
It can be whatever works for your own business! If you take the time to really do your research, you can approach things with a lot more focus and purpose.
Use Social Media as an Extension of Customer Service
Social media has so many different benefits. In addition to getting the word OUT about your business, it also provides an outlet to let word come back to you.
Your customers and interested individuals have the opportunity on social media to reach out and try to connect with you. They can give you feedback, ask for help, or just get excited about what you’re putting together.
It’s important to take this element of social media seriously. If you ignore your consumers on the platform, you’re missing out on an opportunity to deepen your connection with them at best. At worse, you’re leaving them feeling spurned.
When a consumer leaves you a comment or message, respond to it in a timely fashion! You’ll be amazed at how positive of a reaction this can produce.
When you listen to your audience in this way, you might find that they can share valuable information with you as well. Voices of feedback can actually give you many fantastic ideas to consider for your business.
You can even look at your basic statistics to see what kind of content is performing better and what isn’t. Did that post of your employees get a ton of Instagram likes? You know that your consumers think highly of your team, then.
Leaning into the community aspects of your business might then be fruitful.
Consider Automation
I know what you’re probably thinking. How am I going to do all of this and still run my business? It does seem like a lot of work.
Luckily, a lot of social media can be run via automation. That means you can set things up and then walk away, to some extent. You can set different promotional offers or posts to go out on a certain schedule, and set a few minutes aside at the end of the day to respond to any comments.
You could always hire someone to run your social media full-time if you have the budget, of course. However, for those of us who run smaller operations, relying on automation can help give the feeling of an extra hand without having to bring on an entirely new person.
Hootsuite and other popular social media automation programs even offer free plans that can help to get you up and running. If all goes well, you won’t have to spend more than half an hour a week worrying about your social media posts.
These automation programs might have a learning curve and you might need to put in a little more time upfront, of course. However, you can soon get in the swing of things and see the benefits of social media engagement.
Make sure, again, that you’re not spreading yourself too thin! Make sure you’re making social media work for you and not the other way around.
Learning How to Market on Social Media
There are so many new opportunities to connect with potential and existing customers online. Learning how to market on social media can help take your own small business to the next level. The above information can help you get the hang of just how to do this.
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