Regardless of the size or indeed geographical location, your business needs to be optimizing its use of social media, and a failure to do so in 2023 is, in many ways, ignoring an easy win.
Wherever your customers are based, you can guarantee that they spend far too much of their time scrolling through social media channels and pages, either whilst at work on their office desktops or while intently consuming information via their mobile devices.
Having an online presence via social media networks is vital as you look to develop strong relationships with potential customers. A recent survey found that 77% of small businesses are using social media channels to help boost exposure, streamline customer services, and, of course, to secure sales. If you are one of the remaining 23%, then it’s time you reversed your attitude and moved into the modern world.
Here are six key aspects to have at the forefront of your mind when doing so.
Manage Expectations
When you look to push your brand, business, and even sales via social media channels, you should know that success won’t come quickly. In fact, arguably, you should really look to bed on your specific pages well in advance of any overtly promotional material so as to give your followers a sense that what you offer is genuinely valuable and not just an attempt to get them to spend.
For instance, whatever market or field your small business operates in, your team will no doubt have some experience and expertise that could be useful to users, who are potential customers, and this type of content and information would be gladly received and given to them a reason to return and continue following you.
Far too often, businesses flood their social media pages with advertising and product releases and not enough engaging or entertaining material in between. Make sure you manage these assets carefully, as they can end up being a vital source of revenue and exposure.
Scaling Up
If your small business wants to project itself as a more prominent player in the market, then the use of social media channels is definitely an excellent avenue to pursue. Broaden the way you communicate with your customers, both existing and future, by developing effective channels that make them feel there is genuine interaction between you and them.
Expand Your Customer Base
Though you may be a small business based in one particular location, that doesn’t mean you can’t branch out and look to expand into other areas. Whatever your company produces, be it products or services, no doubt they can be transported elsewhere. Today we live in a far smaller world, and if you are only communicating with the general public in your direct vicinity, then you are missing a track. Implementing social media marketing can target specific audiences and build brand awareness.
Social media channels can help you reach a larger audience, not just because of the size of the viewership that visits but also because you can target effectively to gradually give your company more of a geographical footprint.
Consider Outsourcing or Hiring Relevant Personnel
While it may be tempting to look to run your social media strategy in-house with individuals who have a basic knowledge of the market, it would almost certainly be a mistake. The key is to bring in people who know how to best approach the situation due to the experience they have within it.
This goes for every aspect of your usage. For instance, you may choose to shoot a promotional video which you’d then look to edit into various formats to best showcase them on the various platforms you use. You’ll then look to have someone with a strong video editing background, perhaps with expert knowledge of After Effects so that you end up with a professional product that leads to better exposure and potential direct sales.
Consider your usage of social media channels as just another marketing opportunity and bring in staff who know how to best use the many tools available to you.
Always Analyze the Data
One of the great things about social media networks, and indeed the internet as a whole, is the vast array of data collection opportunities it presents you with, sometimes in real time.
Whenever you post on your channels, you get an instant set of data that can be invaluable. If you release a new product and then push it on your social media channels, you’ll not only get healthy interactive dialogue from your users (which we’ll move on to shortly), but you’ll also get a good idea of where your audience is and where you might look to direct efforts going forward.
For instance, you might offer a service in a specific area, perhaps one of your stores, and then note that many followers on your pages are based just outside that catchment zone but are nonetheless interested in that particular service, leading you to surmise that you can push things out further.
You can even be far more direct. Run polls and surveys to find out what they like or dislike, then extrapolate the relevant data.
Talk to Your Audience, Learn About Them, and In Turn, About Yourself
When you start to make good use of your social media pages, you should be attentive and responsive, even if your pages begin to blow up. Respond as soon as possible to queries and find out what you are doing well and in what areas you are lacking.
You’ll be surprised how much crucial information you can acquire in this manner, all of which is hugely helpful to a small business that is looking to make the most of what they have to offer as you look to expand and conquer the market you reside in.
