Small businesses can have a lot on their plate. Often, it’s their social media marketing that falls off the to-do list when they are short on resources or time. Sure, social media marketing eats a lot of time, but small businesses must not afford to miss the opportunities that social media offers to reach and engage their target market.
An inactive social media presence can be a warning signal to consumers who are skeptical about trying a new product from an unfamiliar brand. More people everyday switch to social media platforms as a primary source of information. If you’re not there – it’s like you don’t exist, and 2020 has made it essential. Social media marketing leads to visibility. Small businesses need to recognize the value and the beauty of it and start creating thoughtful strategies that are designed to engage their target audience. In this blog post, we will outline 4 important social media must activities and how your business can benefit from them.
Social Media Trend Channels
First things first – determine which channels are the best for your business.
This platform still holds the #1 place on the list of largest social media sites. Prioritize it if your brand benefits from sharing industry-related news, engaging videos, graphics, and content that can capture attention. Create easy entertaining content that invokes emotional response and excitement to share with their friends. But remember, just being present here isn’t enough. Facebook has made a huge improvement in doing business on this channel. Online shopping has become a new habit in almost every household this year. As a solution to this, Facebook launched Facebook Shops to make it easier for small businesses to operate. This means having the opportunity to create your own online store on the platform to promote and sell your products.
The home of influencers, brands, bloggers, friends, small business owners, and everyone in between. Instagram is a priority if your target audience is under the age of 40 and you run a lifestyle, e-commerce, or photography business. Its content contains nice photography, stunning visuals, unique designs, and selfie-style videos that speak directly to your audience. 70% of shoppers use Instagram for product discovery and 130 million users tap on its shopping posts every month to learn more, so use it well.
YouTube
Тhe second most popular search engine in the world today. If your business benefits from video tutorials, how it’s made videos, product reviews, visual instructional content, video blog, then this platform is a must for you. Content – videos only; audience – below the age of 50.
With over 320 million monthly and nearly 80% female users. Searching for creative inspiration when it comes to everything from cooking to DIY home projects, creative business ideas, and vacation ideas. If your business is related to lifestyle, fashion, or decor – Pinterest is the right answer.
TikTok
It’s less than 2 years old but has reached more than 2 billion downloads till now. Content that works best here is entertaining, interesting, comedic, and sometimes nonsensical short-form videos. It should be a priority if you want to reach and entertain a young audience (under the age of 35) with fun-based videos that don’t often have a direct connection to your product. Being overly self-promotional on this platform won’t build you a loyal following.
Social Selling
Social Selling is not social media marketing and it’s not social media advertising. It is the possibility of using social media to find, connect with, understand, and nurture sales prospects. It’s a very effective way to develop meaningful relationships with potential customers so you’re the first person or brand a prospect thinks of when they’re ready to buy. If you have a Facebook Business Page, LinkedIn profile, or professional Twitter account, you’re already engaged with a lot of potential clients. This doesn’t mean that you should start spamming all your contacts with sales messages. Just start building real relationships and be ready for the right moment to join the conversation so you can present yourself as a solution to a problem.
Customer Service on Social Media
Respond in a timely fashion. It’s 2021 and businesses still don’t take customer comments on their posts too seriously. The approach of many is that social media is just another channel for self-promotion. However, not responding can have a negative impact on the brand. Responding within a reasonable amount of time is also on the must list. According to research, 42% of consumers expect a response to a complaint on social media within 60 minutes and nearly 30% within 30 minutes.
Act like a human. Everything you write on your feed and every comment you make reflects your brand. Online communication and its meaning have changed for the better – real, honest, transparent, and human conversations are more valued than corporate interactions. A brand showing human-like characteristics boosts customer’s online experience and positively impacts customer trust, satisfaction, and commitment to your brand.
Choose positivity over negativity. Because of digital tools and channels, customers have more power and influence than they ever have before. If you fail to treat social media as more than just a promotional platform, you could find yourself in a world of hurt. When a customer complains in the store, perhaps three other customers could overhear. When a customer complains on social media, every single one of your customers could potentially see it in their news feed! Remaining positive also helps to breed support from your loyal customers. The most important thing is to show you care and value the customer’s opinion, regardless of whether it started out negative.
Own a Personality
What’s your tone? (Funny, playful, serious, informative, etc.) What are your top interests outside of your business? What are your values? Who are your friends? (Other brands or people you support, neighborhood businesses, etc.) Once you have answers to these questions it’s easier to create your brand persona. Remember that people on social media came for your products and services but they will stay because of your way of communication.
Hope you’ll find these tips useful and you will take social media marketing seriously in 2021. If you get stuck we are happy to help you.
