5 TIPS ON HOW SMALL BUSINESS CAN DO SOCIAL MEDIA BETTER

Many small business owners that I meet with want to do social media but don’t understand some of the basics. When you look at the majority of businesses a large percentage of them don’t get it right.  So how are the small businesses going to do social media better?

Here 5 top tips I recommend to clients:

1. Social Media is meant to be social! Think of social media as an opportunity to have a virtual coffee with people you wouldn’t otherwise have had a chance to meet. Don’t set up a company page and fill up your feed talking about yourself. ENGAGE! Talk to your followers, retweet and share their content (that would be relevant to your fans), ask questions, answer questions and become a valuable member to your online community.

2. Build a relationship with your fans and followers.  Gain trust through supporting their causes and interests then offer your knowledge and experience as a subject matter expert. Then and only when appropriate, discuss how your business could help.  When they need your business they will think of you over your competitors as they already feel a bond with you and know you are an expert in your field.

3. Provide information that is of value to your online community. Don’t only provide information about your business or your blog but advise and comment on broader topics. If you are in the hotel business, you are an expert on travel and of the local area and community. Share your knowledge and become a valuable source of information. When the time comes and people have money to spend, they will remember you.

4. Be consistent. There is nothing more frustrating than following a brand and getting hooked on their great content and then nothing. Radio silence.  Your fans will feel you’ve let them down, you are breaking their trust.  Become a brand they can rely on and stay front of mind, so when they have money to spend, they come to you.

5. Measure engagement. NOT likes and followers. This is actually worthy of an entire blog but for now I’ll keep it short.  You can have 1000 fans and your posts will only be seen by 30 people. You can have 200 fans and your post can be seen by 1000 people.  Engagement trumps Likes. Don’t measure your fan or like count, measure where you are getting engagement.

If you would like to chat more about your small business using social media to drive results, we would love to chat more! Contact us and let's have a chat!