If you own or manage a business, it should be fairly clear to you by now that now that you must implement social media for small business success. But instead of looking at this as another onerous task demanded by the changing world of online marketing, you should see it as a good opportunity. Social media is one of the best examples of inbound marketing, in that it allows you to build a brand and then let clients come to you, instead of your having to pound the pavement selling your services (inbound marketing also tends to have a much lower cost per lead than outbound strategies such as paid advertising).
But like most marketing, social media has to be done right in order to be effective. Here’s what you should know about implementing social media for small businesses:
- You Have to Pick the Right Platforms
There are simply too many social media sites for you to manage effective presences across all of them. If you’re looking to get a good return on investment, it’s worth working with an inbound marketing company to identify which platforms are likely to pay off depending on your customer base. That might be the most popular sites for the general public, such as Instagram and Twitter, but it also might mean putting more effort into business social media sites such as LinkedIn.
- Showing Your Personality Is the Point
Some companies are hesitant to use social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter because they’re worried it undermines their professionalism. But in reality, consumers love the chance to see the humans behind a brand. Showing your personality by sharing interesting links, news stories, or even silly office photos can help your clients and customers feel that they’re engaging with real humans, rather than an impersonal business.
- Some Social Tasks Can Be Automated
Getting a high ROI for social media is all about investing time where it really counts. That means putting in the work to actually build a dialogue and converse with individual customers — the type of engagement that only a human can do, even if it is over the Internet. But there are some social tasks that you can automate to save time, too, such as automatic posting when you update your company blog. Be sure to discuss these functionalities with your social media marketing firm.
Can you share any tips on social media for small businesses? Chime in using the comments section below.
