Social media for Small Business continues to grow more and more popular as an outlet for advertising and increasing brand awareness. However, with constantly changing algorithms regarding which content actually ever gets seen, it’s hard to figure out what is going to produce engagement. We’ve compiled a list of Do’s and Don’ts that we have found to be successful in building our company’s online presence. We’ve also added a few tips on how to tune out the common office distractions.
Social Media for Small Business Don’ts
– DON’T spread yourself too thin – Figure out which few platforms your potential customers are using and focus on those. Business to business marketing for a professional services company may do better on LinkedIn as opposed to an art supply company which may be more successful with Instagram or Pinterest.
– DON’T just post to post – Think quality over quantity. Find valuable content, pertinent to your potential customers. We’ve found adding a personal touch by spotlighting employees or office events gets a great response since we tailor to small and medium sized businesses. Check out some of our Facebook content here.
– DON’T bombard followers with self-promotion – The vast majority of people log on to social media to be entertained, not to be sold. Use the 80/20 rule of social media marketing. Make sure that 80% of what you post is content that followers will find important and interesting as opposed to constantly talking about yourself.
Social Media for Small Business Do’s
– DO use pictures with your posts as often as possible – Researchers found that colored visuals increase people’s willingness to read a piece of content by 80%. Additionally, visual content is more than 40X more likely to get a share on social media than other types of content.
– DO take a minute to pause – When monitoring multiple social media platforms, it’s easy to get distracted when notifications and updates come rolling in. Try to focus on one platform at a time; for instance if your goal is to engage with others on Facebook, block out some time and log out of your Twitter and LinkedIn to limit distractions.
– DO put on your headphones – Various studies have indicated that, in general, people who listened to music while they worked on repetitive tasks performed faster and made fewer errors. I find this is highly effective at increasing my focus because my work space is in an open area with a significant amount of background noise.
– DO ask for customer feedback – A recent study found 88 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. Of course you won’t receive 5 star ratings across the board, but having a blend of both good and bad reviews shows that you aren’t trying to hide anything and it makes the positive reviews seem more genuine. Don’t respond to negative feedback by making excuses, this will look like you’re trying to shift blame to others. Instead respond with something like, “this was uncharacteristic of us and we would like to make it right.”
If you’re ever looking for content ideas, feel free to check out our social media sites for ideas!
