Today’s small business owner isn’t intimidated by social media. How do we know? According to the 2015 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 93 percent of small business owners reported using Facebook, 79 percent use Twitter and 71 percent use LinkedIn. But being present and accounted for isn’t exactly the same thing as growing a social media presence.
On the surface, it may look easy. Just share a few blurbs about the company and go on with your day. But in reality, social media growth requires time and effort, not to mention ongoing execution, monitoring, and strategic adjustment. That’s why so many businesses — large and small — turn to automation.
For those of you who are brave enough to handle it yourself, we’ve put together a helpful list of tips and best practices that can help you increase your social media presence.
1. Use Consistent Photos, Headshots, and Logos
Brand consistency across social media channels is essential. You want to be easily recognized, yet so many small business owners are content to leave up profiles with mismatched logos and photos, some of which are blurry and improperly sized.
This type of carelessness causes unnecessary confusion for your customers and can make you seem unprofessional. Instead of using whatever photos you have handy or simply taking the one-size-fits-all approach, take the time to create a consistent brand image across all networks and optimize your chosen photos according to each network’s specifications.
For example, here are the minimum profile size requirements (in pixels) for a few of the major social networks:
Let’s be honest. It’s not like you have to hire a professional photographer to get a good headshot these days. Using your smartphone and the basic editing tools provided by the networks, you can create and add appropriate images in a matter of minutes.
For example, LinkedIn’s photo tool lets you rotate, reposition and resize your images so that no important information is lost during cropping. It also provides a preview of what your photo will look like in various formats on the LinkedIn website.
Bonus Content: Snag a copy of our handy time-saving tool sheet.
2. Let the World Know You’re on Social Media
Getting found through organic search doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll need to build a following and expand your reach over time. The easiest and most cost-effective place to start is with friends, family, colleagues, and customers.
Remember, you’re not adding these contacts because you necessarily expect to make a sale. Nor are you adding them just to boost your numbers. You want to expand your reach and stay top of mind with as many people (preferably prospects) as possible. Why is this important?
- 85 percent of small businesses report their best source of new customers is word-of-mouth referrals.
- Recommendations from family and friends are trusted more than any other form of advertising by 92 percent of customers.
Word-of-mouth referrals and social media go hand in hand. Even if your friends and family aren’t actively promoting your business or making personal recommendations, they have effectively endorsed your business just by liking your page. That act alone helps expand your reach exponentially.
3. Create and Share Industry-Adjacent Content
It’s only natural that you should want to present yourself as an expert in your industry, but the content you create, curate and share can’t always revolve directly around your business. If all you do is spout thinly veiled advertisements, you’re going to lose followers.
Think of it this way: Social media is like a cocktail party. No one wants to get stuck listening to the guest who can’t stop talking about himself. But on social media, escape is easy. There’s no hesitation and no chance of hurt feelings. All you have to do is click “unfollow.”
Don’t drive your customers away by being a self-centered salesman. Instead, think about your audience. What can you provide to pique their interests or fulfill their needs? Valuable, industry-adjacent content can be a great way to stay top of mind without wearing out your welcome.
For example, Coca-Cola shared this post for National Cheeseburger Day. Judging by the number of likes and shares, I’d say quite a few people enjoy a Coke with their cheeseburger!
4. Create a Schedule and Post Content Regularly
One of the most common mistakes you’ll see with social media for small business is a lack of consistency in the posting schedule. This not only affects post visibility, but it can also make it hard to gain traction with search engines.
Maybe it’s the mindset that once you’ve posted, the content is on the wall for the duration, and there’s no hurry to follow up. But that line of thinking is flawed, as most people aren’t checking your profile page with any regularity. Instead, followers see your content as they scroll through their personal Facebook feeds.
But content moves fast, and the window of opportunity you have to make a connection is limited — and even more so if you’re not posting consistently. This is especially true on Facebook, where engagement plays a part in determining what content appears in a user’s news feed.
Creating a social media editorial calendar not only helps you keep posts consistent and timely, but it also gives you a chance to develop an overarching and integrated content strategy. You can map out your posting schedule, fill in business-related promotions and events, and brainstorm for industry-adjacent content ideas that will provide value to your readers.
It’s a good idea to monitor your progress from idea to execution to determine how long each post will take. Remember, you’re not only coming up with topics, but you’re doing the research, writing and editing the content and finding corresponding images. Keep in mind that this entire process can take a great deal of time.
Time is a luxury you can’t afford…or is it?
5. Make the Most of Visual Content
Visual content is a big deal. In fact, 82 percent of marketers say images are an important to very important part of social media content optimization, and 52 percent say video content produces the best ROI.
Meanwhile, visual social networks are starting to rise through the ranks. Instagram has over 800 million monthly users, and Pinterest isn’t far behind with 100 million monthly users.
Images and video can be used in a variety of ways. For example, this video promotion from Taco Bell received over 66k views.
