Top 4 Social Media Success Tips for a Small Business

Quality content is the cornerstone of every popular social media page. Without regular and compelling posts, the page will be as good as non-existent. 

In this blog, we’ll point you in the right direction to get your business’s Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram page out of the ether and into the paths of your future customers.

Where’s my audience?

Firstly, you must understand where your social media audience lingers in order to decide what platforms you should invest your time and money into. There’s no point starting up an Instagram account if your ideal audience is on LinkedIn. 

Social media is increasingly becoming more about quality than quantity – so being popular on one platform is much better than being unpopular on four platforms. Being on more platforms is more work too, so there’s no need to be across more than one or two platforms at the start.

Understanding who is on each platform, and what each social media platform is best for, will help you to make an initial decision. For example:

• The younger Gen Z audience (under 24 years-old) are typically on TikTok where snappy video content is most dominant. 

• Millennials are on Instagram (nearly 80% of the users are between 18-34 years-old), which has recently diversified from beautiful imagery to 90 second video content. 
• While older Millennials (aged 25-34) still make up 31% of Facebook’s users, 41% of users are aged 35 and older. This older audience reflects the favoured long-form written posts, community-focussed pages and transparency from businesses due to the ability to publicly review them.
• LinkedIn works well for professional audiences and B2B companies.
• Twitter lends itself to brands with a more international audience. 

These social media generalisations will be your starting point. Next stop: Content for your specific audience!

What do they want?

Once you have determined your social media platform(s), it’s easier to understand what content your audience will interact with and what form your content will take. 

Your content plan should include about one – three posts per week, with daily interactions (liking comments, replying to messages and sharing customer content). 

Your social media content must be relevant, entertaining, educational or interesting. Every time. If it’s not, then don’t post it because posts with low engagement will negatively impact your algorithm (how often your posts get seen by followers).

An example of what your social media plan might look like for a bar or restaurant might be: A ‘behind the scenes’ photo of the cocktail maker at work, another post advertising an exciting event that’s coming up, and a third post of a favourite menu item.

It all comes down to content.

Investing time and money into your brand’s social media means only posting meaningful, educational or entertaining content that your following will enjoy. It means posting high-quality images, and putting effort into keeping up with the latest trends and preferences on that platform. 

For example, Reels on Instagram are now a powerful tool for brands and influencers to take advantage of. Short videos are becoming the norm, so ignoring this would be a mistake. Having said that, video does take more thought, planning and effort. So if you’re not in a position to produce high quality videos for social media, then this might be something you could look to outsource.

Honesty is the best policy

It’s vitally important in today’s digital world to be as transparent as possible. It’s very easy to get caught out by public criticism and bad reviews, which can all too quickly tarnish your brand’s reputation. Don’t be fooled; reputation is everything now that you’re visible on social media in particular. 

Therefore, running your business with integrity, honesty and passion is the foundation for a blossoming online presence. This will shine through in your posts, your products and eventually your reviews! 

Producing high-quality social media content is essential, but is meaningless if it’s not authentic.

Remember, word of mouth isn’t dead; it’s just had a makeover. People share their recommendations to friends and family online, so making this easier to do will pay you back ten-fold.

Go live!

Hopefully, this blog has pointed you in the right direction in terms of introducing your brand to the online world. It’s such a major part of marketing your brand, so it’s great that you’re taking the first step! 

ADVRT is always here to help keep you on track in growing your business, so feel free to get in touch should you need any assistance in your digital marketing quest.