If you’re one of those people who think they missed the social media train and find it will be impossible to make your mark, you couldn’t be more wrong! Social media is still a valuable tool in your business’s marketing strategy, as long as you have the right software and team at your disposal. Let’s take a look at whether your business is ready for the switch to social media.
Does Every Business Need Social Media?
No business needs social media to survive, but every business needs social media to thrive. Plenty of mom-and-pop shops get along without a social media presence, but it always helps to use everything at your disposal. You don’t even need to add a marketer to your payroll; there are plenty of social media management tools for small businesses that can help you.
However, there is a right and wrong way to use social media platforms, and you should rethink putting your products online if you are struggling in the following areas.
You Can’t Commit to Posting
To succeed in any social media platform, you have to post a minimum of 3 times a week to stay relevant, but it’s always better for your business to post every single day. Forgetting to post is fine when you start, but you need to establish a content strategy to stay consistent.
No Goals for Your Presence
Everyone wants to reach 1 million subscribers, but you can’t get there overnight. You have to measure engagement rate, visitors, and impressions for each post to understand what your customers expect from you. Don’t just post anything; create posts that keep customers following.
A Brand Without a Voice
Social media platforms are meant to strengthen your position in your field of choice, so you set yourself up as an industry expert. If your posts are boring, repetitive, or pushy, no one will think you’re very savvy. Have a brand voice that is trusting, and sales will start to grow.
Stealing Posts for Profit
Just because something works for your competitor, it doesn’t mean it will work for you. Plus, if your customers follow you, they’re likely following the person you copied from. Be unique in your niche to set yourself apart, or you’ll risk being publicly humiliated or ignored by consumers.
No Captions, No Engagement
You can’t just post a picture on your social media accounts and forget about it; you must post engaging captions and speak to your customers. Those that are proactive in communicating on social media become big favorites, so be vigilant in commenting and replying to posts.
What is the Best Strategy to Gain Traction?
For all businesses to succeed on social media, they must start with posting often, goal setting, creating a branding voice, staying unique and engaging. However, posting too much could be detrimental, so keep these numbers in mind to receive great engagement rates.
- LinkedIn – 1 (preferably a blog post or asking a question)
- Instagram – 2 to 4 (every day is preferred, always image posts)
- Facebook – 2 to 5 (every day is preferred, test with images, articles)
- Pinterest – 2 – 10 (add to your board multiple times a day, post one a day)
- TikTok – Go crazy! Post as often as you can!
Knowing how much is enough is the first sign you know your audience. Sometimes tweeting 40 times a day is what your audience wants, but other audiences will view that as spammy.
Content is King – Establish a Content Strategy Early!
Creating content is the most crucial part of social media marketing, but that content needs to have a balance between entertainment, value, emotion, and personality. This balance will be difficult to strike at first, but eventually, you’ll figure out how you want to portray your brand in a unique and valuable way. It’s a good idea to research other brands in your niche to get an idea of what their customers like because your buyers will typically prefer something similar.