Best Social Media Tips for Small Business in 2023

 

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If you own a small business, you should take advantage of all the free advertising on social media. Why? There are now nearly 5 billion active social media users—more than twice as many as there were just five years ago. They spend an average more than 2 hours and 30 minutes on social channels every single day. Ever notice people waiting anywhere. What are they doing? Looking at their phone. Chances are they are checking their social media pages.

Social Media Builds Awareness, Adds New Business, Engages with Customers

Here’s how you can take full advantage of this tremendous source of online prospects:

1) Create a social media plan upfront for your specific business goals. Determine which social media channels would be most beneficial for your company. Also check out your competition. You can use different social channels to reach different audiences or business goals. It is a good idea to speak with customers and find out which social channels they frequent.

2) One of the major benefits of social media is the ability to target audiences. For example, Instagram for younger adults, Facebook for older adults, LinkedIn for business contacts and TikTok for the younger generation. After choosing the best social channels, research the best topics to post and the most popular hashtags to include in your posts.

3) Consistently post content on all your social media channels to stay relevant. Your posts should include valuable information related to your niche, special offers & services, etc.

4) Use social media to learn what is being said about your brand, your competitors, and your industry by monitoring searches in each social media channel.

5) In addition to finding conversations, you can utilize social streams as a powerful content curation tool. Use them with appropriate keywords and hashtags to source great third-party content that adds to informative posts created in-house.

6) Offer variety in your content. In other words, do not just post things to sell. Mix it up by also posting valuable information, images of staffers & events happening in your business and videos (not too long – no more than 2 minutes).

7) Always include 2 or 3 high volume hashtags relevant to your post. This will help people find your posts when conducting a search for a specific product or service.

8) Instead of just selling products, tell a story. We all like to connect through stories. It creates an emotional attachment with your audience. Stories also inspire ideas and encourage interaction.

9) Timing is essential for a successful social media strategy. It is important not only to publish high-quality content. Find the ideal posting frequency for integrating a successful marketing strategy. View what your competitors or others in your business category are doing. You may want to do a little bit more as long as the content is valuable and interesting.

10) Treat each social media channel in a unique way. Facebook is a great communication tool to promote specific products & services, special events and ask a lot of questions. Twitter is perfect for real-time news and offers 1-to-1 interactions. YouTube videos are excellent for conveying a lot of information about a topic.

Paid & Organic Social Media Posts – A Powerful Combination

There used to be a time when all your posts were seen by people who followed your social media channel. That’s history. Your “business” posts are seen by about 2 to 5% of your followers. But if your content is popular, your numbers can jump substantially. The other course of action is to purchase paid social media ads, especially on Facebook & Instagram. We have found the combination of organic & paid ads to be quite successful for our clients. You do not have to spend an enormous amount of money either!

As you can see, there are many benefits when utilizing social media in a proper way. Stay in touch with customers & prospects, promote specific products & services you offer, engage with customers and position yourself as a leading authority in your niche. Almost forgot – social media popularity is still considered important by Google when ranking your website. Need I say more?

SOCIAL MEDIA – Which Are the Best Choices for Your Business?

Social Media

Choosing the Best Social Media Channels for Your Business

Social media has become a key component of digital marketing. According to recent research, two-thirds of brand marketers are launching new social media programs, while another one in five have programs in development.
Facebook remains the predominant social network — in terms of consumer use and brand marketing. However, the number of social networks is growingly massively. Digital marketers no longer have the luxury of choosing one social network over another. Today, there has to be a well-managed presence on all relevant social channels.
How do you know which social networks are relevant for your brands and will provide the most return on investment? As consumers explore different social media channels, it’s imperative that marketers understand shifting preferences. For example, which social network engages millennials? Baby boomers? There is no longer a “one-size-fits-all” approach.
In terms of number of users, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram are the four leading social networks. Each of these networks attracts a distinct audience and provides a level of engagement. Although Facebook’s growth may be slowing, it still boasts the largest audience in the world with 1.5 billion monthly active users who are highly engaged; 70% log on to the network daily and almost half log on several times a day. Two-thirds of men are Facebook users, compared to 77% of women, according to Pew Research Center. More than 80% of adults who use Facebook are between 18–29 years of age. Nearly half of online adults who are 65 and older use Facebook. More than three-quarters of online adults who are Facebook users make $75,000 or more annually; 72% of online adults who are Facebook users have a college education. Geographically, Facebook users live in all types of locations: 74% of online urban dwellers use Facebook, 72% suburban and 67% rural.
Twitter reached 316 million monthly active users in June 2015, and the majority of them — 80% — are mobile users. Twitter’s audience skews younger, as 32% of online adults who use Twitter are between the ages of 18 and 29 compared to just 13% of online adults who are 50–64 years old. More men than women use Twitter — 25% versus 21%.
Instagram now has 400 million users and the percentage of online adults who use Instagram has doubled in three years. Users are highly engaged, with 59% visiting the site daily, with a higher appeal to women than men.
LinkedIn’s 380 million users tend to be older, employed, and college graduates. About one in five LinkedIn users visit the site every day. Nearly half of online adults who are college graduates are LinkedIn users. LinkedIn is the only one of the four leading social networks in which usage rates are higher among 30–49 year olds than among 18–29 year olds. LinkedIn attracts slightly more men than women.
Pinterest has 100 million users and engagement is rising. More than one quarter of Pinterest users visit the site daily. About one third of online adults are Pinterest users, according to Pew Research Center — a number that has doubled since 2012. Pinterest attracts more women than men.
Snapchat reaches more than 60% of U.S. smartphone users who are 13–34 years old. In total, the social network has nearly 100 million daily active users.
Video-sharing network YouTube has one billion users and reaches 81% of Internet users in the U.S. YouTube draws an equal number of men and women, although men spend 44% more time on the network each month. YouTube’s audience skews young from teenagers through those in their early 40s.
Google+ has 300 million daily active users and has reached 2.2 billion user profiles. Engagement is low, however, as only 9% of users have posted content.
Social media marketing can improve brand awareness, generate website traffic, drive brand engagement or increase conversions. Understanding which social network — or networks — is right for your brand calls for a comprehensive assessment of your organization’s goals, audience, content, and budget. Use the following questions and information as a guideline to determine your answers:
1. If your brand is new to social media or you need to differentiate it from competitors, some part of your investment should aim to grow brand awareness. Look at social channels that have high levels of social sharing, so your brand will benefit from mentions, likes, followers, app downloads or retweets.
2. If generating more website traffic is your goal, analyze where your website visitors come from. How long do visitors stay on your site? Do they read your content and become customers? A detailed analysis can help you determine not only which social networks are sending you traffic, but which ones are sending you valuable traffic.
Social media marketing has become a necessity for business growth and customer engagement. However, the social media landscape continues to evolve and change dramatically. It is critically important to be knowledgeable before you jump in head first into the world of social media.