It is increasingly vital for small businesses to utilise the power of social media for their marketing. You need to have a social media presence as you don’t want to be left behind by the competition. 

It can increase your brand awareness, drive more traffic, and enhance relationships with both customers and partners.

But managing your social media can be difficult. Thankfully there are many tools and tips that can help! Read on as we look at several ways for small business owners to manage their social media. 

10 Perks of Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses

Like it or not, social media in business has become a non-negotiable. Customers have come to expect social media as a means of communication, for news updates, and for engagement. This means there are many perks to being on social media.

Let’s take a look at what they are!

Boost brand awareness – Having a strong brand is important for any business. Social media allows you to put your name out there and get eyes on your business.

It’s free – Being on social media is free and you don't have to worry about high start-up costs. It's excellent marketing that doesn't cost a cent.

Customer engagement – Being able to directly talk to customers allows you to directly engage with them. This can have a few advantages, including enhanced brand loyalty. 

Targeted campaigns – While social media is free, most allow you to pay for advertising. These campaigns can be created to specifically target a particular demographic. 

Boosted traffic – Once you create a social media presence, you can direct more traffic to your website or to your products. 

Competitive advantage – Many brands either don’t have a social media presence, or have low-quality content. Having a strong social media presence can give you a huge competitive advantage. 

Market insights – Many social media sites allow you to take a closer look at your demographic and give you analytics tools which can help you shape your future marketing campaigns. 

Real-time feedback – Being able to speak to customers in real-time can have drawbacks, but it can have many advantages, such as helping you quickly identify potential issues. 

Partnerships – Social media allows you to work with influencers or other brands to create powerful collaborations which can reach a greater audience. 

Distributing content – Word of mouth has long been the most powerful marketing tool, but social media has taken that to the next level with shares, reposts and comments. It's free and powerful content dissemination. 

5 Ways to Manage Your Social Media

Social media can be a powerful tool. How can we get the most out of it? The easiest way is with these tools and tips on how to grow business on social media.

1. Plan and Post Often

You’ll never get anywhere with social media without frequent posting. Whatever channel you use, you need to be posting at least once per day. One of the best ways to organise this is with a content calendar which can help you plan your week and month. 

It's also a good idea to mix up your content types. This can be a mixture of text, images, videos, and articles. All the algorithms on social media platforms are geared towards promoting accounts that post often. 

2. Streamline Your Channels

You need to understand your target audience and not waste your time. For example, if you have a finance company, will there be much use in having an Instagram account? Brands that have little or no visual content may not be best suited to the platform.

Many social media platforms are out there, but it can be a poor use of resources to target them all. It’s best to choose three or four social media platforms most closely matching your content strategy and goals. 

3. Think Small

A huge mistake so many businesses make is trying to appeal to everyone, and trying to sell to everyone. If you do this, you often just get lost in the crowd. Instead, you need to consider your demographic and make sure to target it.

For example, there’s no point in marketing a product for older people on TikTok, which primarily has young users. Know the people you are hoping to appeal to, and speak directly to them by knowing what their desires are and understanding their pain points. 

4. Use the Tools

You simply must use social media management tools to manage social media platforms. Not only is it a better way to organise your thoughts but it will save you a lot of time. The best social media tools will depend on what your objectives are, but there are tools that can help you with scheduling posts, monitoring activity, and easily post on multiple accounts from one place.

Social media management tools can also be important for creating business agility. This is especially true for flexible workspace providers as it helps you run your business with fully furnished support. Check out the workspace on Compass Offices if you want to take your business to the next level. 

5. Create and Follow Trends

Following trends may be seen as boring and unoriginal, but it’s important. Look at what’s trending and see how you can adapt it to your business. Jumping on the back of viral content can be an easy way to create high engagement. 

To try to be a trendsetter, ask for interaction from your followers, and see if you can start trends. For example, a shoe company could create a conversation about what is the best sneaker of all time. Followers find posts such as this hard to resist. 

Conclusion

If you want to get ahead as a small business, utilising the best social media marketing practices is a must. With the right social media strategy, you won't be left behind and can increase your brand awareness which ultimately leads to higher revenues.

There are many important reasons to use social media for your marketing. But it’s vital not to make costly mistakes. If you follow our advice above, you have a great chance of creating a strong social media presence.