1.
Social media can be a minefield, right? Even for the savviest of user, new trends, the latest platform, and what tools help improve your visibility are popping up more and more.
You are probably off to a great start, you have created your business identity, your logo, website and stationery are at the printers and next you turn to social media to take it online. Whether you are an e-commerce business or using social media to get your name out there. It is ALWAYS important to first start out with a plan.
EVERY good business strategy starts with a good plan, having no clear idea or strategy of what you are wanting to achieve on social media means no real way of checking if your hard work and investment is paying off. Taking the time to create a social media plan and calendar will set you off with the best start, ensuring that all of your business goals align up to what your plans are on social media.
2.
Nobody likes a copy-cat and we certainly don’t want you to do that but looking at what your competitors are doing and what interaction they get can help reduce some major learning curves. If you really want to go all out, look to do a competitor analysis so you can really learn what is working and what isn’t for businesses like yours.
3.
Having looked at what your competitors are doing, why not go further and see what other industries are posting and what type of content for inspiration. Take a look at useful case studies that are based around their social media efforts and start to make notes of what you liked and disliked. Really think about what makes YOU tick? What makes you want to buy the latest product online or stop and read a business post. Is it the imagery? Is it because they have used video? Whatever it is, write it down and plan to introduce those.
4.
Next is to take a look at research, what your audience is using and how best they spend their time online will help you finalise a calendar that you are happy with. Keep your strategy simple at first and build with confidence as you grow online.
5.
So, you have created a plan, researched your industry online, taken a look at the behaviour of your target market, you have picked your social media platform/platforms, you have even looked into what you plan to post. It is now the time to post your content and interact to build relationships. The unique benefit of social media specifically for small businesses is that you can interact with customers and potential customer for free and in real time. Building relationships over time. Engaging customers are gold, always engage back. It gains trust and following.
To summarise, social media can seem daunting but broken down can be successfully achieved by anyone. To finish up, follow the below 8 tips and you are off to a strong start…
1. Create a plan
2. What are your competitors doing?
3. What are your favourite brands doing?
4. What do you look for in a social media post, what attracts you?
5. What platform does your target market use?
6. Create a calendar that can be shared and changeable as you progress
7. Provide VALUE and build a community
8. Be on top of your communication and customer service.