Getting Started With Social Media for Your Small Business
It can be overwhelming, but don’t worry – not many other small businesses have figured it out either. Here are the absolute basics you need to think about when getting started.
Which Social Media Profile is Right for your Small Business?
Some small businesses already have a Facebook page, but what other social media platforms might be beneficial? There are various factors to determine the right social media mix, but it basically boils down to defining the type of business to the profile of a customer. It’s about crafting the right message to the audience and utilizing the right channel to get there.
For example, Twitter might be great for financial advisors that want to send timely stock tips to demonstrate their thought leadership, while Pinterest might make more sense for handymen that want to post pictures of completed jobs in the local area. The key is to find pertinent information that engages customers.
The Two Essential Platforms
If you’re just trying to figure out where to start, there are 2 “must-haves.”
- Facebook Pages — to start building a community of followers, post basic information on your business and be “findable” on Facebook’s “Nearby Places” their mobile search engine.
- Google+ Local Pages — when optimized correctly, they usually will achieve inclusion in the “local pack results” – the seven mapped listings at the top of a Google Search Engine Results Page.
And Please, Just Post What is Relevant to Your Customers
You’ve seen it before– small businesses posting cute kittens and random stuff on social media, thinking it will somehow help increase traffic for the business. It’s…the “results by volume” approach, but without any real purpose or result. Good social media content realizes that sheer volume is not the path to success; instead posting relevant content that will ultimately drive the correct type of traffic.
Happy Socializing!