So you have a small business and need to build a social media presence.
You’re bound to have a couple of questions. Most people wonder where they should start—what’s the first step?
And of course, there are tons of questions that follow later.
How to gain more followers?
What about strategy?
If you’re new to social media, you’re going to want to stick around for a few tips to get the ball rolling.
Table of Contents
Why Your Business Needs Social Media
Brand visibility is a huge concern for most small businesses because it’s hard to get your business out there.
Social media provides a huge stepping stone for your business because it’s free (for the most part) and allows you to create a specific tone and aesthetic you want your business to be known for.
This is also known as your company’s branding, which should tell the public what your company stands for and believes in—ultimately telling a story that describes your brand.
Being active on social media provides visibility and professional appeal.
Where to Start
Some would suggest starting all social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Linkedin.
However, it’s best to look at your target audience to see which platforms they occupy the most. In doing this, you can make sure you’re not wasting time posting on platforms that won’t serve your marketing purposes.
Once you figure out which platforms to go with, it’s time to create your handles and icons for each one.
It’s important to maintain uniformity across your platforms so people know you for a professional appeal.
You want to make sure you have a professional logo because it speaks volumes about your company, and it’s often the first impression people have of your business.
Then it’s time to think about the type of content you want to create and share.
Content Creation
For some business owners, simply mentioning “content creation” is daunting.
Don’t let these two words freak you out.
With apps like Canva, you can create high-quality social media posts in just a few minutes. It’s helpful to familiarize yourself with different types of content. Let’s explore some of the most beneficial content options.
If you sell a product or service, you want to include user-generated content into your content calendar.
When other potential buyers see how much other people love your product or service, it prompts them to try it themselves and gives them a sense of security in doing so.
You can create this type of content by merely reposting a review from a happy customer.
When you create content, you want to think outside the box, to create unique and engaging content that draws a response from people. If you find this hard to do, add a question at the end of your caption.
When you end on a question, it warrants a response from interested people in your niche.
Behind the scenes, content is always a big hit. Indeed you’ve seen your fair share of #BTS hashtags across the web and social media platforms.
People love behind-the-scenes content because it provides a human aspect to your company and reveals the face behind the magic.
Behind the scenes content is huge on Tik Tok right now. It’s a little tricky for some people to pin down the editing on Tik Tok, but once you figure it out, you can repost that video to your other social media platforms.
There are all kinds of content to create. Play around with it and see what your audience responds to the most.
Posting Strategy
Having a strategy in place helps you stay focused on what you want to gain from social media. Let’s be real, at the end of the day. It comes down to conversions for most people.
To gain conversions, you have to understand your target audience. Here are a few things you can do to figure this out. First, take a look at your current following and ask yourself a few questions.
What’s the average age?
What state or regions are most of your followers from?
Then you can look at average income, professions, interests, etc.
After looking at all of these things, you can craft the perfect strategy by creating custom content that speaks to the issues or problems they have—your product offers a solution.
We know, it sounds a little overwhelming, right?
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What About the Algorithm?
By now, you’ve heard the word “algorithm” tossed around here and there. An algorithm is a way social networks sort posts, ultimately deciding what gets the most exposure.
You think you have it figured out, and BAM, it’s changed and you have to figure it out all over again.
Here are some 2021 Instagram tips that should appease the new algorithm:
- Post your content and don’t check it for a while.
- Don’t use apps like Buffer and Later to auto-publish your content.
- Avoid copy and pasting hashtags—be creative.
- Create engaging and unique content
- Respond to comments—engage with your audience.
Final Thoughts
Building social media platforms from the ground up sounds much harder than it is.
You might feel scattered and unfamiliar with the whole process, but you eventually get accustomed to anything you put effort into.
When it comes to creating content for your social media platforms, don’t be afraid to get creative and step outside of the box.
You might stumble across something that goes viral and changes the trajectory of your whole business strategy. Lastly, make sure you’re staying hip to all of the algorithm changes so your content has the best chance of seeing a wider audience.
When you find your flow and see results start to pour in, you can kick back and beam with pride—you did that!
