If you’re like most small business owners, you probably have a limited marketing budget.
Still, marketing is important to your success. How else can you reach new and old clients to build your brand and grow your company?
Luckily, social media is a cost-effective marketing method.
Here are five tips for putting together a social media marketing strategy that works best for your business.
1. Establish Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
As you determine a social media marketing plan for your company, think about your brand’s message. What image do you want to convey to your social media followers?
As you establish what you’d like as your social media persona, think of ways you can deliver that message.
Then, put it in writing.
Having a written social media marketing policy will be helpful as you grow and hire employees to handle these tasks for you.
2. Which Platforms Are Your Clients Using?
About 72% of Americans use social media in some form.
That’s a lot of people your business can potentially reach using free social media sites.
First, you need to determine which social media platform — or more than one — your business should join. These days, there are a lot of options, so you need to know your client.
Do your research and determine your average client’s demographics — age, gender, location, interests. Then, use this information to determine the best social media platform for your brand.
You don’t want to be marketing to Facebook if your potential clients are using LinkedIn.
3. Use the Same Handle for Each Platform
Most likely, you’ll use a mix of social media platforms to reach your customer base.
Consistency is important when building your brand. To make it easier for followers to find you, you should use the same handle for each social media platform.
If you’re unable to get them exactly the same, they should be as similar as possible. This will make marketing easier for your business.
4. Post Regularly and Engage with Your Clients
Once you’ve established which platforms make the most sense for your brand, make sure you post regularly to them.
The trick is finding a balance to your number of posts. You need to post enough that it keeps your followers engaged, but not so frequently that they’re annoying.
Posting a few times a week is likely an appropriate number, though some products and services could call for more frequent social media posts.
Also, remember this: part of social media’s beauty is the ability to casually engage with your customers.
If someone comments, respond to them, even if it’s with a simple “thank you.” If someone messages you, answer them quickly.
Clients are more likely to trust a brand that engages with them.
5. Aim for a Mix of Paid and Organic Reach
If you post interesting news, photos, and articles, and you engage with your followers, you’ll have no problem building an organic reach.
Don’t be afraid to mix in some paid social media advertising if you have a special sale or event coming up, though.
Paid and organic social media complement each other.
So, as you create your social media marketing plan, include a healthy mix of posts intended to reach a large audience organically and boosted posts that build on this organic following.
Know When to Hire a Professional
If managing your business’ social media seems overwhelming, consider hiring a social media marketing company.
Not everyone loves social media. Professionals can help you determine the best marketing plan for your company.
Want to Learn More About Growing Your Business?
Once you’ve mastered your company’s social media marketing strategy, let us help you grow your business in other ways.
Check out our website for additional tips and tools for start-up companies and small business owners who are building their brand.
