How can you use social media to support your brand strategy framework for small businesses?

The top mistake small businesses make in social media is they bite off more than they can chew - this hurts their consistency, hurts the quality and value of the efforts, and ultimately hurts instead of helping their brand. Before anything else - take this self-assessment. 1) how much time or resources can I put into a social strategy? I recommend 90 minutes a day to both post, write future posts and respond to people (critical element) 2) do you have a strong idea of your voice, and the type of brand you are? Friendly, joking, informative........ 3) as important as knowing who you are is knowing who you are not. What types of posts will you not do, what are you lines around hotbed topics like politics and religion

The key to marketing for a small business is to be as lean as possible, while also driving impact. Focus on first developing your foundational brand elements that will stick with you for awhile. These include: - Brand Messaging (mission, value prop, elevator speech) - Visual Identity - Website All other marketing tactics, including social media, can pull from these foundational elements and make it much easier to create content.

As a small business, supporting your brand strategy framework with social media can give you great leverage. Start with an effective social media plan. Identify what social platforms align with your brand and TG; Social media gives you a lower barrier to entry, so utilizing your owned pages and network can help to serve your brand content effectively. Create your content calendar, and start on a scale that you can manage (frequency is good, consistency is better). And if you ever consider paid social (i.e. social media advertising), allow your content a few days of organic traction before pumping in advertising spend.

Social Media is a volatile tool of marketing catalysing a discussion in an open forum, 'positive or undesirable', so it's important to draw a line before you start. Unfortunately, most of the brands flood their handles un-mindfully. As a result, they lose the attention of their TG. You will gain respect, only if you behave like one.

The biggest challenge getting started here is making brand strategy dissectible and memorable enough that team members can internalize these brand elements. That's the easiest way to make sure that your brand strategy isn't just something that gets buried in a deck somewhere - and actually gets applied and resonates in the social media activity of your business and your team.

The challenge I see so often with small businesses is they feel they need to everything to everyone and every platform because they think they need to chase what’s “hot.” The reality is not every social media channel is right for every small business, nor is it right for reaching your ideal customer. Just because TilTok has seen massive growth does not mean your small business needs to be there and invest time and resources into a channel that has few of your own target demographics. The key here is focus on where your ideal audience is and get crystal clear on your message. Don’t chase the shiny object, find your audience and double down.

Evaluate which platform is best for your target audience. Don't be dismissive at the start and never revisit. Whilst a platform might not be correct or appropriate at a certain time, it might evolve or the landscape changes. So always create profiles/ pages/ accounts on each platform to support your brand/ business. And activate/ use when appropriate. Learn how to get the best out of the platform, consider all of the features and functions and then adjust the settings to meet your business needs and set up

This is very important. Each channel speaks a different language and expects a different persona of your brand to show. Pick the ones that you resonate with the most and stay consistent. Not everyone can phrase themselves on Twitter and not everyone can compete with TikTok's speed. Choose channels that will not burn you out.

?? Choosing social media channels is like a treasure hunt! Dive into existing ones, but keep an eye on the cool, new islands popping up. Map where your audience sails, or might set sail, and plot your course. Spy on competitors—it's like having a social media crystal ball! Save time, learn the tricks, and dodge the pitfalls. It's the strategy dance—groove where your audience is and pirouette past the competition. ????? #SocialMediaAdventures

The common misconception I encounter with my clients is that being present on every available social media platform is necessary for success. In reality, this approach often leads to spreading resources too thin and diluting the effectiveness of your efforts, especially when operating with a limited budget. In choosing the right social media channel, one has to consider: Target Audience Demographics: Choose social media platforms where your audience is most active and engaged. Platform Features and Capabilities: Evaluate the features and capabilities of each social media platform to determine which aligns best with your marketing objectives. Competitor Analysis: Identify which social media channels your competitors are using.

If you are on more than one platform I would start with creating for the core platform then optimize it for the other ones. This means studying what works for each platform in format, tone, hashtags etc. I have also found it helpful to establish a content plan based on your well defined main pillars and rotating through the following 5 C’s in your content creation: 1. Connection 2. Character (POV) 3. Credibility 4. Creative 5. Conversion This also allows you to create a good give-ask rhythm in your content, aiming for 80% give and 20% ask. It is also helpful to think of how you can go through the different formats in your rotation for each platform: video to audio to text or create text to audio to video.

This part takes months and months to understand. Do not underestimate the labour that will go behind the scenes. An easy way to split content is by using the following approach: 1. Who - Who are we/Who is it for 2. What - What we do/sell/make/offer 3. When - When is the right time to reach us, use our products, purchase our services etc... 4. Where - Where can we be found, where can we be used 5. Why - Why do we do what we do? Why do you need it?

Most businesses don't want to hear this, but people don't follow your account to be sold to. They follow you to get inside your orbit, feel part of whatever it is you're 'selling' (metaphorically speaking). Be entertaining, be friendly, be 'yourself'. Spend time making a content plan that aligns with your short term goals, but also with your long term brand story. Social media is an art in itself and it's time consuming, and unless you have a clue, it'll help to hire someone who does.

While it is tempting to post the exact same content in the same (or similar form) to all social media channels you have chosen, this is not a best practice. While social media is often considered as a bucket, each channel is quite unique, both in format for posts, tone and audience engagement styles (among other things). So it's worth taking the time to consider how you will post to each channel. For example, if you want to use social media to bring visitors to your blog, how you promote your blog post will enhance performance if you tailor each social media post to the platform (and not just use the same graphic with the same wording on every platform). Run a few tests and you will likely see engagement increase with the thoughtful intent.

As a small business owner, it can be difficult to stand out in the crowd. Trends and templates are great as a creative seed but do not use them blindly. Even at an early stage, decide what your small business brand will stand for, and how it would choose to communicate with the customers. keep that tone consistent. And use the trends and templates to amplify this brand personality consistently over time. As your brand grows, that personality and tone of voice will grow synonymous with you.

Understanding not just the metrics but the emotions tied to your content can offer deeper insights. Additionally, explore customer feedback and incorporate it into your analysis for a more holistic view. Embrace A/B testing to experiment with different content strategies and identify what resonates best with your audience. Remember, the qualitative aspects are as vital as quantitative metrics. Lastly, foster engagement by responding promptly to comments and messages. Building a community is not just about numbers; it's about fostering genuine connections. Keep refining your strategy based on both data and the human touch for a well-rounded approach to social media success.

Measuring social media performance in your brand strategy involves a systematic approach. Here's a step-by-step guide: 1.Set Clear Objectives 2.Identify Key Metrics: - Choose metrics that align with your objectives. Common metrics include: - Engagement (likes, comments, shares) - Reach and Impressions - Follower Growth - Click-through Rates (CTR) - Conversion Rates - Social Media ROI 3.Use Analytics Tools 4.Regular Monitoring 5.Audience Insights 6.Benchmarking 7.Visualize Data 8.Evaluate Content Effectiveness 9.Conversion Tracking 10.ROI Calculation 11.Adaptation and Optimization 12.Regular Reporting

Just like any other testing situation, you must test to learn. Test to adapt, grow, distort successes and avoid repeating mistakes. Understanding what metrics are important to you for the campaign is also important. A revenue based post will perform different than a post designed to build followers.

Encourage your audience to create content related to your brand, fostering a sense of community and authenticity. Leverage user insights not just for feedback but as a source of inspiration for your content strategy. Embrace storytelling; it's a powerful tool for building emotional connections. Incorporate narratives that align with your brand values, creating a more memorable and relatable experience for your audience. Lastly, explore partnerships with micro-influencers who resonate with your brand ethos. Their authentic voice can amplify your message to a more targeted and engaged audience. Keep refining, stay innovative, and let your social media strategy evolve as dynamically as the digital landscape.

One think I feel difficult is to encourage your audience to engage with the content with more than just a reaction (likes, for example). When you are in that phase of discovering exactly what your target audience is like and how your products differentiate from competitors, it's a little bit challenging to make content that actually connects and encourage feedback about how thet feel about your brand. I don't like 'general formulas' about strategies, but I would say that honest content usually helps with this.

Doing a SWOT analysis Set specific, measurable goals aligned with your brand strategy. Gather insights on preferences & behaviors. Prioritize high-quality, brand-aligned content. Experiment with images, videos, infographics, & live streams. Determine peak engagement periods for each platform. Respond promptly to all actions.Incorporate relevant trends into your content strategy.Strategically use paid ads for targeted visibility.Track performance against goals & identify areas for improvement.Consider partnerships with influencers or other brands.Foster user-created content to boost engagement.Stay informed & adjust strategy accordingly. Maintain a unified brand voice across platforms.Stay updated on social media trends and best practices

It's okay to quit a platform that is taking more than it's giving. Don't keep investing your time/money/resources into a platform that isn't pulling its weight in the funnel.

In today's world, social media has become a vital tool for small business owners to thrive and excel in their respective industries. One of the key aspects of a successful social media strategy is collaboration. The power of collaboration cannot be underestimated as it can lead to various benefits for small business owners. By working together, small business owners can increase their reach, build a larger audience, and foster a sense of community that can be difficult to achieve individually. Therefore, it is essential for small business owners to recognize the importance of collaboration on social media to achieve long-term success and growth.

Social media is a powerful tool to reach and engage your target audience, build trust and loyalty, and increase your brand awareness. You can use social media to support your brand strategy framework for small businesses by following these steps: -> Define your brand identity and value proposition. -> Identify your target market and customer personas. -> Set your social media goals and objectives. -> Choose your social media platforms and create your profiles. -> Create and share valuable content. -> Engage with your audience and grow your community. -> Analyze and optimize your performance.

Your brand is the heart of your media strategy. Use your brand values, voice, look and feel to guide your content. Aligning to your brand will make content creation ??meaningful ??consistent ??memorable ? enjoyable ? permanently valuable as you develop a rich resource bank of content. Whatever you do on social (and beyond), BREATHE your brand!

Chasing "virality" can be really exhausting. Is it helpful for brand awareness when content goes viral? Absolutely. Is it way harder than it used to be to make that happen? 100%. Be careful not to make "viral" the goal. Figure out a better measure of success.