Small Business Social Media Guidelines
Whether you’ve never attempted to use social media, or you’re a social media guru, here are the essentials to help set you and your business up for success all absolutely FREE!
Let’s start with what social media channels you should be using and why.
Facebook – EVERYONE, and I do mean everyone, has to have a Facebook page for their business. So, if you’re reading this right now and you haven’t created one then you need to stop what you’re doing and go make one. Every second you spend without Facebook is a second you could be gaining a new customer, and all it takes is a little bit of work. If I still haven’t convinced you then I’ll give it one more shot. Nearly 70% of Americans use Facebook…that’s about 227 million people! So, on top of it being FREE, you get potential access to 70% of America
Instagram – Most businesses have done a good job of at least creating a Facebook page, but 98% of the time they stop there. There is no doubt in my mind that every business needs to utilize Instagram because it is both easy to use and easy to find potential customers. Facebook owns Instagram, so there is a lot of integration between the two. The major difference here is that Instagram is a VISUAL platform. That means high-quality photos and videos will help you use this to bring in more money. It’s as simple as that.
Twitter – Twitter is the noisiest of all the social media platforms, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Most definitely worth creating an account. It’s the easiest platform to stay active on, and it makes a great platform for customer service questions and engaging with your fans. It is also a great way to run giveaways or competitions and get a ton of free traffic. Because it is noisy you will have to be more engaged with posting in order to stay relevant, but it will definitely be worth it if you do.
Pinterest – Pinterest is one of those smaller platforms that a lot of people still use, but it’s not widely talked about. I HIGHLY recommend any business that has any sort of visual elements to it to use Pinterest. Restaurants, bakeries, stores, car dealerships. All you have to do is take pictures and post. It is a great source for driving traffic because you can add links to every pin you make.
https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-pinterest-for-business/
YouTube – YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world and has over 3 billion searches every month! With that being said, starting a YouTube channel for your business can absolutely lead to an insane amount of growth. It is a little harder to get involved with because you have to create videos for your page. But if you can take the time to make a video a week…you can just sit back and watch the traffic come in.
Now we need to talk about some essentials when using social media to get the most out of your time.
1. You need to have highly optimized pages that always point to your business. This is a must for every platform. If they see your post and can’t find you, then they might as well not have seen you. Facebook has options for address, phone number, hours, reviews, website, and many things that pertain specifically to your business. As you get into other platforms they are less business-focused. Through Instagram, you can connect your account directly to your Facebook page and turn it into a business Instagram where you can add your phone number and email for contact purposes. Don’t forget to add your website as well!
2. Maintain congruency across platforms. You want to have the same usernames for every platform you have an account on, otherwise, you risk not being found. This is helpful for customers, for Google, and for you when you promote your pages. *Tip, try to avoid using numbers in your username unless it is a part of your business name
3. Link all of your social media on your website. This helps customers find your pages much easier and also helps with your search engine rankings when Google sees that your social media pages are popular.
4. Post post post! Consistency is key. You won’t get anywhere if you quit posting for 6 months at a time. Another important tip is what you post needs to be engaging. A lot of people make the mistake of just selling their products on every post. Nobody wants to follow a page like that. You have to be relatable. Show your followers that you’re a real person too. Make them laugh by sharing something funny. Talk about something you really care about. A rule of thumb is the 80/20 rule with posting. 80% of posts should be normal posts, can be funny, informative, or just general stuff people want to see. The other 20% should be promoting your business.
5. Interact with people. People like to talk, especially when they enjoy something. Join Facebook groups, comment on people’s posts, follow people’s pages. When you show that you care about other people then they will show the same towards your business. This is the big reason social media has changed the world so much is that you can interact with people without leaving your bed if you want to. So why not use it to your advantage?
6. I mentioned Facebook groups above, and if you like free traffic then you’re going to love this. If you get on Facebook right now and search the city you live in, then I guarantee you that there are at least a few groups close by you that have thousands of people in them. Look all you have to do is join these groups and you have free access to those people. Recently I worked with a car dealership and I had anywhere from 3000-5000 people viewing every single car I posted for FREE because I utilized this feature.
7. Create buzz. You want people to follow you, then sometimes you have to give them a reason. Running contests or giveaways are a great way to spike an increase in followers and engagement. You can do anything you want, but I would suggest doing something big, because if you use the last tip I gave you then you have access to thousands of free people. All of which love free stuff. I say do something big because if you give away something like a free T-shirt then you won’t have very many people engage with that post. It has to be something worth their time.
8. Utilize videos. I would say the number one thing to focus on posting is videos. Video is the closest thing to meeting a person without actually meeting them. So, if someone can watch your videos then they feel like they know you, which establishes a level of trust in your business way before they’ve walked in the door. Not to mention videos are the highest converting forms of posts and advertising. I 100% suggest that if you are doing a giveaway that you do it in video form. Then a lot more people are going to see it.
9. Just have fun! A lot of people make social media seem like a hassle for their businesses, but in all reality, it is an amazing thing. Like I’ve said if you do it right then it opens a ton of doors to bringing in customers absolutely FREE. So just enjoy it. If you have fun doing it then your fans will have fun too!