Social Media Marketing for Small Business – 7 Time Saving Tips.
Youtube is for watching kittens fall down toilets, Facebook is for arranging a night out with friends and Pinterest….well I haven’t even heard of that one yet! That would be the thoughts of most small business owners. The fact of the matter is that social media marketing for small business is an absolute must and if you don’t find the time to engage with your customers your competition will.
Social Media Marketing for Small Business – 5 Time Saving Tips
Set a schedule
You don’t have to post every day. What is important is that when you do post you post quality content that will get a reaction. And no, that doesn’t mean just posting to let people know you have 50% off Mon-Wed. Promotional content is ok as part of a varied mix of content, images, information about your industry, personal thoughts.
There are plenty of small businesses that post just once or a few times a week and they are still successful in engaging customers and building a community however you have to be careful not to loose traction with your audience.
Click here: To find out what the most common small business social media marketing pitfalls to avoid are?
Build a back catalogue of material.
Rather than sitting down each and every time you are to post and thinking of fresh content. Sit down for an allotted time each week and brainstorm a list of ideas that you could talk about. This will allow you to come up with material for several posts at a time, which you can then post a few days apart.
Link Your Accounts
If you are struggling to find the time to post to 3 different accounts then focus on just the one. Then link the other two profiles so that anything you post is circulated on all three. For example anything you posted on Facebook could be sent out on Twitter and likewise anything that you post on Twitter could be posted on your Facebook page.
Tip: If you are doing this then Twitter has a 140 character limit so remember if you post anything longer then it will be incomplete.
Use social media marketing for small business to provide customer service
Is there a pattern in the questions that you have answered about your business to existing or new customers? If so, use social media to answer them. If an existing customer asks about “How can I do this or that?” Then direct them to your Facebook page where they will find the answer. Also tell them to like your page.
Don’t shy away from negative comments; use them as an opportunity to showcase your customer service excellence by working with the client to resolve the situation in an open book format. Other clients, potential clients will be impressed with the way that you helped the client.
Automate
Once you have a list of content you can schedule some of it to be posted at specific times of the day. You can use tool such as Timely for Twitter or Socialoomph.
A word to the wise, you don’t want to automate all of your social media presence as it is SOCIAL media after all. Take some time to access your chosen social media presence and have conversations with people. Be human.
Centralize your engagement
There are social media platform tools out there that allow you to centralize your social media accounts in one place, Hootsuite, and Tweetdeck are just two examples. These social media tools let you update, monitor, manage and maintain several social media platforms at once saving you precious time.
Have content come to you.
Set up Google alerts for specific topics related to your industry or niche. If you are run a dentist practice then set up an alert for “teeth advice”, “toothache” or “healthy teeth” then take a minute to browse through the results and share some posts that you feel could add real value to your audience.
Social Media marketing as a business tool won’t be going away any time soon. Over the last few years, social media is becoming more and more prominent, both for businesses and consumers. Building , maintaining and running a social media presence is a must.
Yes, I know there are a million and one things you NEED to do as a business owner. Getting your brand online and being talked about is ONE of those things. So if you don’t have the time then make it because social media marketing for small business is hugely important and can really help business growth!
Click here to read Small Business Social Media Avoid at your Peril!
About
James Debono is a small business owner and Internet entrepreneur. James dedicates his time to helping other small business owners leverage the power of the Internet to drive business growth and positive change. Click here Join James Debono on Google+
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Thanks James,
These are really great suggestions. Every small business owner should read them, as well as every large business owner. The secret of social media is to keep it social and friendly
Hi Mark,
Thanks for being social and friendly by leaving the comment.
Regards,
James
Great social media tips. People tend to get overwhelmed. It’s better to start slow than to not do anything at all.
Nicole Bandes recently posted..Reaching Success – Why Some Do and Some Don’t
Hi Nicole,
I agree. You have to start somewhere and the need for social media engagement is only going to grow.
Thanks for stopping by,
James
Excellent tips – Though only Certain things and processes should be automated, Especially if you want to provide a good Customer Service through Social Media Interaction. Its also very important to be social online with customers or potential customers, Don’t just use Social Media as a selling tool – People don’t like to be forced to buy things or look at adverts. Thanks for sharing.
Anton Koekemoer recently posted..Gamification and social media marketing
Hi Anton,
I agree with you on both points;
Don’t automate everything
Actually listen and have a conversation with people as opposed to forcing a message.
Thanks for leaving a comment,
James
This is a very comprehensive list of actions to take for small business people. I can understand if business people who already have hectic schedules, can get overwhelmed with doing all these things. However there are some very good consultants who can help do many of these tasks.
Hi,
As with most business practices there are no short cuts. The best way to get things done is to learn from those that have experience, get a solid social media marketing plan in place and take action. Measuring what works against what doesn’t and continually improving.
If that does sound to much then I agree with you there are always consultants who can provide a service that allows business people to focus on what they do best. That being driving their businesses forward.
Thanks for your comment,
James
Hi James
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your common sense, I have read a lot of your posts as part of my research into social media marketing for small business for an MA Project. I must say yours are easy to read, not full of jargon and not patronising, which can put a lot of people off, especially if they lack the confidence to make a start!
Hi Sophie,
The only way to get around that fear is to get involved. Everybody has to start somewhere and as long as you learn from your mistakes; inevitably they will happen, and you track your results you will progress.
Good luck with your MA Project.
Thanks for stopping by,
James