Social Media for Small Businesses - What Matters Most
Ask any social media manager what’s most important and you’ll likely get a handful of similar answers. Social media management generally involves creating and posting content, writing copy, ad placement, metrics, analysis, engaging with comments and answering questions.
But what matters most?
When assessing a businesses social media and marketing strategy, I notice 3 things right away. You probably notice them too, and that’s why I think they’re what matters most.
1. Consistency of posting
2. Brand establishment
3. Engagement
Consistency of Posting
Consistency is showing up daily with content on social media. It’s posting regularly enough that consumers begin to expect your business presence in their feed - and they notice when you’re not.
“Does this mean I have to post something new every day?”
Yes and no. New content is necessary on a regular basis, yes. However, once you have established consistent posting for a while, you can begin reposting favorites from the past. Or you can re-share them in stories for something different.
Sometimes your daily consistency is just popping on to say hello as the face of your business. Maybe you offer a quick poll to your customers on their favorite things - “this or that” questionnaires are a fun way to engage.
Consistency means showing up daily, but there are ways to make this easy and efficient so that social media doesn’t dominate your day.
Brand establishment
Brand establishment is curating a look that compliments your brand. It’s using the colors in your logo, your business aesthetic or common terms/slogans in your content. It’s staying consistent to your overall brand image.
“Does that mean I need to be uniform at all times?”
Absolutely not. Creativity is fun and inviting. The end result just needs to be recognizable to your business. The last thing you want from your posting is for someone to not realize it was your business they were catching up on.
Engagement
Engagement is important. Do you reply when customers comment? Do you address every comment or just the negative ones? Replying to any and all comments, reviews and questions can be challenging, but is necessary for people to see that your business has a real human behind it.
Taking the time to reply to messages and comments is important. Great engagement makes the consumer feel as if they’re speaking to you in person. Ignore these interactions at your own peril.
While this may all seem like a lot to manage, you can become an expert at your own social media or you can let it grow into an unmanageable, hungry monster.
At Flywheel, we use a specialized approach tailored to meet your business needs and the specific goals you have. We can take the guesswork out of it, and help you grow your social media.
We know that social media can be overwhelming, and we work hard to simplify it for you. We offer a free evaluation of what we think is working for your social media and a few things we think can be improved. We look forward to working with you.
