11 social media marketing strategies for small businesses (2023)

Cliché social media marketing strategies don't work for small businesses.

If you don't have enough followers or content to promote, you can't take advantage of social media beyond your social media.

But there are ways to grow your brand.

In this post, I'm going to show you some proven social media marketing strategies for small businesses.

Let us begin…

How do I create social media marketing strategies?

Don't go crazy dispatching random employees.

Remember that we are talking about social media marketing strategies.

Then start creating strategies:

• Find your target audience
• Understand the different social media channels.
• Beware of your competitors

How do I do it?

I'm glad you asked.

Follow-up…

I. Find your target audience

Simply put, your audience is the people you want to show your posts to.

When you know who your audience is and what they want, you can create content that they are likely to interact with.

More engagement = More brand visibility

But the most common mistake here is making assumptions.

Instead, you need to build an audience or buyer persona using social media analytics.

You can use built-in social media tools like Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, Instagram Insight, or third-party tools likeHootsuite.

You should focus on answering the 5W and 1H here:

• Who is your target audience? (Age Gender Location)
• What are you looking for? (entertainment, information, services)
• Why are they looking for this type of content? (get a job, have fun, earn money)
• Where are you online (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
• When will they be online? (Specific time like morning or afternoon or specific days like weekend or weekday)
• How do they like your content? (videos, photos, long posts)

II. Understanding social media channels

Not all social networks are the same.

For some niche companies, Instagram is the hub, some are gaining share on Facebook, and others are more drawn to LinkedIn.

It makes sense to have a presence on all the major platforms, but you need to choose the ones you want to duplicate on.

You can do this by limiting the platforms your target audience uses the most.

Most people between the ages of 13 and 50 are active on Facebook. However, it has seen a decline in traffic among its young audience. These teens and young adults can now be found by double-clicking on Instagram.

Twitter is also preferred by young people. However, LinkedIn has always favored those with career paths in the 25-35 age range.

Ultimately, the platform you use will make a big difference between your success online and failure on social media.

third Beware of your competitors

Go to your competitors' social media pages, see what they're doing and how it's working for them.

This helps you understand the market, better segment customers, and predict market potential.

Look at the type of content they post and how often they post it. Is there a specific platform that you are most active on?

You don't have to copy exactly what others do. You need to use this information to get started on the right foot.

For example, you can find out which social media platform is best for your business by looking at which platform your competitor uses most often.

The most effective social media marketing strategies

As I mentioned earlier, there are so many different strategies that work on social media. Which one to choose depends on the size of your business, your niche, and your business goals.

oMarketing strategies for real estate.Business will be different than a law firm. Likewise, marketing strategies for a small or medium-sized company aim to find and target the right audience.

If you do it right, you can easily acquire new customers through social media.

But what is the correct path?

I have worked hard creating social media marketing strategies for small businesses. The following strategies have proven effective in various startups and niche businesses:

The 11 Best Social Media Marketing Strategies

1. post regularly
2. hold the light
3. Use certain hashtags
5. Use good quality graphics.
6. post videos
7. Post engaging content
8. Schedule the launch at the best times
9. Use Twitter themes
11. hire an expert

Let's examine each of these social media marketing strategies in detail...

1. Regularly public

You might be amused that several studies have attempted to answer the question, "How often do you post on social media?" Each study returns a mixed result, showing that there are no right or wrong answers here.

If you post infrequently, your audience will forget you exist, but if you post too often, you'll become annoying and end up cluttering their feed.

The most popular studies came to the following conclusions:

• Facebook: 1-2 posts per day
• Twitter: 5-10 posts per day
• Pinterest: 5-30 Pins pro Tag
• LinkedIn: 20 posts per month
• Instagram: 1-2 Posts per Tag

These numbers can make any small business owner sweat.

Don't worry, even if we don't think these are the ideal numbers for you.

To be honest, the actual number varies from company to company. For example, Nat Geo Travel posts to Instagram an average of 6-7 times a day and receives an average of 195,000 likes per post with an engagement rate of 0.41%.

On the other hand, brands like Adidas post on Instagram once a week on average and receive an average of 142,000 likes per post with an engagement rate of 0.77%.

It depends on the type of audience you have.

Ideally, I recommend posting once a day across all platforms. You can increase your followers by up to 56% by posting every day!

(You'll read more about what to post in later points.)

The key here is to pick a routine and stick to it. Always be consistent with your social media platforms.

2. Keep it light

A unique brand voice helps humanize your brand. Give the people behind your posts permission to be people and build a connection that keeps your followers engaged.

Therefore, choosing the right voice for your brand is very important.

You can do this by examining your company's culture and audience.

A detailed study of your target audience, which I mentioned before, will come in handy here.

What gender is your target audience? How old are you? Once you take this into account, you will be able to shape your unique voice.

The basic rules to follow here are:

• avoid jargon
• Stay away from clickbait words like "now" or "today."
• Keep it light and friendly.
• use humor

People online don't like to talk to machines. You seek contact with real people.

Humor is one of the most effective ways to connect with an audience, regardless of their age or gender.

Also, humorous content is being shared and tagged more frequently.

Almost all the big brands use humor to build brand awareness.

3. Use certain as hashtags

Hashtags (#) are used to:

• Announcement of a publication
• Engagement with followers
• Drive marketing campaigns
• categorize content
• Find and follow current affairs

These hashtags are mainly used on Twitter and Instagram. Twitter allows you to use unlimited hashtags, but it must be below the general limit of characters in a tweet, i.e. 280 characters.

Instagram hashtags are key to your visibility. You can use up to 30 hashtags per post, but make sure they are all relevant to your post.

However, Facebook and LinkedIn hashtags behave very differently as they are not searchable. Also, hashtags are not highlighted as a blue clickable link on LinkedIn, making them untagged keywords.

With a focus on Twitter and Instagram, you can use tools likeHashtagify.memitag finderto search for the most relevant hashtags.

Some basic do's and don'ts when using hashtags are:

A. Avoid hashtag hijacking

It involves using a hashtag that has absolutely nothing to do with what you're posting. This method is used by internet trolls and is mostly considered spam.

B. No # random words

Think about whether someone would realistically search for that keyword or phrase you're using as a hashtag. And even if they do, will it be in the same context?

For example, this Twitter post contains hashtags like earn and convert. People don't search for these hashtags when looking for social media marketing tips.

The latest social media marketing hashtag is relevant and useful.

C. Do not create long hashtags

#ItsHardToUnderstandReallyLargoHashtags

Long hashtags are complicated and difficult to understand. Short and sweet hashtags are more memorable, impactful, and easy to consume.

D. Usa hashtags de moda

Twitter has a whole “Trending Hashtags” section. You can use these hashtags in your post to get more visibility. However, make sure that your content and products are related to this hashtag.

4. Highlight people and companies

If you @tag someone, they will be mentioned in your post.

You must have tagged a friend on Facebook in a group photo. That's right, but this is where you tag influencers or big brands.

Tagging on social media is a great way to give your posts more exposure and build engagement.

But don't go tagging random people. They might get angry and report your profile.

Here's an idea of ​​who to tag:

• Person or brand that appears in your photo
• Person or brand you are talking about in your caption
• Other accounts relevant to your business, e.g. B. All outlets that share user-generated content
• Author of a quote you share
• Website or person you took the photo of
• Person or brand mentioned in the post you shared
• Someone who inspired you to write a post.

5. Use good quality graphics

A significant part of social media marketing depends on the graphics used. When browsing Facebook or Instagram, no one stops to read your content. It's the image that grabs attention and makes people stop and read your content.

Now you need to place high-quality images that stand out from all the other images in your audience's feed.

As a small business owner, you may not be able to afford that.hire a graphic designer.

Don't worry, you don't even need one!

you can create your ownsocial media graphicsyourself.

First things first, don't look for archival material.

These photos are extremely boring, overused, and add nothing to your content.

Use illustrations.

They are among the biggest design trends of 2019.

The illustrations are fun and appeal to a wider audience.

You canget free illustrationsfrom sites like unDraw, Icon8 or Humanaans.

To edit these images there are so manyfree toolsavailable, but my favorite is without a doubtcanvas.

Perfect for any beginner, Canva comes with hundreds of templates, images, illustration elements, fonts, and text styles. You can easily create unique and high-quality images for your social media pages.

If you are looking for a more advanced tool, you can use itphotoguiso. A free online image editor that supports PSD, XCF, Sketch, XD, and CDR formats.

You can also try other sites like Canva. I talked about them in my article.Canva Alternatives.

Follow these graphic design tips for social networks:

A.There are different image sizes that are ideal for different platforms. Be sure to edit your image to this size. You can also use the free toolsceneryof Sprout Social to resize your images.

Quick reference to image size:

B.Keep the color scheme of all graphics consistent.
C.Keep the font consistent.

6. Post videos

Videos power the internet today.

Anyone who accesses the Internet knows the power of video marketing.

But it's not easy for a small business owner to use social media video marketing to grow their business.

If you're just getting started with your business, you probably have one of two questions:

• What videos do they make?
• how to make them

Let me try to answer these two questions.

Here are some realistic video ideas for you.

references- Even if you only have 2-3 customers, you can ask them to share their video recommendations. Or you can create a short video that collects your written testimonials.

product videos– If you sell some products online, create videos of that product. Show how it looks, features and some variants if available.

like videos– Instructional videos are the most popular online. In these videos you can show how your product or service works.

blog post- Once you've started working on your blog pages, you can turn those blogs into videos.

About us– You can create a short video about the owners of your business and their inspiration behind the business.

You can always try new ideas like QnA, announcement videos, or even live videos.

Now comes the most difficult question, how to make these videos?

You canhire a graphic designerIf you are not on a budget, you can try the DIY approach.

You need to invest time in these videos to get them right. Also, you will need some video creation tools like:

Main attraction

This tool is the easiest way to create a video. Headliner allows you to create up to 10 HD videos for free. Also transcribe audio into subtitles or create a video simply by uploading an article or audio file.

teardrop

This is a free screen capture and video recording software. You can use this to create how-to videos about your services or website.

beißbar

In this video maker tool, you can create and export 5 videos for free. It's a great tool for those just starting out with videos, as it offers a variety of professional templates. With Biteable you can create explanations for social networks or even presentations.

With these tools, you can easily start creating videos for your social media platforms. Just make sure of these videos:

• entertain or educate
• short and sweet
• Attract attention
• It sounds less or has a title attached

7. Post compelling content

After sorting the images, comes the content or title of your post.

Images stop the reader from scrolling, grab their attention, but the text in your post makes them click. If you want someone to visit your website or page, you need attractive copy.

And producing compelling content is not easy. In fact, many companies agree that this is the most challenging aspect of their marketing campaigns.

It takes more time and effort, but you can find ways to do it right.

It's all about being original and producing actionable content. Tell stories that grab your audience's attention and make them think or act.

Again, many small businesses are confused about what content to share.

Here are some ideas:

blog posts

No hickory! If you have a blog, share it on your own social media platforms.

About your company

Who are you? Who are the owners? Why did you start the company? This type of content allows your audience to get to know your brand better.

Industry News

Let's say you're in the shoe industry and someone has a new idea like this about 3D printed shoes. Post it on your social media channels, ask your audience for feedback, run a survey and ask them if they would buy something like this or not.

Customer reviews or testimonials

Share what your customers are saying about you on your social media channels. You can also tag them in these posts, but ask first.

Christmas wishes

Create a calendar with all the important days and events that happen throughout the year. The Post wants to show its festive atmosphere these days.

job offers

If you are looking to hire someone, advertise on your social media accounts. Or even if you've hired someone, you can send out a welcome post to let everyone know about your company culture.

inspirational quotes

It can get corny if you do it too much. But sometimes that's okay! You can use quotes from industry leaders that your audience will also relate to.

8. Schedule the reservation at the best times

Publishing your posts at a specific time is essential for your social media marketing strategies to work. This specific time is determined after careful studies that determine what time people use which platform.

Now, different sectors like technology, healthcare, travel and tourism, and education have different peak hours. There is no study that can estimate the right time to post for everyone.

Also, the best of times can be the worst of times for some companies. For example, a study states that on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. m. It's the best time to post on Facebook, and all brands send their content to their audience at that time. There are now 1,500 stories on Facebook that can appear in a person's feed. So now you are essentially competing against at least 1,500 others. Your post has a high probability of being seen by your audience.

So when should you post?

Go to the Insights tool, you'll get a lot of data there. See when your competitors are posting and how your content is performing.

There should be a specific time when they get the most engagement. This is the best time to post.

Ultimately, you will have to experiment with different times and days to find what works best for you.

You should schedule your posts at these specific times. On Facebook you can schedule a post directly at any time of the day. However, I always recommend using a third-party tool.

Two of my favorites are:

RecurPost

RecurPostis a free online tool to automatically share your updates at the best time and increase your social media engagement every week.

You can add up to 3 social media accounts to your free plan. I recommend adding Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn here. It allows you to publish 10 posts per social account daily, which is enough for a small business.

You can switch to a paid account once you have a more established business.

later

Test for Instagramlater! One of the best marketing platforms with more than 2 million users. You can create a free account, add one profile per social platform, and publish 30 posts per month per profile.

9. Use Twitter threads

Now let's move on to basic social media marketing strategies.

There are certain ways that you can get better engagement on any social media platform.

sin twitter,Tweet-Themesare the latest discoveries.

Well, not as new as they were released in 2017, but now people have started to see their potential.

To create a topic, simply post a tweet and reply directly, just like you would to a tweet written by someone else. Repeat this, responding with a third tweet, then a fourth, until your thread is over.

One of the main reasons people started using the thread was because they couldn't get their message across within Twitter's word limit.

But another great benefit is that your tweets get noticed.

The half-life of a tweet is short. If you don't get clicks, likes, and retweets within the first 30 to 60 minutes, the entire Twitter sphere will move on and your tweet will be forgotten.

With a thread you have at least 6 tweets, which is 6 times the lifetime. Each tweet in this thread has its own permalink, so it can be clicked, liked, or retweeted individually.

If you also share a link in every topic, you are 6 times more likely to get clicked.

You can share a story, a step-by-step guide, valuable tips on specific topics, or simply make your post a topic.

10. Join LinkedIn and Facebook groups

There was a time when LinkedIn groups had infrequent participation and Facebook groups were riddled with spam.

But fortunately times have changed.

You can now join your niche groups on these platforms and join a discussion dedicated to business-related topics. You can post information that other members find valuable or useful.

This will help you significantly increase your audience.

The only rule to follow here is to not spam the group.

Instead, be strategic.

Understand the group and its rules. Get started by introducing your brand, answering questions, and providing feedback on the content of others.

Not only will you build a strong relationship and move on, but you'll see some undeniable benefits along the way.

Bonus: add stories

Borrowed from Snapchat, Stories launched first on Instagram, followed by WhatsApp and then Facebook and Facebook Messenger.

You can view full screen videos or photos in your stories for 24 hours. However, Instagram also allows you to save these stories so that they appear in circles at the top of your timeline.

Big brands use this feature to increase brand awareness, increase engagement, promote events, post and generate views for their posts.

See how Starbucks promotes its espresso in its Stories:

And how 9gag tests to interact with his followers:

The biggest benefit of Stories is that they are not negatively affected by organic reach. Also, people love watching Stories content.

Just consider the following best practices when posting stories to increase brand awareness and increase conversions:

A. Label products

If you have an ecommerce site, you can tag your products directly in your stories. Each time a user clicks on a product tag, additional details about the product are displayed, and when they click again, they are redirected to the page where they can purchase the item.

B. Use calls to action

Add a call to action that tells users what action you want them to take, e.g. B. "Sign up for our newsletter today" or "Start a free trial."

C. Use pegatinas

Stickers are fun and memorable, just like emoticons. You can add a relevant tag to get a lot of extra attention that can actually lead to more conversions.

D. Embed user-generated content

Testimonials are the best example of user generated content. You can share your stories. People love to see other people wearing something and this is often a powerful driving force in increasing sales.

E. Agregar hashtags

On Instagram, hashtags also work in stories. Adding hashtags increases your chances of getting more brand visibility through your stories.

11. Hire an expert

It took me about 3,524 words to explain some of the best social media marketing strategies, and trust me, I've tried to keep it short and simple.

Feeling a little intimidated?

It's normal for a small business owner to get lost between liking, sharing, and commenting.

I have worked with many small and niche companies and have used all of the strategies listed above to gain brand awareness.

Any of these social media marketing strategies work, but it takes time.

And for some of us, time is our greatest asset.

With a wide range of responsibilities, writing tweets and posting photos on Instagram is never high on the priority list.

In this case I will recommend youGet help from an expert.

Think about it, you or your other employees have no experience in social media marketing, the time and energy you put into it could be a waste of resources.

With a professional you have to invest some money, but that money is well spent.

Might be worth a try!

But hey, if you can shake things up and take your time with your social media marketing. I say go ahead.

The main goal here is to have an awesome presence on social media.

Try all the social media marketing strategies I have listed above. You canhire a professionalat each stage of the process.