Most businesses now know the value of social media budget, and usually, have some sort of expense put aside for it. But if your business is too small to have a dedicated social media manager, how do you make the most of this? When you’re trying to cover all sorts of different responsibilities, social media can often fall by the wayside, so here are some strategies for small businesses to succeed online.
Start building a following, even before you launch
Followers can translate into sales, with 77% of people in a study saying that they’re more likely to buy from brands who they follow on social media. Even if it’s just friends and family at first, the sooner you get people viewing and interacting with your posts, the more likely they’ll appear on your follower’s timeline. Facebook’s algorithm tends to prioritize posts that people want to see, so that’s why likes and comments are important from day one.
Set yourself some objectives
Every company will have their own idea of what they want to achieve on their social media page. Usually, it’s as simple as getting someone to click through to your online shop, fill in an inquiry form, or send a message via messenger.
Once you have some objectives in place, you can put together a social media plan. You should create a calendar so you can clearly lay out when certain campaigns will start, seasonal marketing, and posts highlighting things like awareness days or other events relevant to your industry. Whatever you decide to post, you should think about how this will boost your brand and whether it’ll be effective in meeting your objectives.
See which posts perform best
After you’ve spent a couple of months on social media, you can look up details of your post engagement, including:
- How many people have seen your post
- How many have clicked through
- The number of people who bought something/filled in an inquiry or other interaction
- The number of video views and how long people watched it