4 Tips for Small Businesses to Make the Most of Their Social Media Budget

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

There’s no point doing certain types of the post if people aren’t interested, so try a few different things and you’ll be able to pinpoint what works for your followers.

See what competitors are doing

While you want to lead your industry, not just follow trends, it can be helpful to know what the competition is doing so you can react accordingly. If you decide to go through Lean Six Sigma Online Training, you’ll know how important it is to deliver the products and services that people want, and not overwhelm the customer with too many choices. This is why it’s worth looking at the successful companies in your industry and seeing if you can work out what they do well.

While you may not have the budget for someone to do your social media full-time, small businesses can often make a big impact with a little bit of planning, even if they have a tiny budget.