Tips for Engagement and Community Building
Social media can be a powerful tool for small businesses when used correctly. However, creating engaging content and building a community around your business takes time and effort. In this blog post, we will discuss some tips for using social media effectively to grow your small business.
The first mistake that many people make when starting to use social media to promote their business is to mix up their personal posts with business posts. If you are a sole trader it can be difficult to separate the two but you need to develop your business’s social presence and voice separately from your own.
For example, Pete who runs ‘Pete’s Perfect Plumbers’, wants to use Facebook to help promote his business. What he should do in this case is set up a Facebook page for his business, rather than use his own Facebook account. This might seem like a bad idea at first: Pete’s own Facebook account is established and he has hundreds of friends which would give his business a great boost. Why not just start posting about his business there?
The trouble with this is it means there is no separation between Pete the Plumber and Pete himself. On his feed, potential customers would also see personal items: pictures of his children, his wedding, the embarrassing pictures posted by his mates after the stag-do… And conversely, Pete’s friends and family probably don’t want to see a continual stream of posts showing successful jobs he’s completed or customer testimonials.
Getting this separation can be very difficult if your business and personal brands are very much aligned – say you are a beautician and want to build your personal brand to become an influencer. In that case you need to sacrifice the ‘truly personal’ side of your social media feeds. Everything you post – even the posts that show you as a vulnerable human being – needs to be carefully crafted to build and develop that brand. (Being a successful influencer may look easy, but it’s often difficult and soul-destroying. You need to craft that authenticity…)
Once you’ve worked out how you will separate yourself from your business’s brand, here’s what you need to do to get started:
Pick the right platform
Not all social media platforms are created equal. Do some research to determine which platform will work best for your business. For example, if you are a B2B company, LinkedIn may be a better choice than Facebook. Another mistake small businesses make is to open accounts on too many platforms – it’s better to focus your efforts on one platform than to try to be present everywhere. Large brands can maintain a presence on all the major platforms because they have teams of people working on them full-time.
Create engaging content
Post content that is interesting and informative, and that will start a conversation. Ask questions, run polls, and post behind-the-scenes photos and videos to give your followers a glimpse into your business. Some people have a knack for this – and others of you will find it a struggle. Following other similar accounts will give you ideas of the types of content that work – although you should always put your own twist on things rather than just simply copy other people. As with anything, the more you practice, the easier it will become for you.
Follow the 1/3 rule for your content
Nobody likes a bore – one of those people at parties who turn every conversation into an opportunity to boast about themselves. It’s the same on social media – if all you do is promote your own products or services, then eventually people will switch off.
The 1/3 Rule of social media is a simple method to help businesses avoid over-promoting. One-third of your content should be about your business, another third interacting with others and the last third of activity is sharing news and content that you think your followers would find interesting.
Respond to comments.
When someone takes the time to leave a comment on your post, be sure to respond! This shows that you are listening to your audience and value their feedback. If the comment is negative – such as a complaint about your services – it’s very important to deal with it promptly and professionally. A quick apology and a request for the person to call you or email the company shows that you are responsive and takes the discussion away from the social platform.
What if the comments are just plain offensive or rude? Never get into an argument on the social platform. If the offensive comment needs a response – if it’s an unhappy customer, for example – then be polite and offer to continue the discussion by email or phone. Otherwise, just remove the comment and leave it at that.
Be consistent.
Once you’ve started posting, be sure to keep at it! Posting sporadically will not help you build a following or engage with your audience. The number of posts will depend on your audience but aim to post at least once or twice a week.
I hope you have found these tips useful. If you have any other suggestions for using social media to promote a small business, please leave a comment!