5 ways to boost your business with social media
Whether you are a start-up or established small business owner, having an effective social media strategy can be an enormous asset, but where do you start?!
These five tips will be sure to help you on your way:
1) Identify your goals
What are your marketing and communication goals? Social media is important but should be part of a complete marketing plan. Think about the long and short-term goals that can increase your market presence, visibility and sales or how these will come together in the lead up to launching your business. Knowing your goals will help you to communicate the right message to the right audience using the right platform.
2) Choose the right platform(s)
There are lots of social media platforms out there, so be selective as certain platforms tend to work better in certain sectors or markets. Don’t feel obligated to have a presence on every platform. Focus your time and effort on creating content most relevant to your business and your target audience.Tailor the content to each platform individually, although you may find there is some overlap between them. Some platforms are more visual, so try to stand out.
3) Think before you post
Before posting, ask yourself:
“Is this helpful?”
“What value am I adding?”
“Is this relevant to my customers’ needs?
Use and maintain a consistent voice which reflects your brand. Don’t feel pressured to be formal unless this is appropriate to your brand and your target audience. Authenticity builds trust.
4) Be consistent
Try to be consistent with how active you are and how often you post. This will show your reliability, credibility and help your followers build and maintain trust in your brand.
5) Listen as well as speak
One of the greatest strengths of social media is it enables you to engage in a dialogue with your audience and for them to build a connection to your brand. This is what makes social media social. Listening to your audience is as important as speaking to them. However, don’t shout into an empty room! Just tweeting or posting into the void will have a limited effect. You need to focus on where you customers or potential customers are.
Whether you have an established social media presence, or your business is embarking on its social media journey, social media provides an invaluable opportunity to engage with current and potential clients/customers and to mutually promote and grow your businesses.
How I can help you
As a Career and Small Business Coach, I work with career-driven men and women to start-up and grow their careers and small businesses. I help them find solutions, positive outcomes and overcome challenges affecting their professional roles. If you are interested in coaching support to promote and grow your business, please get in touch at lyndsey@heads-up-coaching.com You can follow me @headsupcoaching
November’s networking and coaching event
‘Boosting your business with smart social media’ is on Thursday, 15th November, 10am-12pm at Six in Hove. I will be offering a group coaching session to increase your knowledge and confidence in using social media to optimise your business. There will be a guest talk on ‘How to beat the algorithm’ by Claire Jones-Hughes – Digital Marketer and Trainer at Clarita Digital.This will help you to understand more about who sees your posts on Facebook and Instagram and how you can improve the reach with your content and posting habits. You will be able to network and make connections with other small businesses in Brighton and Hove in a friendly and supportive environment.
For more details and to your place: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/networking-coaching-boost-your-business-with-smart-social-media-tickets-51201645500
