Social media for small businesses can be confusing. How do you know where to start? What is the most important thing to do after you make an account? How do you turn social media into a money-making tool?
We interviewed our company expert on organic social media creation to answer some of the most common questions small business owners ask as they begin using social media.
Our local expert Melissa found her passion for social media management while doing her college internship. She was tasked with improving a company’s social media by doing market research and applying social media best practices. She has been working in social media ever since!
Here is what we found in our conversation with her.
Question: Is organic social media hard to do?
Answer: It’s not very hard, but it could be hard for some companies to keep up with trends and align their content with what an audience likes and wants from them.
It depends on who you are as a business. For instance, a business-to-business company would need to have a different social media presence than one selling directly to a regular consumer.
Your demographics matter too. If your company is trying to focus on a teen demographic, Facebook isn’t the right platform for that. It’s just a matter of finding the right type of platform for the kind of audience you are trying to attract.
Question: What social media metrics should a company track?
Answer: Engagement is the biggest metric to keep track of.
If your audience is not engaging with your content with likes, comments, and shares, your company is just existing. It’s very important to create content your audience wants to engage with and to track their engagement.
Question: What platforms should I use starting off?
Answer: This question goes back to who your audience is.
If you are a business-to-business company, probably LinkedIn and maybe Facebook; If your audience is older, stick with Facebook and Instagram; and if you’re trying to target a younger audience, go with Instagram and TikTok.
Question: How can I increase followers?
Answer: I think the answer to this question ties to what we have learned from Building a Story Brand. You need to build a community on social media and provide it with quality content so that your audience will stay.
It’s not about “I’m selling this,” “I’m the best at this,” or “I’m number one,” but more about “How can I improve your life?” and answering any questions your audience has.
Instead of making your posts focused on you, focus on your audience. You can’t really engage well with your audience when you are just saying how great you are. Showing you relate to your audience by posting about how you can help them or how you’ve changed others is better.
For me personally, it’s like if you say you’re the best out there, okay, who told you that? And how can you help me with this problem I am having difficulty with?
Going back to Building a Story Brand, if you’re always portraying yourself as the hero, how will the customer feel important? Helping your audience feel like the hero and showing how you can add to their lives to improve is what is important.
It’s all about giving value.
Question: How do I make content my audience will like and engage with?
Answer: I think it goes back to who your audience is. You want to create a community. Some advice is to always call them to action with every post or share.
Getting feedback and responses from them also helps give you ideas of what you can create. It’s like a give and take. They give, and you reciprocate.
Question: How do I get feedback?
Answer: A lot of businesses get active feedback from reviews.
If you see something there that your customers want you to change, be proactive about improving that area, There are also tools on social media businesses can use and trends like the “ask me anything” trend that are useful.
Another easy way to tell what your audience likes is by paying attention to what they engage with. If one post has better engagement than another, compare the two and see what makes the popular one better. Try your best to duplicate it.
Stick with it and keep improving.
Question: Should I use videos for social media? Why or why not?
Answer: I think that videos, reels, and similar content are what companies need to be doing right now because they get more engagement, and people become more intrigued about what the creator does.
Videos are very easy to engage with. A lot of these platforms have very short videos that force creators to explain or give their audience something in 30 or 60 seconds which means users get value fast.
That can be the behind-the-scenes of your business or something more promotional. There are many different things you can do.
Question: Why does social media matter for businesses/how do I best use it?
Answer: I think social media is a great tool. It’s just another way of marketing your business. A lot of people use the internet to find and research companies, so you don’t need to do anything crazy. Just have a presence!
People go on social media to check reviews and posts.
If I search up a business and it has good reviews and good pictures of projects that the company has done (a lot of people are visual) and has other posts about how they are helping people, I am going to relate to and like that more.
You should also keep in mind that social media changes often. You need to stay up to date with it to create content that will work to benefit your business.
Question: Is social media more of a “the more money you give, the more money you get?” Or should businesses see it more as a branding tool?
Answer: I believe that it is a combination of both. The more you post, the more you are out there and active on people’s feeds.
It comes down to who you are as a business and what you want to accomplish. So, setting goals is very important.
If you want to have a social media presence, you can decide whether or not you want to put a lot of time and money into it.
Question: How do I get content to spread past my followers?
Answer: I think an easy thing to do is to put money into boosting your posts but jumping on trends you see could also be good.
If you are providing quality and value to your audience, they are going to spread the word. So, jumping on fun trends and putting money into your posts (if you want) are great things to do.
If you set your goals right, build a good brand for yourself, and keep providing quality content to your audience is looking for, you probably won’t have to spend a lot of money.
I think social media is more about attracting the correct people and giving them quality. You can have a huge community of followers, but if you are not giving them value, you are just existing. So, if your goal is to grow your business or get a message out, you’ve just got to go to providing quality content.
Question: Do I need any special tools to get started?
Answer: I don’t think you need any professional equipment. If you have a phone with a good camera, you can do things easily with that. There are a lot of different apps you can use to edit your videos and photos and videos by adding words, music, or filters to them.
I use TikTok and Instagram because they come with basic, easy-to-use tools. I also use Canva, CapCut, and VN. These are all simple apps that don’t require a lot of advanced work, just a few taps here and there. They are great because you don’t have to be a professional to use them but can still get good results.
Question: Do you have any final thoughts on what a business should know about organic social media?
Answer: It goes back to setting goals; knowing who you are and who you want your audience to be is crucial.
Another important thing to remember is to have fun and enjoy the process!
Social media is fun. The creative aspect of it, jumping on trends, testing your ideas, and coming up with new ones, is part of the experience. It will work, and even when you feel it won’t, just keep going and try something new!
Social Media Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
Entering the social space is an easy way for businesses to establish their brand online in an unimposing way.
Since social media users “vote with their digital feet,” your priority should be to create quality content that is engagement worthy. Discovering what will help your company gain traction in the digital world may take some trial and error, but with some persistence, you can do it!
Re-Imagining Organic Social Media With Revity
Staying on top of the latest organic social media trends and reinventing them for business use can be difficult when you’re running a small business full-time.
We have to stay up to date on the latest social media trends to stay relevant. Helping you enter or manage your social media accounts is no problem for us! In working with us, you are guaranteed to get the benefit of our years of knowledge and experience!
Contact us today to see how we can help you improve your organic social media presence!
