![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.searchberg.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/social-media-attention.png\")
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Up-and-coming businesses can no longer afford to also <\/i><\/em>have a social media marketing strategy; it needs to be their bread and butter.<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re talking customer acquisition or retargeting old customers who\u2019ve lapsed over time, a social media marketing plan\u00a0allows you to do it all.<\/p>\n The big question is, where do you even begin with your social media strategy? We\u2019re glad you asked! Here are 14 proven social media advertising strategies for small businesses\u00a0that you need to take up.<\/p>\n Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n Social Media Marketing Strategies<\/u>\u00a0That Work! An Essential Guide For Small And Up-And Coming Businesses<\/u> <\/a><\/p>\n Social Media Marketing Plans<\/u>\u2014The Key to Long-Term Success?<\/u> <\/a><\/p>\n The Ultimate <\/u>Social Media Marketing Strategy For Startups and Small Businesses<\/u>\u2014Wrapping Up<\/u> <\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here\u2019s a question: can you spell out the impact your social marketing strategy a) has had, and b) aims to have? If you can\u2019t answer in a heartbeat, we have a problem.<\/p>\n What we\u2019re trying to say is, you need to have social media goals for your small business. And every interaction and success you have needs to be measured against these goals.<\/p>\n Walk yourself through the buyer\u2019s journey for your product or service, and at each step, identify what your target is, what kind of social activity you\u2019ll use to achieve that target, what the KPIs are for that activity, and the impact you want it to have. This sets up a nifty feedback loop that allows you to tweak your content to your heart\u2019s content.<\/p>\n Here are a few examples of social media goals to get you started:<\/p>\n Let\u2019s dwell on this campaign from social media titan and clothing behemoth Nordstrom for a bit. Notice how they effortlessly weave in a service they\u2019re offering into a campaign that\u2019s also supposed to help save the planet. Associations like these stay in consumers\u2019 minds, and are very powerful sales tools.<\/p>\n Alongside, the verdict is in\u2014people don\u2019t want to interact with businesses that sound like there\u2019s no one behind them. They want a magical Oz-like character behind the curtains, orchestrating the company; someone who\u2019s a real big personality. They also want this person to be the face of the company, so they\u2019re talking to someone they can trust.<\/p>\n So, what does this mean for your small business\u2019s social media marketing\u00a0plan? For starters, if you\u2019re the owner and fashion yourself to have even a little bit of charisma, try to put yourself front and center in all the video content you put out. Better yet, get the whole team on board by asking employees if being the public face of the company is something they\u2019re interested in.<\/p>\n You could also go the behind-the-scenes route with your social media presence\u2014this really humanizes your company.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s marketing 101, but we\u2019ll scream it from the rooftops anyway: you need to know your audience<\/b><\/strong>! And when we say know them, we mean really know them.<\/p>\n So, while you may have a general sense of the fact that 20 somethings who identify as women like your beauty products, you also need to know where they are, how engaged they are, and whether there\u2019s additional consumers out there who augment your core audience. Your social media digital marketing strategy\u00a0needs to account for all possible variables.<\/p>\n The answer, as always, lies in data. And the good news is that social media platforms give you bucketloads of it. Platforms like Twitter and Facebook already come with robust demographics analysis tools, but it doesn\u2019t even stop there; you can complement these tools with some seriously heavy-hitting third party plugins.<\/p>\n All of this comes together to give you a pretty complete picture of who your audience is comprised of, allowing you to take decisions accordingly. Once you have your core demographic, all you have to do is research the kind of content they\u2019re into, and you\u2019re good to go!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n GoPro is the undisputed king of daily featured photos content; and it didn\u2019t have to reinvent the wheel. All it did was take customers using their product in daring situations, and it put a new spin on an old format.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not cheating if you make the content your own! Here\u2019s the thing, there\u2019s no such thing as completely novel content\u2014it\u2019s always a mishmash of what\u2019s been done before, made new with your unique twist on it.<\/p>\n So when we say that the map to your success already exists, we mean it. All you need to do is look at what established competitors have been doing for a really long time\u2014what worked, what didn\u2019t, and what you can take and improve upon.<\/p>\n Remember, industries need to keep up with trends, and you want to be ahead of the curve too, not always catching up. That means you need to:<\/p>\n Nothing gets your followers to leave en masse like you wasting their time. Here are some social actions that could make your brand a pariah on social media:<\/p>\n The takeaway? That every post you make needs to be worth your audience\u2019s time. We\u2019re not saying you need to be somber and informative either\u2014casual tones work great, but the post still needs to tell potential customers something they want to hear.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an example of a social media post from social media staple Starbucks:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Notice how the post is beyond chill (pun intended), but it tells you a lot about the product. The featured image is super flattering and you know it\u2019s a mix of salty and sweet that\u2019ll help you beat the heat\u2014it\u2019s a winning combination, and just in a few words (Notice the effective use of the hashtag here too).<\/p>\n Once you strike the balance between the right tone and the right amount of information, every post will be a winner.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the age of digital media consumption, the worst thing you could be is unchanging. The type of content you serve to clients needs to be as varied as possible, taking full advantage of all the media and other features different social platforms give you.<\/p>\n See the image above from Mac Cosmetics\u2019 Instagram page? Notice how at the same time, they have new social media posts, Highlights, and Stories for consumers to peruse. It\u2019s an all-of-the-above approach that really seems to show that the brand is doing well.<\/p>\n Do you only post GIFs on your Buzzfeed-esque pop culture page? How about changing it up by posting compilation videos as well? Have an Instagram feed that your customers already love? Spice up engagement levels by leveraging Stories, IGTV, and Highlights. You get the picture.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the kicker, even conventional wisdom flies out the door if you\u2019re only posting the same type of content. You know how people say that posts with images do better than just plain text? Well, it turns out, if you keep on posting images, eventually, they get stale, and people want out of your page.<\/p>\n The key is to keep on reinventing yourself for your audience, and to keep them guessing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Starbucks didn\u2019t have to reply to this customer\u2019s question about using personal cups during the pandemic; but it did, because it\u2019s super relevant to a lot of people these days, and makes the brand seem like it cares.<\/p>\n At the end of the day, customers just want to feel like you have their back. There\u2019s nothing more frustrating than getting a product or signing up for a service, only to face a glaring problem with it. Actually, wait, there is\u2014it\u2019s experiencing radio silence when you reach out to the company for help.<\/p>\n Most brands are under the false belief that customers should come to them\u2014but here\u2019s a reality check, when you\u2019re running a small business that still doesn\u2019t have a ton of traction, you\u2019re going to have to bite first.<\/p>\n The good news is, it\u2019s not hard; in fact, we\u2019ve broken it down into a neat list:<\/p>\n Social media platforms thrive on data; it\u2019s their great money-maker, after all. But data untapped serves no purposes, which is why platforms like Facebook and Instagram give you unprecedented insight into who your followers are, how much engagement they exhibit, and how they find your content.<\/p>\n But metrics can be deceptive; for instance, being bent on the number of likes and followers means nothing if your page isn\u2019t getting the kind of targeted engagement that leads to someone taking a desired business action.<\/p>\n Wait, what does any of that mean? To simplify, if you\u2019re running an up and coming residential repairs business and get a ton of likes on your blog posts, but not one of those leads actually calls you to step in, it\u2019s a major problem.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why it\u2019s super important to identify what metrics are important to you, and then proceed to double down on them.<\/p>\n So, buckle up, because we\u2019re taking a deep dive.<\/p>\n Impressions is just a metric that tells you how many times a post showed up on people\u2019s social timelines. So while you naturally want impressions to be high, if no one is interacting with your post as they see it, that\u2019s really bad news.<\/p>\n Engagement is the second piece of the puzzle; your impression to engagement ratio needs to be as close to 1 as possible. This is because engagement tells you how many people actually interacted <\/i><\/em>with your post. This includes likes, shares, and comments, among a host of other actions, based on the platform.<\/p>\n Visits tells you how many people went from a post to your main profile. It\u2019s a surprisingly important metric because it tells you how much interest your post drummed up for the larger brand.<\/p>\n Mentions refers to when your brand gets a shoutout, or when someone else refers to your brand\u2014either in passing or in the form of a review or a query. It\u2019s a good indication of whether you\u2019re part of the larger industry conversation.<\/p>\n This one\u2019s pretty simple; it\u2019s the number of people who are following you on your social media page, and indicates how fast your popularity is rising. It\u2019s also a great metric for comparisons against direct competitors.<\/p>\n We\u2019re not going to beat around the bush; here\u2019s what you need to do to be successful on some core social media platforms:<\/p>\n We\u2019ve come a long way from the days of snail mail being used to bring up customer complaints. Follow up times were atrocious, and this meant that a lot of people just never reached out<\/p>\n The opposite is true these days. Customers expect near instant replies, and that includes having a responsive Facebook Messenger and Twitter presence.<\/p>\n The best part is that both of these platforms have different levels of automation features in place, so customers don\u2019t have to wait around for the simplest queries to be answered.<\/p>\n But to really get them on board, try to personalize the online customer service experience as much as possible. Hire a team to reply to customers with questions and complaints, and make sure you steer clear of stock answers as you talk to them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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<\/a><\/a>Social Media Marketing Strategies\u00a0That Work! An Essential Guide For Small And Up-And Coming Businesses<\/h1>\n
<\/a>1.\u00a0<\/b>Set Social Goals For Your Small Business<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"graphic](\"https:\/\/www.searchberg.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/social-sharing-people.png\")
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<\/a>2.\u00a0<\/b>Define and Own Your Brand\u2019s Voice<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Nordstrom\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.searchberg.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Nordstrom-campaign-facebook.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>3.\u00a0<\/b>Who\u2019s Your Social Audience?<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"graphic](\"https:\/\/www.searchberg.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/social-marketing-right-person.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>4.\u00a0<\/b>Looking At Competitors\u2019 Past Content\u2014The Proof is in the Pudding<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"GoPro\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.searchberg.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/GoPro-campaign.png\")
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<\/a>5.\u00a0<\/b>Serve Up Some Value Additive Content<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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![\"Starbucks\u2019](\"https:\/\/www.searchberg.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/starbucks-post.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>6.\u00a0<\/b>Be a Content Chameleon<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Mac](\"https:\/\/www.searchberg.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/mac-cosmetics-instagram.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>7.\u00a0<\/b>Engage, Engage, Engage<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Starbucks\u2019](\"https:\/\/www.searchberg.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/starbucks-twitter.png\")
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<\/a>8.\u00a0<\/b>It\u2019s All in the Metrics\u2014Review Social Analytics<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"different](\"https:\/\/www.searchberg.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/social-media-metrics.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/a>a.\u00a0Impressions<\/h3>\n
<\/a>b.\u00a0Engagement<\/h3>\n
<\/a>c.\u00a0Visits<\/h3>\n
<\/a>d.\u00a0Mentions<\/h3>\n
<\/a>e.\u00a0Followers<\/h3>\n
<\/a>9.\u00a0<\/b>Get Platform Specific in Your Approach<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Infographic](\"https:\/\/www.searchberg.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/infographic-social-advertising-scaled-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n10.\u00a0<\/b>Use Social Media As A New Frontier For Customer Service<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/a>11.\u00a0<\/b>Look For Trends\u00a0<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n