Is Your Small Business Using Social Media Effectively?
Being on social media with a business page is a tremendous way to get started in marketing your business online. When you set up your business page on Facebook, you gain access to free marketing and exposure for your small business. Having a free space online to provide contact info and start to tell your business' story is so valuable in helping your business put it's best foot forward.
But so many businesses don't realize there is more to be gained on social media than just engaging with an audience of potential customers. While this is a great foundation to build an online presence on, utilizing the tools available to you, your business can engage more leads and continue the conversation past posts like #throwbackthursday.
Tools you should be utilizing to take your online marketing to the next level:
Facebook Pixel - Your Facebook pixel is a little html code tracker that can be placed on your website to track anyone who visits your website from Facebook. This is not only helpful to know which of your social media posts or ads are working to get clients on your website, but can also help you re-target qualified customers by showing them posts again, since they have already indicated an interest in your business, as well as help you find more customers with similar interests to those that have shown an interest in you through look-a-like audiences (another Facebook tool)!
Email Marketing Service & Link Segmentation - Watching some businesses use a spreadsheet and their gmail account to send out email updates to customers is so painful, knowing they are working harder than they should for less than optimal results. By utilizing an email marketing platform, you can create more stylish emails, quickly, to send to your list, and gain access to data. Did you know you can track things like: who opens your emails vs. who doesn't, who clicks specific links in your emails, and which addresses aren't receiving your emails? And furthermore, did you know that you can create automatic triggers that send additional emails to people who click specific links, indicating they are interested in a particular offer you have? There are even free options for businesses who have less than 2,000 contacts- check out Mailchimp!
Re-purposing Video Content - Let's be real, getting in front of a camera and putting video no the internet for all to see gives most of us anxiety, plus it's a lot of work! So when you put the time into making a video, capitalize on your effort! Each video you make can be made into a teaser video to spark interest in your page, photo posts, captions for your social media posts, quote graphics, and even blog articles. Don't overwork yourself trying to be a content machine, just put your content to work for you!
Scheduling Tools and a Content Calendar - "Time to post anxiety" can be exhausting, when you constantly feel behind the game and are stressing to find new ideas. Scheduling your posts ahead of time through free tools such as Facebook's scheduler or Hootsuite for other platforms (free to schedule up to 30 posts at a time) can be a life changer to eliminate stress of what to post next. This can also help you meet your goals by planning in advance using a content calendar to ensure you are posting with purpose, not just what sounds good in the moment.
Branching out to Other Platforms - If Facebook is the only social media your business has dipped it's toes in, you may be missing out. Facebook is a great place to start, but depending on your business, your ideal clients may be on a different social media site entirely. Keeping in mind your ideal client's demographics and interests and looking into what types of users are on platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, or TikTok, plus industry specific apps, can help you find the best fit for your business.
If you are already investing the time to post consistently on social media, make sure you are reaping the rewards of your efforts by employing the tools you need.
I'm Lexi Wright, owner of Back Pocket Social, and I love helping businesses find success on social media by accessing powerful tools and employing strategies that help them reach their goals. Using authenticity on social media, I love helping turn your audience into your greatest fans.
