5 Clever Social Media Tips That Gets Results for Small Business Owners

What do you think is the number one marketing tactic small businesses use to find new customers and retain old ones? Email? Banners?

Nope! Over 53% of small businesses use social media as their primary means to engage with customers.

If you're among the 53%, you likely realize how important social media is to your business. That being said, it never hurts to improve your tactics a bit every day.

Below we've outlined five social media tips for small businesses that help you work better, not harder.

One mistake small businesses consistently make when it comes to social media is only posting during operating hours. The truth is, not all of your customers will be active on social media during your typical 9-5 workday. That means you're really limiting yourself if you only post during work hours.

An easy way to post outside of your normal operating hours is to use a social media scheduling tool like Buffer or Hootsuite. These tools allow you to schedule posts for whenever you get the most engagement on top social media channels. The will also alert you when someone comments on your posts so you can respond in an adequate amount of time.

Having an editorial calendar can also help you plan out when you'll post certain messages and certain types of content.

As you learn more about your customer base, figure out which platforms they tend to use most often. For example, a mostly middle-aged customer base will tend to use Facebook and LinkedIn over Instagram.

The type of business you run will also help you determine which platforms to use. If you run a small consultancy, LinkedIn will be the best place for you to focus your efforts. If you run a local pet shop, you should focus your efforts on Facebook and Instagram.

Social media provides a flexible medium for small businesses to promote their products and services, interact with customers, and provide helpful tips.

While each social media platform has a typical media (ex. Instagram is photo and video heavy), that doesn't mean you have to post the same type of content every time. For example, don't just post about your products and services; post some helpful tips related to your business or feature a customer for how they used your product.

Another reason to mix up your social media content, especially away from content that's only about you, is that customers get bored following accounts that only talk about themselves. Social media users want to see how businesses are interacting with their customers and communities.

There's something so human about feeling warm and fuzzy when someone calls out what a good job you did for meeting a goal or just being you. The great news is, you can translate this feeling on social media.

There are several ways you can show appreciation to your customers. The easiest way is to highlight a success a customer or client had by using your product or service.

Another way to show appreciation for your customers is to hold giveaways. Those who are engaged with your content will see your posts about giveaways, engage with those posts, and whoever wins will receive a free product or service that they already use regularly.

If you're just not gaining traction with your social media audiences, take a look at what other businesses and brands similar to your own are doing. Perhaps there's something very particular about your target audience that you haven't figured out yet that another business has.

Do keep in mind you should go through this exercise as a learning exercise, not a copy and paste exercise. See what kind of content your target customers are engaging with on other business profiles and determine how you can put your own spin on it.

No one wants to spin their wheels on marketing tips that just won't move the needle.

If you implement any one of these social media tips for small businesses, you'll notice better engagement with customers and more impact on your business.

For professional help, check out our social media marketing offerings.