Having an online presence for your small business is becoming more and more critical when attracting and retaining new customers. Pairing your business website with a social media account can enhance your efforts and provide you with an even further reach to those likely people who will convert. And while it might seem easy to start an account and begin posting all of those wonderful things you have to offer, you’ll want to put a little more thought into it than that. Here are a few tips to help you choose the best social media outlet for your small business.
Find out how steep the competition is
Social media marketing is an excellent option to include in your plans, but you don’t have to be on every single platform. Take into account how much competition is on the different outlets, and factor in how much time you have to spend standing out above the noise. Facebook will be one of the most competitive options out there, so be prepared to put in a lot of work to get noticed. However, Instagram will have a little less going on so you might have a better chance to be seen by your ideal customer.
Pinpoint the demographic you want to reach
Take the time to research your specific demographic. For example, if you’re a dentist, you may notice that your best clients are women who run their households because they make multiple appointments for their husband, teenagers, and parents. Plus, you’ve found that they traditionally stay very loyal once they’ve had a good experience. So, you start looking at where women between the ages of 33-50 and have a family and an income of roughly 80K a year are hanging out.
You might find that they do spend time on Facebook, but they are also the primary users of both Pinterest and Instagram. The competition is much lower on these social media outlets, and you can devise a very specific plan based on the most successful campaigns.
Look at all social outlets (not just the mainstream ones)
We all know the main social media hangouts, but there are a lot more that are popping up and gaining traction. When selecting your outlet, don’t ignore these up-and-comers like Snapchat because the competition will be extremely low and you’ll be a frontrunner for businesses that use it. Plus, you’ll start to notice that just like websites, social media will start to niche itself so you’ll be able to get an even more refined place that your ideal customers hang out.
Once you’ve found the social media outlet that’s right for your small business, take the time to make a posting schedule and engage with your customers. It takes months to cultivate a presence on social media, but it’s worth it when you start gaining customers and building your reputation. Continue to test new ideas and analyze your data so that you know what works, what doesn’t, and what direction you should look to next.
