As a small-business owner, having a solid marketing strategy tailored to your specific needs and budget can make or break your success. Fortunately, there are plenty of digital tactics that any small business can use to promote their products or services with little to no cost. Learn about these five options to stay on top of the promotion of your business and appeal to your audience in unique and eye-catching ways. You may find just one or two that will be a new tactic for you or you could discover a whole treasure trove of promotional gems.
- Get Clear on Your Social Media Strategy
Even the simplest strategy should be written down and tracked for effectiveness. Put some time and effort into thinking about your purpose on social media, who your target audience is, and what types of content they are engaging with. Then categorize content by type and frequency—including photos, videos, stories, live streams, giveaways, product showcases—that you’ll post each week or month. A posting plan helps you to track what’s working and can be easily adjusted to give your audience what they want, when they want it.
With a written strategy you are able to make certain goals for social media followers, reach, or engagement, and then assess those after a 60- or 90-day period. From the results of your assessment, you are better able to identify ineffective actions that you could stop or at least spend less time on and spend more time on the content that gets your brand noticed.
Review the article from Hootsuite with step-by-step directions on how to create your social media strategy and plan.
- Create a Social Media Content Calendar
The key to an effective social media marketing strategy is consistency and planning. Creating a content calendar will help you stick to specific posting frequencies while allowing you to plan promotions and other campaigns in advance. With a content calendar, you can easily group postings around key themes, products, or services related topics, along with announcements about upcoming events or sales. This strategy will ensure that your message is always fresh but organized and on brand.
Use this formatted Social Media Calendar from Hubspot to plan and record your activity on any platform.
- Post Regularly, But Don’t Overwhelm Your Audience
While regular posting is important, you don’t want to over-saturate your followers with too much content. Try creating a schedule that works for you and make sure to provide variety. Posting each day can start to feel overwhelming, so set up a few days a week where you will post and then add in additional posts and campaigns if needed. Focus on creating valuable content that your audience will connect with over time instead of trying to reach everyone all at once. Your effectiveness at connecting with your market is largely determined by how well you play the long-game in social media marketing.
- Set Up a Business Page or Group on Facebook
Establishing a business page on the world’s largest social media platform is an essential part of any small business marketing strategy. With more than two billion monthly active users, Facebook offers businesses a cost-effective way to reach customers and build relationships. Once your account is verified, you can start posting about your products, services, and events to get people interested in learning more about your business. You can also take advantage of the avenues to market creatively on Facebook by posting polls, sharing stories, and streaming live. Paid advertising can also be fairly inexpensive with the ad targeting options with their large audience in their Ads Network.
- Instagram for Long and Short Video
Instagram is a great platform to share short, snackable content that highlights your brand’s products and services. Use stories, carousels, and long- and short-form videos to keep your content interesting and engaging. Focus on creating informative posts and stories with educational copy as well as brief behind-the-scenes “slice-of-life” footage to show customers what you’re about.
Be sure to create short videos, either with people or intriguing images, and use relevant hashtags for each post to boost engagement and reach new followers.
Understand the demographics and platform benefits from this article from Lyfe Marketing:
The 6 Best Social Media Platforms For Your Business in 2023.
If you don’t use social media in some form to reach those people looking for what you offer, you are missing out on many connecting opportunities. Just one professional and active social media account will give potential customers a perspective of your business that is difficult to show just on your website. Learn the best approach for your business and perfect your presence on at least one platform to show the side of your business your audience wants to see.
Learn more about our social media advertising options that help you reach the segment of the homeschooling market that is right for your business.
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