Small business owners have found a powerful tool in social media, as they can now start and sustain conversations with current and prospective clientele easier and for less money. However, entrepreneurs need to ensure their social media activities are focused on driving customer engagement.
Let's take a look at some of the basic social media best practices shared among all platforms.
Timing and delivery
Inc. Magazine, an industry publication, suggests small business owners focus their efforts on being consistent. Rather than being highly active two days of the week and staying silent the rest of the time, companies need to take a daily approach to social media. Entrepreneurs will also want to be particularly active in their local environments rather than trying to reach customers located far away, the website explained.
According to the news provider, replies to posts from customers should be replied to swiftly. This is a critical point - not responding in a timely fashion, or simply ignoring a comment, can be extremely detrimental to a brand's image. This is especially true when customers post something negative, as small business owners need to ensure that they are addressing complaints on social media.
Inc. Magazine also noted that each social media platform should be filled with highly personalized content and interactive posts. Social postings should always be tailored to the unique preferences and behaviors of the businesses target market, rather than trying to be too inclusive. As for interactive posts, the website recommends using tools such as polls to get conversations started, and potentially hosting question and answer sessions with followers regularly.
Analysis and improvement
Small Business Trends, a website devoted to entrepreneurial tips and news, affirms that analytics should be used from the start of any social media campaign. According to the site, entrepreneurs should focus on understanding their key demographics, which types of posts are yielding valuable traffic and conversations, and how social-based referrals are impacting the bottom line. All of this data is relatively easy to acquire and analyze as each social media platform has a built in analytics tool which should be used to guide all campaigns going forward.
Do not hesitate to harness the power of social media - get moving today!
Let's take a look at some of the basic social media best practices shared among all platforms.
Timing and delivery
Inc. Magazine, an industry publication, suggests small business owners focus their efforts on being consistent. Rather than being highly active two days of the week and staying silent the rest of the time, companies need to take a daily approach to social media. Entrepreneurs will also want to be particularly active in their local environments rather than trying to reach customers located far away, the website explained.
According to the news provider, replies to posts from customers should be replied to swiftly. This is a critical point - not responding in a timely fashion, or simply ignoring a comment, can be extremely detrimental to a brand's image. This is especially true when customers post something negative, as small business owners need to ensure that they are addressing complaints on social media.
Inc. Magazine also noted that each social media platform should be filled with highly personalized content and interactive posts. Social postings should always be tailored to the unique preferences and behaviors of the businesses target market, rather than trying to be too inclusive. As for interactive posts, the website recommends using tools such as polls to get conversations started, and potentially hosting question and answer sessions with followers regularly.
Analysis and improvement
Small Business Trends, a website devoted to entrepreneurial tips and news, affirms that analytics should be used from the start of any social media campaign. According to the site, entrepreneurs should focus on understanding their key demographics, which types of posts are yielding valuable traffic and conversations, and how social-based referrals are impacting the bottom line. All of this data is relatively easy to acquire and analyze as each social media platform has a built in analytics tool which should be used to guide all campaigns going forward.
Do not hesitate to harness the power of social media - get moving today!
