Small Business

You hear someone sharing a story they saw or read on it every day! Whether it’s the latest meme or viral video, someone is talking about social media. It’s become a basic part of our daily activities. You know people us it and you probably spend more time than you’d like to admit on Facebook. With all this activity on social media you’re probably thinking there must be a way to make this work for business, right?

Exactly! As a business owner, you already have enough on your plate so adding one more thing like social media can seem overwhelming. Well if we take a step back and look at social media as an extension of what we already do every day running a business and interacting with people then we can see how simple it can be to add social media to your everyday activities! Let’s look at 5 helpful tips to make social media more social!

1. Make sure you’re on the platforms that your customers are using. Create an account on each platform with the same user name. So, if you’re @BigWheels on Instagram use that handle across the board. It’s also smart to create account on emerging platforms like snapchat even if you don’t know how it can help you right now it become easier to use later or your customers might all move to that platform and you want them to be able to easily find you once you have created an account.
2. Don’t over think the process. Your main goal is to tell the story of your business. Think of your business as a human, what do you like to do, who do you hang out with, what are some cool talents that you have. These are things consumers want to know about your business. How do you start your morning? What are some interesting or funny things happening in the office today? Who stopped by your business that you really enjoy seeing? These are all things you should be sharing on your social media accounts.
3. Practice using each platform. You won’t get better at being social by not making any effort. Whether you’re doing this by yourself or with a team, it’s important to have a base understanding of how each tool works. There is a reason why videos perform well on Facebook, vibrant pictures perform well on Instagram and gifs perform well on Twitter. Think of this as communicating properly on each platform. It’s also important to understand the peak times that your audience is on each platform. A quick Google search or Pinterest search will give you the answers on best practices for posting content and you can use scheduling tools so you’re not up all night trying to post to social media. Know your customer and see what your customer responds to.
4. This is very important. Engagement is all about a balance of sharing and listening. People want to be informed about what you’re doing and you want to listen to what others are doing and respond. Engagement comes when you listen to your audience and share information that they find important. It could be quotes, tips, pictures or videos. It all depends on what your audience likes. Test some things out, see what your audience responds to the most and work at making what you provide better for yourself and your audience. This is your story so people want to see your growth.
5. Repeat what works. It will take some time, work and effort but, you will eventually figure out what works for you and your audience. There are millions of social media gurus out there so everything doesn’t apply to you. It’s all about telling your story in the best way you can.

The key is to test, test, test and see what works. Tell your story the best way you know how and build relationships like you do in your everyday life and what the magic happen!