First made as a simple tool to enable people to connect with friends and chat online, social media has since grown into the media giant that we know of today, influencing popular opinions, cultures, politics and society as a whole.
It therefore comes as no surprise that most businesses would (and should!) include social media use within their marketing strategies. Acting as an online shop front, businesses’ social content works to increase the brand’s awareness, interest and, importantly, sales.
However, for most small businesses, the idea of a ‘social media marketing strategy’ can feel alienating and unnecessary, especially for those without any knowledge of how to use social media, let alone those without their own marketing team.
Nevertheless, social media is for everyone, and small businesses can find huge benefits from investing a little time into it. As a small company ourselves, we’re here to help. Following our motto of Global Reach, Local Love, this blog will offer Crush’s best tips and advice to small businesses looking to gain social media inspiration.
Ideas to get you going
There are no specific ‘rules’ to social media. There are lots of routes you can take, some of which may depend on your business’ product/service and the messaging it wants to project.
It may be useful to first think about what you want to achieve…
1. Humanise your business
- Celebrate the holidays
For example, a simple graphic to wish your followers a ‘Happy Christmas’ will drive engagement, and it’s super easy to do.
- Show off your work culture
You could start a ‘Meet the Team’ series, sharing who each of you are in the company, what you like to do both at work and in your own time. This is also a great way to engage with your employees.
Perhaps your business is just you, and you have no employees? You could capture some images or videos of your day to show a bit of a day-in-the-life of a small business. This kind of raw, natural content is unique and often very popular with audiences.
Check out this useful blog on ‘How to create a Day in the Life video’ to help you get some ideas.
- Create behind-the-scenes content
This is especially good content for craft businesses, you could share how your product is made, which many people may find interesting or even just aesthetically pleasing to watch.
Tiktok and Instagram reels are a good way to create this kind of behind-the-scenes content, have a look at videos already out there to gain inspiration.
2. Centre your business within its industry
- Share industry-related content
Thought pieces can help centre your business as a knowledgeable source of information. For example, a ‘Did you know?’ series of common questions about your business can not only add dimension to your feed, but also broaden your reach to others in the sector.
- Create a blog
Blogs are a great way to increase your website’s reach and google ranking, and social media is a tool to direct people to them.
For example, here at Crush, we’re a marketing and design agency, so we create short blogs like this, offering our marketing advice. Depending on your business, you could offer tips on recipes, fashion, beauty, health, fitness… the list is endless.
- Post infographics
Perhaps you don’t have the time to write a blog or start a thought-piece series, so a simple infographic citing research statistics related to your business could do the trick too.
3. Promote the business
- Promote your website content
Perhaps your restaurant business has a new menu, or your beauty clinic has a new service… whatever it is – shout about it! The information should already be on your website, so you can use social media to drive people to your site and therefore increase your online visibility.
- Celebrate your wins
Tell your audience how great you are, everyone loves a good-news story. This could be a recent 5-star google review, or a local award you may have won; sharing real-life successes will help develop trust within the brand.
4. Engage with your audience
- Have a topical conversational
This could be as simple as sharing content on National Days e.g. National Pet Day; show off your team’s pets, get your followers to engage and share their own photos!
- Run a contest
For hospitality or customer-centric businesses, contests can be a great way to widen your brand awareness and potentially gain some new regular customers. Contests could include giveaways, discounts.. anything that will grab people’s attention.
For example, you may run an independent Airbnb, so could create a competition for people to win a night’s stay free of charge…
Check out more examples here.
Getting past the block
Many businesses, no matter how big or small, can find themselves hitting a wall for social media content ideas. However, it’s important to keep going, and not think too much – it’s often the simplest posts that do best.
Businesses that don’t post to their social media profiles end up lacking that online presence, which ultimately stops potential customers from being able to find you. It also shows a lack of modernism, which could have a negative effect on the appearance of your brand, making it seem slightly out-of-date and therefore less desirable.
Perhaps this will convince you…
A Business article on ‘Why Small Businesses Need a Social Media Presence’ talked about the Meta data that showed how,
“83% of Instagram users say they discover new brands while using the platform. Those users are then able to share posts with friends, further increasing brand awareness.”
As well as other research from Gitnux finding that,
“43% of small businesses and marketers say social media was one of the most effective channels for driving leads.”
Top tips
- Post 1-2 times a week: Try to avoid spamming your followers’ feed, but still keep them engaged with regular content.
- Keep it quick: If you post a video, make it 60 sec or less (people’s social media attention span isn’t very long!).
- Check out other pages: Follow other companies’ pages to find inspiration and widen your own audience.
- Use different platforms: Not everyone uses the same social media. Some use Facebook, while others prefer Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn. Try to have at least profiles on at least 2 platforms; for small businesses, we’d recommend Facebook and Instagram.