The Key to Social Media Engagement for Small Businesses
I’ve heard a lot of people tell me that ‘social media is a full-time job’. And I 100% agree.
In today’s day and age, social media is a key part to any small business who wants to build an online presence. Whether you’re ecommerce based or you have a brick and mortar store, social media is something you either already have or are heavily considering.
But social media is not easy. It’s not as easy as throwing up an advertisement and expecting business to increase.
As a matter of fact, that’s probably more hurtful to your business than it is helpful.
The keyword in social media is ‘social’. Social media is a social platform - it’s created for people to socialize, connect, engage with others. It’s a place where you’re meant to share your life and keep in touch with others.
But more and more, I’m seeing businesses approach it as if it were a billboard where you hang your latest advertisement. And that’s wrong. Here’s why.
Think about it this way - why do people log on to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? Is it to see advertisements? Or is it to catch up with their friends? Is it to shop? Or is it to see really cool, creative content?
Once you figure out why your network is using these platforms, you can figure out exactly how to engage them. What content would they be interested in seeing from me? How can I show something that will get my client interested in what I do? What if I show a clip behind-the-scenes, or just a short clip showing how my day is going?
Just like you wouldn’t walk up to people on the side of the road and start advertising to them, you should avoid that on social media. Instead, build relationships and show people your work and what you do. Show things that are interesting about what you do (and believe me, there’s definitely tons of things people are interested in).
A few other tips to help you!
Comment on other people’s post (and try not to make them generic - the more personal, the better)
Do not aim for perfect content - people love things that are imperfect
Be a person
I’ve seen a lot of people do this thing where they only follow one person and expect to get thousands of followers - while there are mixed ideas on that, I am not a fan of it. If you want to connect and engage with others, you have to follow them
Everything I’ve just said above may not work - study your audience and see what they want. Create for them. Create to help them.