Small business owners know the value of social media, but also grapple with limited resources and time. How can you use social media to increase your sales and visibility — without it taking up all your time? How can you make the right impact with the right message? Read on for 11 ideas of what your small business should post on social media.
Be Aware of Your Impact
Keep the purpose of social media in mind as you craft your small business’s social media presence.
Your posts should be strategic — casually throwing a link to your recent blog post and calling it good is not ideal.
Remember, you’re not on social media to sell all the time. Yet, you also have to remember that everything you post either helps people trust and like you, or it doesn’t.
Essentially, this means that everything you post is a sale, even though it’s not.
Clear as mud?
The idea is that your social media presence should be an extension of your business, which should always be shown in its best light. Yet, you shouldn’t be cramming your products and services through people’s screens at every second of the day.
Your posts should be engaging and enjoyable — when people like, comment, share, and click, that helps your business be seen by more eyes. Bring your ideal audience in, and show them a good time.
Use some of these 11 ideas strategically as you determine what your small business should post on social media.
What Your Small Business Should Post on Social Media — 11 Ideas
- Share and repurpose content you’ve produced elsewhere. Share your company’s blog posts, podcast, website, etc. with a link, but find other ways to repurpose that content to make it more engaging as well. For example, take a quote from your latest blog post and create an image using a graphic design tool like Canva. Or ask a question related to your blog post.
- Ask a question. Ask your followers for feedback on something you’re thinking of doing in your business. (“These blue scarves have been so popular. Should we create them in red or yellow next?”) Ask a question that relates to your industry. (“What is your biggest pet peeve in the office?”) Not only will your post get engagement, you’ll get helpful market research.
- Talk about charity work you do. More and more, people appreciate companies that give back. If your company participates in charitable events or fundraising, share an update or photo that highlights something you’re doing.
- Show employees at work. Put a face to your company by literally showing faces. Share photos and videos of your employees at work. Highlight individual employees with a profile. Keep your ideal customer in mind as you craft these profiles. For example, if you own a bookstore, highlight an employee and ask them to share their favorite book.
- Run a sweepstakes or giveaway. This is a great way to get new followers, as well as more eyes on your business. But be sure to have quality posts lined up so that your new followers can quickly come to trust you and like you.
- Share testimonials. Let your audience see people enjoying your product or service. Share testimonials, and re-share posts in which customers are talking you up.
- Tell a story. Tell your company’s origin story, tell the stories of your customers and how they’ve benefitted from your company, tell the story of why your employees work for you, and so much more. Turn your company into a story, and people will engage.
- Share videos. Create videos that show your product at work, that highlight an event, that show customers enjoying your services, and more.
- Create a tutorial. Share a visual tutorial on how to use your product or service. This shows off your product and creates interest.
- Brag about the awards you’ve won. It’s okay to brag a bit when it’s sandwiched between other types of content. If you won Best of State, make sure you proudly announce it. This gives you credibility.
- Cross-promote. What other business is complementary to yours? Work together to create a combined offer, so that you can cross-promote each other and find more customers.
Quick Tips for What Your Small Business Should Promote on Social Media
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to what your small business should promote on social media. As a savvy business owner, you’ll need to take the above ideas and apply them in strategic ways that work for your company.
As you do, keep these quick tips in mind for what your small business should promote on social media:
- Watch your engagement and see what types of posts resonate with people. Then create more of that type of content.
- Quality is more important than quantity. You need to post regularly, but don’t throw something out there just to post something.
- Keep your company’s personality front and center. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. If you’re an authoritative source on a serious subject, humor shouldn’t feature into every post, although you can sprinkle it in from time to time. Humor and whimsy might be a larger theme if you sell toys, for example. If you’re enthusiastic, let it show. Quiet and contemplative? Let your posts reflect that.
At Impact Marketing and Design, we’re passionate about helping you reach your customers with the right promotional products and marketing materials. We know what make a difference, and we’ll help you reach your marketing goals. Give us a call today at (888) 441-1233, or contact us online for a free consultation about how to get in front of your customers, and help them buy.
