If you’re a business owner or a marketer for a local business, you’ve likely heard people tell you about the impact social media can have for brands. But we get it—being active on social media adds more bullet points to your already jam-packed to-do list. Is it actually worth it?
We’re here to tell you: Yes. Social media is absolutely worth your time, effort, and resources. And we’ll explain why.
Why Every Local Business Should be Active on Social Media
Building a social media presence can help you:
- Build brand awareness—it allows lots of potential customers to discover your business.
- Lead those potential customers to your website, where they can eventually make a sale or book an appointment.
- Generate interest and RSVPs for upcoming events and new releases.
- Collect reviews and customer testimonials—which can massively impact your reputation.
- Become more accessible to your customers because it opens up a new channel for communication.
- Improve your online reputation and build trust.
How to Get Started with Social Media
So social media is important…but where do you get started?
First, think about what you’re looking to achieve on social media. Don’t overcomplicate it—Your end goal can be as simple as reaching new customers in your area or increasing clicks to your website. Having a clear goal will help you hone your efforts and make sure you’re investing your time into something that matters for your business.
A beginner-friendly way to create a goal for your social media efforts is to use the SMART framework: Come up with a goal that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Once you have an objective in mind, think about what your strengths are. For example, if video skills are your strong suit, you can give TikTok and YouTube a try. If you’re better at writing, long-form formats (such as newsletters) or short-form, like Twitter, might work better for your business. Audience-wise, if you’re a B2B company, LinkedIn will be your go-to.
Pro tip: You don’t necessarily need to be on every channel. Focus on what you like to do (or what you have the resources to do), what you can offer on each channel, and the attributes of the audience you’re trying to reach.
Social Media Content Ideas for Small Businesses
The best way to approach social media is through experimentation. With your overall goal and target audience in mind, try different types of content and have fun with it. If something you tried isn’t working, don’t get discouraged. Through trying different types of content and interacting with different communities, you can find your niche (the type of content that you’re good at and online communities that are passionate about your product or service).
A lot of businesses get hung up on the what. What do you post? What kinds of content should you experiment with? Here are a few ideas and examples to get your creative juices flowing:
→A video of the process of you packing up an order.
→A behind-the-scenes peek at the process of you making a product.
→Customer testimonials or quotes. (Hello, social proof!)
→The story behind one of your products or services
→Your story—tell people what made you take the leap to start your own business.
→Celebrate an achievement or milestone. (Think: your hundredth sale, opening up a new location.)
→Employee spotlights—show off the great people behind your business.
→Remember to play into current trends if they’re relevant and can help show off your brand’s unique personality.
What About Costs and ROI?
Social media can be a really powerful tool for reaching new customers. However, seeing attribution like immediate sales won’t always be linear. Think of building your social media presence as part of enhancing your online reputation.
In terms of cost to your business, you can choose what you’d like to invest in social media. Creating a business account on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and LinkedIn is free.
When it comes to creating content, you can shoot videos or create graphics directly on your phone or through free tools like Canva.
You also need to think about how much time you have to dedicate to social media. If you can, block off a few hours per week to plan out posts, film or edit videos, create some Canva graphics, and post them natively to the platform. If you’re strapped for time, it might be helpful to hire a part-time content creator or social media manager.
Finally you need to think about tools. If you want more convenience and have some budget flexibility, you can make your life a lot easier by investing in the right tools like Hootsuite or Sprout.
