How to Make Social Media Work for Your Business

I’m often asked by small business owners how to make the most out of social media. The next question is usually, “Should I invest in advertising there?”

Social media, especially Facebook, offers a fantastic combination of the benefits of traditional broadcast marketing (lots of eyeballs) and direct marketing (targeted, low cost, easy to track results).

And even with recent news stories and updates to Facebook and other platforms regarding data use, data access and overall data security, the traffic volume and growth of these platforms continues rapid growth. 1.45 BILLION people use Facebook daily on average – your customers and prospects are out there!

Facebook is showing your posts to fewer of your page’s fans, so yes, it’s a basic requirement to invest in Facebook advertising. You don’t have to spend a lot, but unless you already have a large audience, you must invest to grow that audience and continue to reach them.

If you aren’t using social media advertising to attract, educate, convert and retain your ideal target clients, you’re missing a huge opportunity to grow your business. 

Sustainable success in social media marketing involves aligning your content with your goals, target audiences and their place in the buyer’s journey:

• Awareness campaigns for new customers and leads – long form posts, FAQs, pictures/videos
• Education campaigns for leads and up-sales – live videos, how-tos/tips, flash sales, event invitations
• Conversion campaigns for your most active leads and re-activating good customers, VIP events, Facebook groups

Social media is a critical channel for every step of your customers’ journey

Your Content Must Be Visual

Local businesses are tailor-made for social media and can use it as a differentiating channel versus larger more impersonal competitors. Using photos and videos (your smartphone is good enough), show off your work, answer questions, educate about what you do and why customers should choose you. Show off your value, your difference, why you beat the competition, your unique culture and people and you’ll attract folks to your profiles and to your business.

Effective, consistent, focused social media marketing will build sustainable, high-performing audiences and leads for your business.

Get Started – What You Can Do Today

Success will come easier if you’re set up correctly from the beginning:

• Use Facebook Business Manager to manage your page
• Set up your Ad Account through Business Manager
• Install the Facebook Pixel on your website – this is the code that unlocks the targeting features in Facebook’s ad platform
• Explore Facebook Audience Insights to learn more about your fans
• Create 2-3 posts per week (include at least 2 videos/month) showcasing your work and educating consumers about your business and how it solves their problems
• Stick to the schedule and post consistently

Effective Social Media Marketing is Table Stakes

Social media is a critical part of attracting, educating and converting the right kinds of customers for your business, but success takes consistent effort over time. If you’d like to discuss how to make this work for your business, I’d love the opportunity to talk. Contact me at (501) 485-3048 or mark@fortunemarketinginc.com.