Everyone and their grandmother is on at least some form of social media these days. So if you own a small business, you probably already have a few accounts set up to market your brand. Unfortunately, if you are only doing the bare minimum on social media, it’s going to be pretty difficult for your small business to stand out from the crowd.
Luckily for you, there are a few nifty ways to really get your small business off the ground through the power of social media. Let’s look at how you can gamify your small business’s social media to put your brand in front of the right audience.
Social media tips and tricks to get your small business going
Post at the right times
If you don’t want your small business’s posts to get lost in your followers’ feeds, you need to make sure that you’re posting at the right time. Many marketers reckon that the best times to post are between 12pm and 3pm, and between 6pm and 9pm. This is usually when people are on lunch break or knock off work, so chances are good that they’ll be browsing social media.
If you’re running a small business, it can be quite easy to forget to post. After all, running a business is, well, busy work, and it’s hard to remember to post the right thing at the right time. Luckily, the internet is full of wonderful tools – including scheduling apps.
With a scheduling app, you can easily set up all of your posts for the week. Not only will this ensure that your posts are published at the right time, it also means that you can dedicate an hour’s work to scheduling, then sit back and let the app do everything else for you. For free scheduling apps, check out Hootsuite, Buffer and Later.
Post often, but not too often
If you don’t post anything on your business’s social media accounts, it won’t take long for your followers to forget about you. On the other hand, if you spam your followers with posts, you’ll end up annoying them, and they won’t think twice about unfollowing you. People are ruthless with the unfollow button these days.
Marketers generally recommend posting around two to five times per week. This way you won’t be spamming your followers, and they won’t have the chance to forget about your business.
Boosted posts
If you want your small business to get some extra visibility on social media, you could always choose to boost your posts. Boosted posts are where you pay a fee to a social media platform like Facebook or Instagram. In exchange, your posts will be shown to users other than your followers.
You can choose a specific target audience based on criteria like their online behaviour, age, gender and interests, so your posts can reach potential customers who might actually give you their money. There’s no point in advertising biltong to vegans, is there? That’s just wasted ad money. But target people who like to braai, and watch the orders pour in.
Outsource your social media
If you’re a small business owner, social media can sometimes be the last thing on your mind. Often, you can get so caught up in the day-to-day that you forget to maintain an online presence. After all, there are only so many hours in the day, and you’re not an advertiser, you’re a small business owner.
If that sounds like you, a social media manager or small digital marketing agency can be a massive help. You’ll benefit from their expertise, while dedicating your own time to doing what you do best.
There are loads of marketing agencies that specialise small business advertising and can easily maintain your business’s online presence. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always come cheap – especially if you want it done properly. That being said, the entire purpose of marketing agencies is to increase your business. They specialise in taking the money you give them for their services, and turning it into a significant boost to your bottom line. The only catch is that it might take a little while to see the results.
How do I keep my small business afloat while I wait for advertising costs to be offset by capital gains?
When you have a small business, you’re often operating at the limits of your budget. That means that hiring a marketing agency may be near impossible. You simply can’t spend the cash now – even if it means you’ll get much more business (and all the sweet, sweet profits it brings) later.
At GroWise Capital, we’re passionate about giving you the funds you need to take your small business to the next level. We see it as an investment in your future success – and so should you.
We also know that sometimes you need this capital sooner rather than later. That’s why we focus on getting you the funds you need seriously fast. You could be spending your newly-acquired funds in less than 24 hours; sometimes as quickly as 45 minutes. Contact us today, or apply online now to get the funds your small business needs to grow your social media presence and profitability.