Using social media for your small business

To get recognised online, all businesses need a social media presence. What can feel like a full time job, is often just that, a full time job! Unless you have the budget to have someone managing your social media and creating content full time, your small business can benefit from hiring a freelancer, or even us at 9 Dragons Digital to help you along the way. 

The great fight for social media handles

Everyone and their dog (literally!) has a social media account(s) now, and so there is a great fight for suitable handles. Ideally, you want to register for accounts on the main social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tiktok… the list goes on. Whether you utilise them for your digital marketing needs or not is something you can decide later. It’s important to have the right handle on the different social media platforms should your strategy change at a later date and you want to use another platform instead.

Decide which platform is right for your business needs

The right social media platform will depend on the type of business you do. A product-based business will benefit from a Facebook and Instagram shop, where as a service-based one will generally have more engagement on LinkedIn. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t have a plan – even a ‘lite’ one – for some of the other platforms, after all, you never know where your customers or audience will come from.

Nurture your community

Nurture your community on your social media platforms. Occasionally, it’s time consuming, but it’s vital for repeat business! Reply to any comments and messages, engage with users, even consider engaging with other businesses or users doing something similar as yourself. It offers up human connection in a world dominated by screens.

Create and upload content consistently

Consistency is the key to winning on social media. Think about how frequently you’re able to post across your relevant platforms, and start there. The old adage “done is better than perfect” is useful here – there’s no need to overthink the content you’re posting at the early stages. The idea is to simply build a rapport with your audience and get them engaged in what you’re doing. Once you’ve built some momentum, by all means, start focusing your content. This might be time to have someone dedicated to managing all of your social platforms to take the load off you.

Track your stats

Social media strategy is ever-evolving, and the only way to come up with a plan is to monitor your numbers once you have 3-6 months worth of stats in the bank. You’ll be able to see which platform encourages users to hit your end goal – is it brand awareness, or is it higher sales through your e-commerce platform? What is converting? From there, the stats will inform your social media strategy for the following few months. 

Don’t be fooled: social media is tough! Engaging with your audience, creating content and keeping up with all the trends can be a full-time job. But harnessed in the right way, you’ll see success! If it’s all too much, let us know and we’ll be happy to help.