Six Tips for Being a Social (Business) Butterfly

Modern businesses are more accessible to their customers and potential customers than ever before. But that availability can be a double-edged sword. It's easier to engage with customers, but that also means customers expect to be able to engage with you. And they are more likely to engage with a competitor instead if you're not available when and where they are looking. Social media can be a fantastic tool for reaching an audience, but it can also be an intimidating, overwhelming time sink that takes you away from doing actual paying work.

So what's a small business supposed to do? You want to be available for your customers and have a presence online. But you can't spare hours a day to browse around social media, write tons of content, and engage in conversations. And you also can't afford to hire someone else to do that sort of thing full time, either. What's the answer?

Here are some tips for getting started on social media and turning your business into a Social Butterfly in no time!

1. Before you begin, learn about your market.
As with many areas of business, you can't just jump in blindly and expect to be successful. You have to spend some time and do the work properly. Even something free like using social media has costs associated with it - mainly your time. Before you set up accounts and start writing content, take the time to research what platforms are going to be most effective for your target audience, the types of posts you're going to be making, and possibly even what platforms are more popular in your physical location or for your target demographic. Instagram is great for artists. Twitter is more popular with younger consumers. Facebook is the sort of all-around social destination (and much more popular with older users than any other platform). But there are no absolutes here - so take the time to make smart choices.

2. Find businesses or people in your area with similar tastes.
Once you've chosen the platforms you're going to work with, it's important to start building up a network, otherwise nobody will ever hear what you have to say. To increase your reach, follow other businesses or people in your area who are relevant to your business. Artists and people who make and sell crafts in particular will benefit from finding other artists to connect with. Message people and tell them what you do, and ask them to connect with you. This will help get your message out to more people more quickly.

3. Post relevant content, not just fluff.
Very few channels can survive on posting "fluff" content all the time. There are only so many joke posts people have the patience for from a single source, especially a source that is trying to operate a business as opposed to a purely "for fun" page. And it's not enough anymore to just blast out content the same way old-school companies use print media and radio ads. Companies that use social media to scream into the void rarely get any return for their efforts.

If you want people to take you seriously, you have to provide them with some content that is useful, interesting, and relevant to your business. Prove that you have something worthwhile to say, and give away that advice for free. People will be more likely to think positively of you, and reach out to you when they actually need what you're offering.

4. Be genuine, not invasive.
If you're going to engage with people on social media directly, it's important to be genuine. Don't just spam them with ads, or try to cram your product names into every conversation. Don't interrupt ongoing conversations with an ad. That will just get people angry at you, and maybe even get you ignored. It's easy to make a bad impression online if you're not careful, and people are quick to dismiss channels or companies they find annoying. That doesn't mean you shouldn't engage at all, or never say anything about your company or products - just be tactful.

5. Share the love - and reciprocate!
Take some time to like / share / upvote posts from friends, other small businesses in the area, other artists, fan groups related to your industry, etc. - especially if what is being discussed is relevant to your business. This can take a little bit of time as your network starts to grow, but it's well worth the investment in the long run.

In particular, if there are other pages / channels / businesses that have followed you and shared some of your posts with their followers, return the favor! You don't have to (and shouldn't) like and share every single post they make, but take the time to treat other channels well that have treated you well in the past. Keeping up a positive cycle of traffic between your pages is good for both of you. As you increase their visibility, they increase yours. Perpetual one-sided sharing is frustrating and disheartening, so be a good online neighbor!

6. Plan ahead, and save up some material.
For small businesses with one or just a couple of employees, time is one of your most precious resources. It's tough to justify spending time trying to make your social media strategy work, especially when that's time you could be spending selling more products or billing more hours. To get the most of your investment and maximize your efforts, it's important to plan out some of your posts in advance. You shouldn't be scrambling to find something new to talk about every day. Larger posts like blog entries are only necessary once or twice a week. More is fine of course, if you can handle it, but don't overwhelm yourself.

Plan out some posts in advance based on what's going on in the calendar, for special occasions, or based on relevant topics in the news. If you have time in the evening or while there's a lull in your other business activity, take the opportunity to write some generic posts or save some relevant images to be used in future posts. Build up a small reserve of content so you have something to fall back on if you get too busy later, or can't think of a new topic to discuss in time. If you have some content saved up to bank on, you can do all your social media for the day in just a few minutes even if things are hectic.

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So there you go! With these 6 things in mind, you'll be well on your way to building up a presence online and improving your chances of being heard.

Know any other tips? Share them in the comments or send me a message. Need help with your company's online strategy or website? Contact us today.