As a small business owner are you self-managing social media marketing? Many are tempted to give it a try and when they do not get the results they expect they abandon their efforts. Social media marketing is more than posting some promotional posts or tweeting your specials and sales. It is more than just posting when you have time. As you a small business owner you have many tasks that you have to complete and when one does their own social media it tends to take a back seat. As a small business owner you have expertise in your area of business and that is where your focus should be. It is always advised that what you do not have expertise in you should hire somebody who does. However not all small businesses have the funds to do that.
If you are self-managing social media marketing then you need to make a commitment to doing it and to learning how to be effective in your efforts. Before you even begin there are some things you should do. The first of which is to find reputable sources of information on social media marketing. We recommend such sources as Hubspot, The Social Media Examiner and Social Media Today to name just a few. There is a plethora of information on these site to keep you well informed.
The second and perhaps most important aspect to self-managing is content. What will you be posting? What will you be taking about. Posting content and gaining no interaction is not effective. The temptation to post promotional posts about your products and services is where most self-managers start. While you will want to do some of those types of posts, they should only be 20{ebd406824beddcfba747a64d6ebf5cd9712607f65350c4e6a9643ae9d21e61f8} of what you are talking about. So what else should you be talking about? Depending on your business you might want to consider some of the following:
Humor – people enjoy something that makes them laugh or smile. Search for humorous content that applies to your business. Give credit to the source when possible.
Questions – Asking your audience trivia questions, fill in the blank questions, fun facts about your business industry and other fun type’s questions that relate to your business field will gain you interaction.
Pictures – You can get creative with the use of pictures. Share a quote, tips, fun facts, new products, you and your staff. You can also use pictures of yourself in action. Meme’s are also fun and generally popular with audiences.
Links – here you can share articles related to your industry, your blog posts, and experts in your field, tips and of course to your products/services on your website.
Video’s – upload a video right onto your favorite social media platform or include it in a blog post. You can be creative with videos that you do right from your smartphone. You can share your expertise, show a behind the scenes at your business.
How To’s and List’s – makes for great video and blog content and your audience will find the information informative. This helps you be seen as an expert in your field.
Infographics– these are also very popular and informative.
It is important to note that one should use a mix of these suggestions to keep your content fresh and your audience engaged.
In our continuing series we will be discussing other aspects of self-managing your social media marketing. If you have any questions please share them with us in the comments and we will be more than happy to help you.
