EASY SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

For new businesses, social media should be the first marketing endeavor on the list. It's quick, easy, and mostly free. I've learned a lot from marketing myself on social media and from working with social media experts at multiple businesses. I wanted to share some tips about marketing on social media for small businesses who are looking to take it to the next level.

1. DON'T OVER-THINK IT

New businesses have a lot to say. It's exciting to have an outlet to tell people how great your new business is. So you work on a big long description of your business for days. It's four paragraphs long, it has every sales pitch you've ever came up with, and almost every sentence ends in exclamation points... perfect! So you make a profile on every social media site you can find, copy and paste that description onto all of them, and wait. An hour goes by... no followers, a day goes by... no followers, a week goes by... 2 followers! Oh wait, never mind, one's your mom and the other one's a profile for your aunt's cat... What happened?

Marketing your business on social media should be a lot of fun. Think of it like you're creating a profile for yourself on Facebook. If you want more likes you have to share interesting things.

"How often do you actually read someone else's "about me" section of their Facebook profile."

It's all about getting your name out there and promoting yourself.

There are lots of different social media platforms. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn are some of the most popular among businesses. However, it doesn't mean you have to create a profile on every one of them. Sometimes it doesn't make sense to have a profile on a certain one. For example, if you're a lawyer trying to start your own law firm it might not make sense for you to have an Instagram account, mug shots can be entertaining, but probably not good for business. It's better to have 2 really good social media pages than 6 with the same info repeated on all of them.

What does the viewer expect to see? I wouldn't put photos on my resume and I wouldn't put my job history in a photo album. People use different social media platforms because each one is a different experience, when you share something that is not consistent with that experience people will either ignore it or undervalue your business.

Facebook is pretty standard and lots of other platforms can link to it so that's the best place to start. Facebook also gives you a lot of freedom and options for how to setup your page.

2. SEPARATE BUT TOGETHER

Take advantage of what each platform has to offer, then link them all together to make a system. Treat your social media pages like one big website. Websites are made up of different pages and each one has a specific purpose. I like to use Facebook as the main page. Here I can share more general information like who I am, what I do, and how to contact me. Then I link my other social media pages back to my Facebook page. I use Instagram to post pictures of projects I'm working on, LinkedIn for my resume and client testimonies, and Behance for a more in-depth portfolio. This allows me to market appropriately on each platform which keeps the viewer from disregarding my posts.

3. SHARE YOURSELF

There has to be a reason for someone to follow you. You don't want people to follow you just because they know you personally, sure your mom's going to like everything you post, but do you want your mom to be your main client? People follow other people and pages on social media for entertainment, not for advertising. So post things you find entertaining.

Advertising and sharing should be two different strategies and posts on your pages. You can "share" something interesting you read, a video, a picture, or anything you find relevant to your business. "Sharing" makes your business more approachable and gives your brand a personality. It can also make you look like an expert in your field.

I know when I'm on social media I ignore anything that looks like an advertisement. So don't just post a picture of something and say "My company does this!!!!! Order today!!!!!! Do it now!!!!!!!!!!" Actually just stay away from putting exclamation points in your posts all together. Posts should be interesting and worth reading. If you read something that interest you and has anything at all to do with you're business, share it! Even if it wasn't written for you, people will enjoy reading it and it will show the ideas and values you have for your own business. As a bonus you'll learn about your field and connect with similar businesses. Comment on it and start a conversation about your business, people will appreciate the personal touch.

4. UTILIZE A DESIGNER

Hopefully you've already used a designer to create your branding, and they also gave you some advertising examples. I'm sure that designer would be happy to brand your social media pages for you. Then they can come up with advertisements for you to use strategically that promote your brand and communicate your message quickly.

"Creating advertisements without a designer is like playing 18 holes of golf with just a putter"

The whole point of social media marketing, like most marketing campaigns, is to plant your brand's name into the minds of future clients. A designer is going to know the best way to do that for your specific business. With so many options for anything and everything literally at our fingertips it's not enough to just have a good product. You have to support your product with a brand that displays the best qualities of your product quickly. A good designer will research you and your competition to develop a visual system that gives you the advantage in your market.

5. SUPPORT

I once had someone ask me to make them some business cards for their new restaurant, but when I asked them for their contact information all they could give me was their personal phone number. They didn't have an email address, a website, or even a Facebook page. Do you really want your personal phone number to be the only way someone can learn about your business? Will anyone actually call you?

Having a couple social media pages is probably the quickest and easiest way to establish yourself and give clients somewhere to get quick information about your business. So quickly establishing yourself on social media will open up lots of options to keep growing.

"When growth stops, decay begins"

Having lots of followers and sharing information quickly is a great start, but how is all of this going to make you money? You might follow "Papa John's" on Facebook because they'll give you a free pizza, but you can't order that pizza off of Facebook. However, if you click the link it'll take you straight to "Papa John's" website where you can order as many pizzas as you want.

When clients are ready to spend money or visit you they're not going to go to Facebook, and they're not going to call you. They're either clicking on a link to your website or going straight to google to type in your name.

Your website is your main point of contact. I've had clients tell me they don't need a website because people have always just called them. I never understood why they would limit themselves so much. Why would you not make it as easy as possible for someone to give you money? If I'm online and I see something I like, I'm not going to stop what I'm doing and make a phone call to learn more about it. If there's pictures and information already laid out in front of me it's a much easier decision. The benefits of having a good website is another blog post all together, so I won't get into all of that on this post. Speaking of blog post, did this post bring you to my website? I'll be able to tell after I run my free analytics report this week. Don't worry though, I won't spam you.

The tips listed above are a good place to start, but trying to do all your marketing and branding yourself is a full-time job that could take years of trial and error before its worth your investment of time. Investing in branding from the start will jump start your business and instantly make you a competitor in your market.

BONUS TIPS

1. SOCIAL MEDIA BUTTONS ON PRINTED ADVERTISEMENTS

Don't do it. If you can't click on it what's the point? All you're doing is letting Facebook, or Instagram, or whatever piggy-back off your advertising for free. If you want to promote your social media pages on a printed ad, simply putting "Like Us" or "Follow Us" is enough to get the point across, and it doesn't distract from the ad's message. If people really want to follow you they will.

2. COUPONS

Think about it. Are you a premium option for your market or are you a cheap option? If you're a premium option then a coupon can really hurt your brand by confusing consumers. Consumers who buy premium options do not use coupons, it will actually make your brand look cheap. Consumers who buy cheap will only buy when you give them a coupon. You will never persuade someone who buys cheap to buy premium, and vice versa.

3. IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO USE IT, LOSE IT

Don't just make a Twitter account just to say you have one. If you're not going to use it, just delete it. Besides, having too many options is overwhelming, and people don't like to have to think about which option is the best. Have you ever been to a restaurant with a huge menu? You probably flipped through it very quickly, got overwhelmed by so many choices, and decided on a cheeseburger. What would be even worse is a restaurant with nothing on their menu. Decide which social media platforms are going to make the most sense for your advertising needs and just stick to those.

4. QR CODES

How many times have you actually scanned a QR code? People just don't use them. If someone's actually going to take the time to download an app to scan your code and all it does is pull up your website, they will hate you for wasting their time.

5. BLOG

What's better than sharing something written for someone else? Sharing something written for you or by you that links people back to your website. It's seems like a lot of work, but it can be fun. Or you could even hire a good marketer to blog for you.

6. ANALYTICS

The word "Analytics" seems intimidating, but it's actually pretty easy. It's like getting stats on everything you post. Facebook will give you quick analytics reports for free. It'll tell you what posts people responded to the most, how many people visited your page, and recommendations for the future. With that information you can plan a whole strategy for reaching more people.

7. COVER PHOTOS

Think of cover photos as free ad space. Your cover photo will always be shown next to your profile picture, so why put your logo as your cover? Assuming your profile picture is your logo that is. Have fun with your cover photo and change it all the time, it's a great opportunity to show off your brand.

#socialmedia #marketing #design #strategy #easy #alexstacy