6 Social Media Tips for Business Owners

Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. It can be an unruly beast at times, but if you want to be successful in business, it’s a beast you must learn how to tame. Should you invest in a bullwhip and a sturdy chair like the lion tamers of old? No, this is the twenty-first century. Instead here are six ways you can soothe the savage beast and maybe save your furniture.

Have a plan. As a small business owner, you hear time and time again about the importance of social media. Before taking the plunge, think about what you want to accomplish and how social media will help you. Once you know what you want, then you can really begin to decide what platform or platforms will work best for you and now to leverage them.

Know your audience. Knowing your audience is part of your plan, but it’s important enough to be a category in its own right. Who is it you’re trying to market to? What social media platforms do they use? How do they use them? When you have clear answers to these questions you can not only create your plan of attack for social marketing, but you’ll have a strong idea of what types of content your audience is looking for.

Be visual. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and this maxim is certainly true in social media. Whenever possible, try to use compelling images, or better yet, videos, to get your point across. They garner far more attention than a dry-looking block of text.

Don’t be shy. The whole purpose of social media is to interact with your audience. Share your story. Share your life and, within reason, don’t be afraid to personalize it. Your audience wants to see the human side of you. They want to buy from a person not a faceless corporate entity.

Automate. No matter how you slice it, social media is time consuming. It can easily dominate your entire day. Use the tools available in many platforms or quality third-party software to automate many of the more mundane tasks. You can schedule posts in advance as well as offers and other tidbits. You can customize your approach based on demographics or buying habits and then let the software do much of the work for you. You’ll still need to keep an eye on things, but automating can save you valuable time and effort.

Analyze. All the media outreach in the world is useless without some way to measure the results. Are you reaching your target audience? Are they responding? How? Being able to answer questions like this gives you an idea about the ROI for your social media endeavors. Without it you’re shooting blindly in the dark.

With its complexity and sometimes bizarre nuances, social media can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re already stretched in a dozen different directions. Don’t let the sheer ferocity of the beast intimidate you though. With some strategic planning you can get social media purring for you like a kitten.