Owning a small business is no easy task. You’re running around trying to get everything done yourself while still turning a profit. Social media is a great way to get your business noticed and grow your customer base, but it can be time consuming. And you might not have the money for big social media management services that will charge you an arm and a leg.
You can DIY your own social media content instead of paying someone else hundreds or thousands of dollars each month. Save yourself money and be more productive in less time with these tips for better social media management.
Post Wisely
You’re probably wondering what you should post on social media and which platform to use. There are a lot of considerations that go into this decision, but the most important one is your audience.
The first step to deciding what to post on social media is knowing your audience:
What do they care about?
What are their interests?
How old are they?
What age range?
Are they men or women?
Do they have children or not?
Do they live in an urban area, suburb, or rural area?
Once you know who you’re trying to reach, the next step is figuring out which platform best reaches them.
The factors above can help narrow down which platforms will work best for you. For example, if you want to reach an older female demographic with children, then Facebook might be a better option. If you’re targeting a younger crowd and want to reach them through video content, then Instagram might be your best option.
The last thing to figure out is whether or not posting consistently matters for your target audience. If it does, how often should you post and in what frequency - daily, weekly, monthly, etc.?
The answer will depend on your unique business. But as a general rule of thumb, posting consistency provides more exposure for businesses than sporadic posts do.
Plan Ahead
Small business owners are always looking for ways to save time. Spend a little time in the beginning planning out your content and you’ll be able to spend more time working on what really matters: growing your business.
Don’t waste your time trying to come up with content ideas on the fly. Create an editorial calendar that has specific topics and dates for when you will post on social media. This saves you time in the long run because it eliminates any guesswork about what to post.
Pro tip: Use this same strategy for planning your blog content, email marketing, newsletters, and even direct mail. And when you plan it all together and ahead of time, you can make sure your audience is getting consistent messaging with every piece of content they see.
Use Content Buckets
No matter what industry you’re in or how large your company is, time spent on content planning can be daunting. Do you find yourself constantly trying to come up with content ideas to share on social media? Would you like more time for other tasks in your business?
If you’re like me, your social media posts can be unpredictable. Sometimes I wake up with a great idea for an article and my fingers fly across the keys as I type it out in minutes!
Other times, I have to spend hours thinking of content ideas that will engage my readers...
The idea is simple: use content buckets to plan out what type of content will be shared and when it will be posted. Content buckets are a great way to stay organized without feeling bogged down by the constant need for new posts. Each bucket is a way to categorize your content and decide what needs to be posted and when.
You can create as many content buckets as you want, but the more of them that exist, the less likely they will be used. The best way to use content buckets is by creating one for each type of content you want to share.
Each category has a specific purpose, will reach a certain type of customer, and should be strategically shared at the right time.
For example, a construction company might plan out the following 4 content buckets:
Expert Advice: answering common questions customers have about the construction industry
Inspirational Quotes: from famous architects, builders or designers about their work
Social Proof: testimonials from satisfied customers
How-to Videos: on installing different types of drywall, painting, remodel tips, etc.
Promotional Content: about the company, services, seasonal specials, etc.
For small businesses who don’t want to take the time to think about their next social media post or for larger companies who need more structure than just winging it every day - this should help! Content bucket strategies can help businesses save time and get better results from their marketing efforts.
Check out this article that goes in-depth with content bucket tips and examples for contractors to save time on social media!
Schedule In Advance
To save time on managing your social media channels, you’ll want to consider scheduling posts in advance. Scheduling posts means that instead of spending hours each day posting content on the different social networks, you can take care of all of them at once.
It’s no secret that social media is time consuming. Every day, there are new posts to write and comments to respond to. The problem with this is that it often takes away from your business hours and leaves you feeling drained by the end of the day.
It can be a vicious cycle: posting on social media leads to more engagement which leads to more work.
But there is an easy way out. If you’re struggling with keeping up with all your social media accounts in-between running your company, then scheduling content ahead of time might just be for you!
Scheduling Social Media Posts will help keep things organized so you can avoid being overwhelmed.
You might be thinking this sounds like more work than it’s worth- but with the right tools, it can actually save time.
And there are several free or low-cost scheduling tools to automate posting your content. Here are just a few of the best and most affordable options that I recommend:
Facebook Creator Studio - Free
Hootsuite - Free with some limitations
Buffer - Free with some limitations
CoSchedule - Free 14 day trial
Sprout Social - Free 30 day trial
With any of these tools your posts will be scheduled in advance so you won’t forget. You can post at the best time of day for your customers, plan ahead for holidays and other special occasions, and be consistent with your posting frequency.
Create Visuals
Do you want to increase your social media marketing efforts? Social media is no longer just a hobby. It’s how businesses of all sizes reach their customers.
Many small business owners are turning to pictures and videos for their social media marketing, and it’s easier than you think. Visuals increase engagement rates, grow your audience, and generate more leads!
Want to know the best ways to get more residential leads? Find out how here: Get More Leads For Your Home Improvement Business With Marketing
When using pictures on social media, just make sure that they’re relevant to the post. Pictures will catch the eye of viewers who scroll through their feeds quickly, so be sure to choose images that stand out and represent your business or service well.
You can also use video by uploading a short clip from an event or discussing a product or service on camera. A quick “how to” video is a great way for home service providers like plumbers and electricians to show their expertise while delivering value to potential customers.
Make sure you have enough pictures and videos on hand before posting. Plan all your creatives when you build your social media calendar, and keep these tips in mind:
Pictures and videos are more engaging than just text
They’re a good way to show your personality
You can use them to tell stories about your product or company
They make it easier for people to understand what you do in just a few seconds
Canva is an easy-to-use tool for creating custom visuals that will stop the scroll and grab the viewer’s attention. The free plan has plenty of templates, fonts and images for you to personalize.
Besides creating images on Canva, make sure to share your own pictures and videos that showcase your work or your team of employees. Its a great way to build trust with customers!
Share Content From Other Pages
It’s important to share your own content on social media, but it’s also beneficial to share other people’s content too. Sharing other people’s content will make you look more trustworthy and reliable than if you only share your own posts.
Plus, most social media experts recommend you post at least one piece of content a day on every channel. Sharing other people’s posts will give you more content to choose from when building out your social media calendar.
Consider sharing content like:
Inspirational quotes from other experts in your field
Local news stories that are relevant to your business
Interesting articles from industry trade journals
Funny memes or videos that relate to what you do
Statistics about how the market is changing in your trade
It can be hard for smaller businesses to get the attention of their audience without being shared by others. Sharing other people’s content and tagging them can get more eyes on your business while providing more content to share with your followers.
Also be sure to take some time to engage with your audience in the comment section or to comment on other pages. If you’re posting all your own content and not connecting with others, then can we really call it social media?
It’s no secret social media can be a powerful marketing tool for small businesses. Social media can get your business noticed, grow your revenue, and connect you with followers on a personal level.
It’s also no surprise that it takes time to build up the content needed to make your business shine on these platforms. That can be difficult if you’re not well versed in marketing and social media. But by following the advice here, you’ll have a strategy for tackling social media yourself, all while saving time and money!
I’ve gotta know — what’s your biggest frustration with social media? Comment below!