Social Media for Small Business

Business – 21 April 2014

If you’re a small business owner, the biggest opportunity you have to connect to your customers is via social media. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest are either free, or relatively inexpensive, but you need to keep up to date with how these platforms are evolving so you can work out where to invest your time.

Mistake #1 – Not boosting posts on Facebook

If you have a Facebook page for your business, have you noticed that your posts are reaching less people these days? There have been big changes at Facebook this year. Firstly, as a Facebook user you don’t see as many posts as you used to. The posts you like or comment on are the ones that keep reappearing in your feed. So for businesses that need to keep their reach up, the only failsafe way is to pay to boost your posts. The system is now geared for Facebook to earn more income from businesses – who would have guessed that would happen? But no use complaining – you just need to set a budget and get boosting.

Mistake #2 – Not retweeting on Twitter

You could spend all day, every day promoting your business on Twitter. You could interact with like-minded people, converse with new customers, link to editorial posts and generally be glued to your smart phone. But if you don’t have all day to tweet, the smart money is on multiple tweeting. The latest research is showing you need to tweet the same tweet four or five times per day to reach maximum effectiveness. Remember that Twitter is like a fast moving stream with tweets passing by and disappearing in a flash. So get a Hoot Suite account and schedule in your tweets.

Mistake #3 – Not enough hashtags on Instagram

Instagram is a wonderful visual medium that really connects your customers to the heart and soul of your brand – you. It’s also nice and easy to Instagram and Tweet your photos at the same time – so make sure you take advantage of this. The main problem with Instagram is you can’t link images back to your website, so make sure your website address is shown on your profile. The key to building your following is hashtags; so don’t let this opportunity pass you by. It might seem corny – but hashtag as many popular words as you can, to better your chance of people finding your posts.

Mistake #4 – Not publishing articles on LinkedIn

If you have a professional services firm or you’re B2B, your LinkedIn profile is extremely important. Make sure you talk yourself up and try to update your status a few times a week. The great news at LinkedIn is you can now publish articles on the platform – and it’s super easy. Of course you have something to say – so it’s time to carefully craft a compelling piece and publish it. If writing is not your strong point, perhaps hire someone to prepare one article for you each month.

Mistake #5 – Not linking images on Pinterest

Pinterest is the fastest growing platform for selling product as you can link from an image directly to your online store. Take a look at how Crate and Barrel do it – they are one of the best. The key is to have fabulous lifestyle images that link to your store. Once again, hash-tagging is very important. It allows people to find your images quickly and easily. So hashtag away – be creative too!

Sharyn Lowe is the Managing Director of digital agency Flaunt Marketing, visit: www.flauntmarketing.com.au

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