10 Social Media Marketing Strategies for Small Companies

In today’s world of marketing, social media has become one of the most ideal avenues for marketing but is definitely one of the most confusing as well. But, how can it be both?

Well, social media is a rapidly evolving market – which makes it confusing – new social media tools and new social media sites seem to appear just about every day. And, while some of them favor, they each offer something new. As marketers and/or business owners, it is our job to figure out what that is and how it can be useful for us.

But, among all the confusion, social media sites are incredibly beneficial, too. In fact, the average person will spend more than five years of their lives scrolling through social media sites. And, because people spend so much time on social media, it is a great way to reach your audience.

Social media also has several other marketing benefits; let me explain:

Benefits of Social Media

In addition to being able to reach your target audience, you can reach them more effectively by targeting them. Of course, just you could just put your content on social media in hopes that someone in your target audience will see it. But, any entrepreneur knows this is not the best or most effective route.

You need to specifically target the demographic you are trying to reach.

For example, on Facebook when you place an ad, you can specify exactly the gender, age group, and location of the people you would like to see the ads. This is a much better use of your assets.

Social media also gives users an easy platform for sharing their content – which is great for you. This is yet another way to reach an even bigger and better audience. For example, you share a post and Sally sees it. Well, Sally really likes it so she shares it and then Sally’s friend – who wasn’t a customer before – who is around the same age as she is sees it and now she becomes a new customer. They are actually doing some of the marketing for you.

But, to effectively take advantage of all the benefits that social media has to offer, you must first ensure that you have a solid plan in place, and here are a few things to consider for your marketing strategy:

1. Link Prospecting

Link prospecting is an art – it is the first step to building a high-quality link. It is one of the building blocks to effective SEO.

Although link prospecting can be one of the most challenging and most time-consuming things, it is something that will help you grow your business effectively.

Your link prospecting activity should generate the right targets and cover a wide range of opportunities.

2. A variety of content

When most people think of social media marketing or any type of marketing, they generally just think of writing the text.

But, do you just like to read a big, long, boring paragraph? Of course not.

High-quality and shareable content should include pictures, videos, and text or at least a combination of two out of the three.

Which brings me to my next point…

3. Add a share option

How can something be shareable if you don’t make it that way?

Trust me, no major company became a fast-growing company by leaving its customers to figure out how to share the content on their own.

By making things easier for your customers, they are more likely to follow through.

4. Research, research, research

The first step to any social media marketing strategy should be to do your research. You need to know exactly what audience you are targeting before you start your marketing campaign.

And, you also need to research what the best ways to reach them are.

5. Start using chatbots

Chatbots are a huge hit in the social media marketing world right now as they do just about everything you need to be done, but without eating up your time.

For example, do you want to have someone always available to answer questions? Well, start using a chatbot and you can have a 24/7 customer service chatbox that can at least give the customer some peace of mind.

6. Create a personalized experience

Customers enjoy something more when they feel it is tailored for them. This is another benefit to using chatbots – they can make the experience more personalized for your clients.

And, anything you can do to make it more personal will also make it better.

7. Create a community

In addition to feeling like it is personalized, customers also like to feel like they aren’t alone.

Social media is great in the fact that it allows us to develop this sense of community for our customers through company profile pages, private chat groups, and just private pages.

8. Use brand advocates

Social media has greatly enhanced the ability for small businesses to share who is using their product. And, brand advocates are great for this.

Just find someone who has a worthy following and collaborate posts with them to raise awareness about your company or product.

9. Go live

This is especially popular on Facebook, but several other social media sites have now also incorporated the ability to do a video or a live video.

Going live is a great way to get your message across in a creative way and effectively communicate with your clients.

10. Run cross-channel campaigns

Another effective social media marketing strategy is cross-channel campaigns. By running your engaging story across several social media outlets, you get more coverage.

This is also a great way to create a memorable hashtag or something that is transferable between outlets.

Remember, social media is your friend. But, to use it effectively, you need to have a social media marketing strategy in place.

Do you have one in place yet? What are your tips for other people developing theirs?