How Should Small Businesses Be Using Social?

Anyone running an online business has certainly heard that they need to use social media to their advantage if they want to excel. Social media is indeed one of the most potent advertising tools an online business owner can have. Still, it can be challenging to learn how to use social media to its fullest potential. 

Wherever you look, someone will be giving you a different strategy they claim is the best practice regarding the use of social media in advertising an online business. Everyone will say something different, and it often makes the process even more confusing than it needs to be. 

Rather than jumping in head first and attempting to come up with the best social media strategy, it may be a good idea to slow down and take things one step at a time. Find a few simple things to get you started, then work your way from there. 

Consistency

When it comes to using social media to market your small business, consistency is critical. Humans are creatures of habit, and we like routine. While you don’t necessarily need to upload and post every day, posting frequently and predictably can make a surprising impact on your website’s traffic. 

The frequency with which you should post to obtain the optimal outcome for your business depends on what kind of industry you are in. Certain industries won’t have to post nearly as much as others. For example, a construction company would require less of a social media presence than a company that specializes in cosmetics. Businesses within the restaurant and food service industry tend to thrive from posting once or twice daily. In general, though, posting at least twice a week is optimal. 

Company Name and Logo

When you’re making your posts, there are a few things that you need to include. The first thing is your company logo or brand name. When uploading a picture or video to a social media site, you should have your brand name, company logo, or both on screen at all times. Some businesses don’t throw in their company name until the end of a video, which is ineffective because most viewers don’t stay to watch the video all the way through. 

Hashtags

The other thing you should include in all your social media posts is a handful of hashtags. Although social media sites like TikTok and Instagram aren’t designed to function as search engines, many people use them in part as if they were. Hashtags allow the AI of the website to sort through different posts and decide which are relevant to what the user is searching for. From there, it uses hashtags to spread those posts to the users it feels would benefit from them the most. By including relevant hashtags in your posts, you increase the likelihood that they will reach your target audience.