Social media has grown to be a large part of marketing and is a great way to build a community around your brand and grow businesses. From the classic platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (Now X) to the newer ones like TikTok and Threads, social media proves itself to be a growing part of marketing. There is plentiful information online about social media, but here are our top five tips for small businesses to grow their social media.
1. Know Your Audience and Choose the Right Platforms
Understanding who your target audience is is the cornerstone of an effective social media plan. Take some time to do some research to identify who your target audience is. What are their interests? What are the issues they face that your product/service could solve? Also, keep in mind what platform would best work to showcase your business. For instance, Instagram might be ideal for visual-centric businesses, while LinkedIn suits professionals and B2B interactions. By focusing your efforts on the platforms your audience prefers, you’ll increase your chances of meaningful engagement.
2. Utilize Instagram SEO
That’s Right! Instagram has SEO, too. Optimize your Instagram bio by including keywords that could be searched to find someone in your industry. Also, make sure to have a descriptive caption on each post incorporating industry keywords. Furthermore, make sure to include alt-text for the photos you post with your industry keywords. This will make your content accessible to individuals with visual impairments and will help Instagram show it to more people who are looking up that keyword.
3. Video Content
Videos stand out and are dynamic and visually compelling, so they command viewers’ attention more effectively than text or static images. Videos are also highly shareable, and you can capitalize on trending audio to push the reach of your video. Video still receives preferential treatment on many social media algorithms, including Instagram, so utilizing it in your social media plan is essential. In August 2023, Instagram confirmed to Tech Crunch that they are internally testing the ability to create videos up to 10 minutes long, so the video wave is not going anywhere and is growing daily!
4. Consistency is key
Consistency in posting is so important to the success of a successful social media strategy! Staying in your follower’s feeds consistently reminds them of your company and strengthens brand awareness. Posting at least three times a week and at most once a day will keep your followers interested without being overwhelmed by your content. Furthermore, algorithms on most social platforms reward regular posting by boosting the visibility of your content, which means more people see and interact with your posts.
5. Analyze and Adapt
Social media algorithms are constantly changing, so you will want to periodically analyze and adapt your social media plan. You can do this by looking at the in-app metrics and seeing what is working and what needs to be tweaked. You can identify what kinds of posts are performing better than others, what posting times work well for you, and more with these metrics and adjust your plan from there.
Take these tips and elevate your social media strategy! By understanding your audience, optimizing your content for Instagram SEO, making video content, posting consistently, and continuously adapting your approach, you can effectively navigate the social media landscape and build meaningful connections with your followers.
Want to learn more about our social media management services? Contact us! info@mkmarketing.biz.
