If you're just getting started with social media marketing for your small business, it can feel pretty overwhelming. Which platforms should you focus on? How often should you update your content? How can you keep up with changing trends?
80% of marketers say that they are now relying on social media as a key tool for raising brand awareness. So you can't ignore it, even if you feel like you're late to the party.
By following a simple marketing checklist, you can put a plan in place to get your social presence established, engage with your followers, and attract more customers. Read on for tips to help you get started with your social media marketing checklist.
Marketing Checklist for Social Media
The critical first step you need to take is to set your goals. Are you most interested in building an engaged online community around your brand? Or are you focused on establishing your brand's presence and attracting more customers? Start with the end in mind, then follow these great tips for each stage of your campaign.
Choose Your Channels
Not every platform is going to be the most appropriate for your business. It's easy to get caught up in the hype of every platform. But you need to get beyond social media basics and understand which platforms are best for your industry.
It can also be more time-efficient and effective to focus on a small number of channels that best suit your niche. You might not have the resources to manage multiple accounts.
Twitter is a good starting point for most businesses and is a great way of engaging directly with customers and handling customer feedback quickly and effectively. Instagram is a must for any company relying on attractive visual content; designers and artists use it as a way to show off their wares.
Keep Your Profiles Up-To-Date
Once you've chosen the platforms you're going to focus on, you need to make sure that the profiles are totally up-to-date with no information missing. Especially on Facebook, where customer check-ins are a possibility, you want to ensure that you can be found.
Contact details must be kept up-to-date, along with other essential information. This also makes it easier for Google and other search engines to find your page, thus bringing more customers through your door.
Plan Your Content Strategy
How often are you going to post? What kinds of content? When are most of your followers online? These are some basics of social media marketing that you need to get to grips with when planning your social media activity.
You will need to check your profiles every day and reply to any comments and questions, while also keeping an eye on what your competitors are posting. You should discover what hashtags are trending and what relevant influencers are writing about.
You might also want to realize all of these benefits by using a content calendar to plan your social media posting schedule. This can make it a lot easier to produce consistent content to promote your small business.
Using a Social Media Checklist
If you want to use social media to produce fresh content to boost your business, you need to move beyond the basics of marketing. Using a marketing checklist is the best way to make sure you are in control of your social media presence and optimizing all the opportunities presented by today's modern digital landscape.
If you want to learn more about social media, SEO, and other interesting topics relating to marketing and small businesses, be sure to check out the rest of the website. Visit the Marketing and Social Media sections of the Frugal Finance Blog to keep your marketing checklist up to date!