Best Practices For Social Media For Small Businesses And Organizations

Running a social media for small business and organizations seems simple enough at first, but in actuality, there is a lot that goes into it - from knowing when to post and to how to have a consistent voice, to making sure the posts have enough engagement. And all of this takes time, and for small business owners and people running small level organizations, this can sometimes be a daunting task on top of everything else they are running.

This is why it is really important to stay organized, and apply tips that can cut down on time being used to manage social media. Here are some of the best practices to do that:

1. Know your audience.

This is, by far, the most important step. You must know the audience you are targeting, because the entire set up – from choosing the right social media to the language and graphics being used – depends on who the audience is. You can check out the details about social media usage per different demographics here.

TIP: Do some research on what are the most popular social media channels in your area, and start with no more than two channels at first, so as not to overwhelm yourself.

2. Create a content plan

Just like any other type of marketing, social media one has to be planned in advance as well. If you are posting about Valentine’s Day specials on February 13, the odds are that you will not see the results you are looking for. Plan your content at least a month in advance, to give yourself enough time to create posts that will generate the most engagement.

While you are doing your planning, make sure you set measurable goals. First – know the purpose of your post. Is your goal to get people to check out your website or sign up for your newsletter? Are you looking to sell a particular item or get people inside your store on a particular day? Is the goal selling specific amount of event tickets or a number of people participating in the event? Once you know what the goal is, check out what the amount of time is needed to achieve it, and create the content calendar accordingly. For example, if you have a fundraising event, you can run “Save the Date” posts 2-3 weeks in advance, and then start selling the tickets 6-8 weeks prior. As the date is approaching, once a week, you can repeat the “selling tickets” post, and use the other posts to highlight your organization, and the reasons for your fundraising. The trick is not to overwhelm your audience. Posting 3-4 times a week is plenty in order to be able to keep up with the engagement.

TIP: Know WHEN to post. Different social media channels are popular during different days of the week, and even during different times of the day. In order for your posts to be seen, it is important to schedule them for the times when your audience is online. Check out this great article about the best times to post in 2020.

3. Be creative

Many small businesses and organizations post multiple times a day, yet do not see the same level of engagement as places that post once or twice a week. The difference is in a type of post. Different social media channels have different type of algorithms that ensure your post will be seen, and those algorithms change constantly, which is why you have to get creative. Simply posting a couple of sentences or a single photo without the caption, or with just limited explanation, usually does not get the expected results.

Using photos, graphics, and videos captures the most attention, but you also want to make sure that they are not overwhelming. On average, a person checks out the video for 5 seconds before moving onto the next post, unless you make sure that first 5 seconds is captivating enough. Additionally, people do not tend to watch the social media video postings that are longer than 3 minutes, so you would have to make sure that your message is carefully planned in advance, and concise and interesting enough to make sure your audience watches it in its entirety.

This is where previous point of planning things in advance comes in handy. Knowing what you will post a month from now gives you sufficient time to come up with good photos, or create quality graphics or videos, as well as to research the hashtags (if using social media channels that is based on hashtags like Instagram or Twitter), or to refine the wording used in a post accompanying the visual mediums.

TIP: When using a graphic, do not simply upload a picture of a flyer that you have displayed at your business or organization, or around the town. It is far more advantageous to create a graphic that contains main bullet points of a flyer (name, place, time, i.e.), and then give more details in a word post that goes along with the graphic.

4. Consistency is the key

Once you defined your audience, picked social media channels you wish to use, and created the content calendar, it is paramount to stay consistent in order to see the results from your social media marketing. First, make sure that you are using the type of language most appropriate for your brand and type of audience you are targeting, and then stick with it. Changing it up from sounding professional one day to sounding hip the next will give mixed messages to people following you on social media. Second, stick to relatively same amount of posts each week. Posting four times one week, then going 10 days without a single post does not instill confidence in your audience. Third, and most important – make sure you engage. Answer your messages and reply to comments in timely fashion, and in a way that will continue to promote your business and organization in positive light.

TIP: Every once in a while, you will receive rude or negative comment or message. Make sure you stay professional and polite, and find the ways to resolve an issue promptly.

For more everyday tips your small business or organization can use in their social media marketing, check out Covered Bridge Media on Facebook.