Small Business Social Media Marketing Part 1 Content Creation
So let's talk business… specifically social media marketing and content creation for business. I want to continue to be really transparent about how I do things and how I have found success with my business. So, here we go! Social media marketing is pretty much mandatory as a business owner now. That being said, when I started my business I had no idea what I was doing. I honestly don’t recommend that, do some research first to prepare! It is not like riding a bike at all. You will constantly be learning new things and implementing new ideas.
Social media is a great way to interact with your clients or future clients. It’s great free exposure/marketing and so many social media platforms have a lot helpful tools. A huge issue for small business owners is feeling burnt out really fast when it comes to making content. Burn out can be the reason why you aren't seeing the results you want when it comes to your businesses social media. I felt so burnt out when I first started because I felt like I had exhausted all the content ideas I had within my first month. It made me feel like a failure as a small business owner. I had no idea how I would keep this up for the next year. Never fear, I went through the fire so you don't have too. Content doesn't have to be hard. Here are some tips and tricks on how to create content and how to best use social media to your advantage.
The first thing with social media is consistency. The more consistent you are, the more of a relationship you will create with your client. We all follow people who post constantly on their stories and feed. The more they see about your company and your products the more likely they are to buy it. I mean think about it, how many times do you see an ad for something before you start looking at the website? Most of the time you see an ad around 7-10 times and then you maybe will look at what they have because you are interested. Having your business be very active on social media is super important. Now this doesn't mean you need to post on your feed everyday. I have found that posting on my story and Reels/Tiktoks very regularly helps a lot. Reels/Tiktoks bring in new followers and lots of new clients from my niche audience. My story is a way for me to interact with my customers a build a relationship daily. Posts on my feed aren't as successful so I only post a couple times a week. You will need to feel it out. It all depends on your audience and your product. Test it out and see what works best for you. But don't be like me! When something with social media isn't bringing results honestly just change gears. I have a hard time when something doesn't work to switch gears when I feel like I've created a great rhythm for myself. If it doesn't work, CHANGE IT UP! Change is hard but it will really help you. Okay, sorry for that little rant. Now onto the big doozy... how to create content.
First things first when it comes to social media, you need to know what your posting. You need to know what content to put out because it has to have a purpose. If not people won't read it or will just scroll past. I come up with content based off what I learned from Lyfe Marketing. Lyfe Marketing is a marketing company that provides tips and tricks on their Youtube page for businesses on literally anything marketing related. (Linked below is a video that I followed on how to make meaningful content.) In the video they advise you to pick five topics pertaining to your business that either are tips/hacks, informative in why your business is helpful to your client, speaking about your brand or anything else you think is important. Then just create a variety of different posts that branch off from these topics but that always come back to your main 5 post ideas. So an example of this is you can create a Reel/ Tiktok with some tips/hacks. Then post on your FB and Insta story behind the scenes of your business and finally post on your feed about your companies mission statement or of new inventory. The trick is making sure you change it up what you post in different forms of social media. So don't always make reels about tips/hacks and don't always post on your feed about your mission statement. Swap them or even think of new ideas that branch off of those original ideas. Variety is key when it comes to content because you don't want to sound like a broken record.
Arcane Marketing is another resource I have used when it comes to writing content. Their acronym E-A-T (Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness) is a great to refer to when writing your content. Use your expertise and authority when writing content, blog posts or really anything. Share what you know and be confident in it. Also be very open in your content to show your trustworthiness with your clients. It can look like sharing resources you've reference in your content or just being very candid in your behind the scenes. I have linked a content writing video they have made below as well. Content isn't about just selling, its about building a brand and a relationship with your customers.
Also an important part of content is the picture of video. The image or video is really what catches peoples eyes or makes them go to your website. So make sure you use a good camera. Make sure your pictures all have a cohesive look when it comes to the filters you put on them. Also make sure the pictures and videos match your brand. If your is selling skateboards don't post pictures of men in suits drinking tea. But maybe make a reel of a guy skateboarding and doing crazy tricks in a suit. Look at what fits your brands aesthetic and make it visually appealing to your audience. One thing I struggle with is I take a lot of time to photograph or film content. Make sure whatever you do is worth your time because your time is money too! I have spent waaaaay to much time creating content that I scrapped because I didn't like it or because it didn't fit my brand. Do better than me and save yourself time. Write out your content creation ideas and then before you even pick up a camera take the time to think... is this a good idea? Even bounce an idea off someone you trust. I'm not telling you to not take risks. Just once again like my husband always says, "Work smart not hard."
Well that is all. Thanks for coming to the show folks! Let me know what content creation tips your have by commenting below. Links below are videos from Arcane Marketing and Lyfe Marketing as resources you can use as your make your content.
Lyfe Marketing: (Instagram Content) https://youtu.be/WV83xc5gf9M
Arcane Marketing: https://www.arcanemarketing.com/finding-inspiration-for-your-content-writing-episode-004-marketing-of-the-minds/