Does this sound familiar?
You post like a maniac on your company’s social media profiles for months at a time.
And?
Wait for it…
Still waiting…
…Nothing!
What’s more demoralizing than spending months on a project, with no results to show for it?
That’s the way social media works for many SMBs.
So, how do you spend as little time on social media as possible, while still generating valuable results, like orders and leads?
Here’s how in 2017:
Listen
Believe it or not, even though it’s called “social” media, the greatest value for small businesses rests not in posting but listening to what your customers and competitors say.
For example, what are the hot topics in your niche? You can use what you discover to learn new marketing angles.
What do other company’s customers complain about or praise their favorite companies for?
You know exactly what to do, and not do, as a result.
Keep your eyes and ears peeled for mentions of your own company. Search for hashtags using your company name on Twitter. Review your Google reviews and Facebook profile for comments.
How to Keep it Simple
Any aspect of internet marketing can quickly take over all your time. With social media, use Buffer, Hootsuite, or CoSchedule to share content and consolidate monitoring of your social channels.
Google Analytics helps you track performance. Feedly and e-mail subscriptions to your favorite content in your niche give you all you need to share.
Share 4-6 posts per week on Facebook. Share 3-4 per day on Twitter. Go with 1-2 per day for LinkedIn.
Engage
Engage in a few ways on your active social media channels. Like some content (but only if you find it genuinely interesting and useful for your own followers). Comment. Ask questions. And always respond to any inbound messages, public or private.
Consider randomly reaching out to a Facebook follower and rewarding them, and then acknowledging that publicly to generate interest.
Advertise
This one comes last.
Why?
Because you can only advertise once you have a rock-solid understanding of your customers and how social media works for your company.
You don’t have to advertise incessantly to get customers. You have to understand them and learn what they’re most likely to respond to.
Systemize
Every business is different. You have your own approach. Once you have down what you do, make it a checklist. Then, rinse and repeat on a daily basis.
Set yourself a time limit to encourage the smartest use of your time. Do not break that boundary under any circumstances.
When you find yourself getting more results than you can manage, then it’s time to consider hiring someone to manage your social media.
