Between five years ago and now, there has been a twofold increase in the number of active social media users. At the moment, there are roughly 4.2 million users on social media who are active for an average of 2 hours and 35 minutes every single day. Now, 155 minutes every day is an incredible opportunity for any brand to capitalize using effective social media strategy and, if lucky, turn it into sales. That, fellas, is the power of social media in current times. Everything had moved online. It’s the worldwide web where the world functions now! Period.
As of 14 July 2021, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data, the population of Canada stands at 38,083,000. Out of that number, 25.3M people roughly use social media actively in Canada. Even if you can cast an impression on 10%, just consider how many people you are reaching.
From Facebook and Instagram to Snapchat and Pinterest, each of these platforms, if used strategically, can yield excellent results, especially for small-scale businesses. Mostly because defining a solid social media strategy won’t take much from your pockets but can help you convert exponentially. Having said that, let’s take a look at how to plan a social media strategy for small-scale businesses effectively.
- Set Some Smart Goals – Depending upon what will impact your business, set SMART social media goals. SMART, here, is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely.
- Set a Definite Social Media Calendar – A social media calendar is quite helpful in giving you a defined plan about how, when, and what you should post. Start with the 80-20 rule. Now, what is it? Well, use 80% of your social media content to inform and connect with your audience, while the rest 20% can be used to promote or sell your products.
- Conduct a Social Media Audit – Social Media audit is similar to a content audit; only you will be focusing on the kind and quality of content that is going on the social media profile of your business. Remember, it will be a direct reflection of your brand; therefore, you have to be quite aware of the image that you are putting forth on your socials.
- Identify the Social Media Platforms that are Most Useful for Your Business – Out of the numerous social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, Tik Tik, etc, select the platforms that will be most useful for your business. Are you a media agency that needs to put 20-minute long videos? Then YouTube is an absolute must! Are you a self-starter selling your paintings or other artwork? Well, Instagram and Pinterest might work the best for you. First, identify, then invest.
- Research Your Competitors – Yes, researching your competitors will not only give you an idea of how they are using their social media strategy to reach more people but also help you understand where they are lacking. What’s the – research, learn, and do what they didn’t!
- Don’t Over-do It – Yes, small businesses often get so overwhelmed by their competitors who have already been in the game for quite some time that they start over-doing things. The important thing is to connect with your viewers and not fluff your way in.
To Wrap It Up
Once you have your content strategy in place and nailed all the functional aspects of social media marketing, you can definitely relax a bit, but the work is still not done. It is essential to keep track of user behavior and other metrics as well. Understand and analyze what people are saying about you. Weigh in their suggestions, the pros, and the cons. Use the insights to keep improving and keep rocking!
Most importantly, be consistent because consistency is the ultimate key to success. You can learn more about how to effectively use social media for your small business by subscribing to the CanadidanSME small business magazine.
