Guide to social media marketing for local businesses

Finding a place in the world of social media marketing proves to be a challenge to many businesses. This guide intends to bust preconceptions that social media marketing is made for big players, that it costs a zillion dollars, and that it’s too complicated. It’s important to understand that advertising on social media requires regular investments, but not necessarily financial ones. It IS worth the effort… but only if you know what you’re doing.

Local businesses have huge potential for social media marketing

And they don’t utilize it! If you’re the owner of a small business, use all the advantages your business has when it comes to social media marketing! And there are quite a few things at your disposal.

• Local businesses come from the people and work for the people. It means just that. Small firms are focused on the local community which is the key part of any social media marketing strategy for local businesses.
• Social media marketing allows small companies to advertise locally for free. If your focus is on clients in your vicinity, it costs you zilch to advertise on social media. Even the advanced features, if properly targeted, are affordable.
• People choose to deal with small businesses for their customized approach and quality. Local enterprises offer personalized service and fight competition with quality. Luckily, customers prefer tailored assistance and offered excellence that local businesses strive for. There’s no reason why it can’t translate to their social media.
• Local businesses can join marketing efforts with non-competitors. Who knows the trials and tribulations of a small local company better than another such business? This is a good starting point for local businesses who wish to join their marketing efforts for mutual benefit. Advertising on each other’s social media and reaching out to a broader audience is an excellent example of marketing symbiosis.

To benefit from these opportunities, it is vital that small businesses build a positive reputation online, especially if they have established a good reputation in their locale. It is done with the help of various tools, but the basis is an established web presence.

So, what’s the plan?

What is mutual to your clients or customers? They’re online almost daily. And most, if not all, are spending their online time on one of the social media platforms. That is the place where you and your local business should be as well. As you set up your business account on a social network, think about what you want it to achieve. After you figure that out, the puzzle called social media marketing solves itself!

Know the goals of your advertising strategy.

Ask yourself, what do you want to achieve with your advertising? A local business can benefit from social media marketing only if it sets up a very clear and specific goal that is measurable and attainable. To create a strategy, you need to have a mission, and if your post strays from that mission, you shouldn’t publish it.

Are you talkin’ to me?

Every business addresses customers or clients that belong to a specific group. Observe your current buyers and note what they have in common. If you’re still not sure who you should target and where, sneak a peek at your competition. Social media analytics will provide you with more details about your competitors, so turn to tools like BuzzSumo, Mention, and Ahrefs for valuable insight. Once you have a detailed profile of your ideal customer, you need to shift your focus on reaching more people like them.

Web presence: where exactly should you start?

While the need for branding and marketing is mutual to all, other advertising practices for movers, stylists, pizza places, groceries, and local businesses, in general, differ depending on their industry and target audience. The key is to know which social platform suits a certain local business. The only way to get the best from social media marketing is to advertise on the platform your clients prefer. Different social media platforms suit different needs. You should choose the one which presents your business best and at the same time gathers the majority of your potential clients.

Attract first, then keep, and finally engage

The rule stands for every relationship, but we’re talking about B2C and B2B at the moment. Social media allows local businesses to communicate with their customers. But to engage in communication, you first need to create content that speaks to your local community. When you attract attention, maintain it by giving your clients what they need.

What is it that buyers need? Ask them, then deliver. Building a solid relationship with your customers is based on providing what they expect, not what you think they need.

What is it that buyers expect? An answer to their question, or a solution for their issue. In essence, to have their comment acknowledged and appreciated.

Focus on quality, presence, and responsiveness

Remember that quality brought you into the spotlight and that your customers expect nothing less from your online efforts. Do NOT fall into the trap of producing too much content, as it inevitably leads to over saturation and you risk losing followers. Being pushy, boring (ew!) or omnipresent will not take you far!

Speaking in numbers, a call to action should be present in 20% of your posts, or in 1 in every 5. Don’t chase after your customers but invite them to come to you by doing what you do best – creating and offering quality content, both offline and online. Aside from the balanced online presence, note that responsiveness is what matters the most. What better way to show your customers you care about them than by replying to all comments and questions as soon as possible?

Monitor, evaluate, fix, and repeat

Even if you think that you did everything right, you can always do better. That is why it is important to monitor your actions, evaluate the results, and fix your mistakes. There is not a unique strategy for all local businesses because no two businesses are completely the same, even if they are in the same line of work. If the original tactic didn’t work as expected, re-evaluate it.

Make tweaks on the go and watch your social media marketing strategy return the favor!