Social media marketing is essential to your business if you’re looking for a way to increase your brand awareness

You keep hearing about it: Social media marketing is essential to your business if you’re looking for a way to increase your brand awareness, customer engagement, lead generation, and more. 

But how do you actually do all that in practical terms? 

To tap into the real potential of social media, you need to have an effective content strategy. It's not about posting whatever comes to mind each time you log in to your account. Posting relevant, strategic content that helps boost your engagement and exposure is key to a successful social media presence for any kind of business, big or small. 

So what exactly do you post on social media to achieve this?

With experience, you will get the gist of what content works best for your business. Alternatively, you can hire an expert to give you a few pointers or handle your presence for you. No matter what you decide, here are some content-posting ideas you can implement RIGHT NOW to give your small business's social media presence a real boost:

1. Engaging Questions

Asking questions or asking for advice can help enhance your business page's social engagement, create a means to have conversations among your followers, and receive valuable feedback from your customers.

When you engage with your followers and care enough to ask how they think and feel, it exhibits transparency and shows them that their opinions are valued. It also fosters a sense of familiarity between your business and your followers who will, eventually, come to trust your brand more and more.

You can utilize the comment section under your post to interact effectively with your audience. Another way to engage with them is through replying to their direct messages; if it sounds like a lot of work, hire someone to get the job done for you, as customer service is a crucial part of any business.

2. Videos

Many social media platforms provide the option of posting video content. Utilize that option as often as you can.

Videos engage the user quicker than any other form of media. If they're of good quality, brief, and to-the-point, your followers will most like sit through the whole thing and react with a like or comment at the end. 

If you're wondering how to use video content for your business, consider the following ideas:

• Showcase your new products
• Take a tour of your workplace
• Shoot videos of happy customers and their testimonials
• Create a short trailer of your new product or service launch
• Show how you make your products
• Create a flash sale or promotion ad

Short videos have been proven to have more engagement than either photo or text posts. Whatever kind of video content you choose, make sure it is short and sweet.

3. Behind-The-Scenes Photos

Sharing content that your followers wouldn't normally see is an excellent way to give them a clearer image of your business and the processes behind its success.

Post pictures of your workspace, production area, employees, warehouse, or any other thing you wouldn't usually post on your social media platform — that's what makes this kind of content so enticing. 

Remember all those dancing doctors and nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic? Those videos went viral for a reason. Social media users like glimpses into real life, not just what is on display. Make a difference on social media by being transparent, emotional, and real. 

4. Product Photos

It may go without saying that a commerce business should post photos of their products, but there's more to it than just that. Find creative ways to share your product photos online. 

A business's product photos should generally be:

• Branded (use your logo and color palette)
• Consistent to one another as far as style and branding go (while individually unique, each product photo should blend into each other)
• Simple and straightforward
• Unfiltered and as realistic as possible (though you can enhance the colors, contrast, and brightness)
• Unique
• Aesthetically pleasing, with simple backgrounds and well-coordinated colors

Your product photos should be able to sell your brand as well as themselves. They should be eye-catching while not going overboard on color and graphic elements. Followers should be able to look at one of your product photos and instantly know it's yours, share it, and comment on it. Try not to deviate from your brand aesthetic as this would make your page look shabby and unprofessional. If in doubt, always consult a professional.

5. Previews, Sneak-Peeks and Teasers

Sharing a preview or sneak-peek of your business's upcoming product or service is an excellent content idea regardless of what social media platform you're on. You are essentially advertizing that product or service before it is available - and you're doing it for free (unless you wish to sponsor your post and boost its visibility). You can use this tactic as a means of building excitement and warming up those potential customers.

Big brands love their teaser content and utilize this strategy constantly on their social platforms. They build curiosity around a new product and rouse discussion about it even before its launch. So, why not try it out yourself? Here are some things to keep in mind when you do:

• Do not give too much information away about the new product/service
• Start with small tidbits of information to build tension (words or images out of context, intriguing questions, etc)
• When it comes to product photos, why not use only a fraction of your product in the images until the full reveal
• Don't be afraid to be a little mysterious!

Does all this social media posting sound a bit too daunting? How about I take most of the work off your plate for a very affordable monthly fee? 

If you are interested in an offer, then call me now / visit my website.