99% of small businesses fail to get results from their social media content, but for the 1% that do, it changes everything. There’s a good reason that most business content fails online—it usually serves only the interests of the company posting, not that of the audience.

Does this sound familiar? You hear a crazy success story of a small business that went viral and seemingly overnight the owner’s lives are changed forever. You get inspired, you decide to start posting about your own business because who knows, you could be next. A few months later you feel defeated, your content got little to no attention and nothing changed, so you stop posting altogether and move on with your life. This is the experience of 99% of small business owners who try to build a following online. But why is that the case?

3 Common Mistakes

1. Low-Quality Content: Most owners don’t have the resources to hire an agency or social media specialist, so they do it themselves. This often results in poor-quality content consisting of semi-random pictures taken on their phone or straight up stock photos. Few take the time to produce videos, which are the backbone of modern social media. Videos are more engaging, but also more difficult and time-consuming to create. As a result, many businesses stick to posting pictures, which are less effective and limit the platforms they can use.
2. Treating Social Media Like a Billboard: Many small business owners treat social media as if it were a massive online billboard, posting infographics about why someone should use their product or service or promoting special offers. This approach is self-serving and uninteresting to anyone not directly involved with the company. Moreover, posting only pictures confines them to platforms with near zero organic reach like Facebook and Instagram.
3. One-Way Street Mentality: Many businesses treat social media as a one-way street, uploading content and then leaving, only returning when it’s time to post again. Any engagement their content receives often goes ignored because the goal is to get sales, not likes, right?

How to Build a Strong Social Media Presence

Now that we have covered what most businesses do wrong, let’s talk about what you can do right. Here are some tips to help you produce quality content and build a following for your business:

Create Videos: Videos are king. Before you starting posting, take some time to research what other businesses are doing. Odds are that there is someone somewhere that is killing social media in your industry. Study what they are doing, from the kind of videos they are filming to the frequency that they are posting, you want to learn everything you can from someone who is already successful. I highly recommend using TikTok for this research. TikTok is no longer a platform for kids, in fact the largest age group on the app is 18-24 years old and the next largest is 25-34. TikTok is by far the most powerful platform today, with over one billion active users there is no other social media platform that comes close to the activity and organic reach potential. Spend a few days researching similar companies and brainstorming what kind of videos you can post. You shouldn't be copying these videos exactly, but use them as inspiration and add your own flair to their ideas. Try to create one video a week at the beginning and slowly work up to daily posts.

Think from the Audience's Perspective: Imagine yourself on the other side of the phone. You just got off work and are relaxing on the couch, scrolling through social media. What kind of content would make you pause and engage? People use social media to be entertained, educated, or informed. Every piece of content you create should aim to achieve one of these goals. 

Consistency is Key: Social media is a long game focused on brand building, not quick sales. Aim to build a community interested in your product or service and your story. Be active in this community, respond to comments, thank new followers, and most importantly, post often. Set a goal of one post per week initially and gradually increase. Measure your progress in months and years, not days, to avoid burnout.

Final Thoughts

The advice shared here is just the tip of the iceberg for creating effective social media content for your business. There are countless details to consider when posting online. If you are interested in learning more about how social media can help your business or how to create content yourself, visit our website (thesmbstrategist.com) and set up a meeting. We offer free marketing audits and strategy calls. I would be happy to discuss the specifics of your business to help formulate a social media strategy for you.

Whether we hear from you or not, I hope this article has provided some value. Use these tips to get started on your community today and good luck on your social media journey!

To learn more about how you can market your small business or are interested in setting up a free consultation, visit our website at thesmbstrategist.com or give us a call at 916-502-8401.