What Small Business Owners Struggle With on Social Media
Tackling what small business owners struggle with most on social media and offering solutions for you through my services: social media packages and live workshops!
Earlier this summer I sent out a social media survey to local businesses here in Charlottesville. I was curious to learn how small business owners felt about using social media for their brands, and in my business mentor Nicole's group, we learned that the best way to get to know your community is to simply ASK!
Social Media Is Important For Exposure And Growth
Having a strong presence on social media opens many doors in terms of exposure and growth. Being active on even just a couple of platforms, e.g. Facebook and Instagram, improves brand awareness, site traffic, and ultimately, sales for your business!
Knowing that social media is a necessary component of a business doesn't make it easy to keep up with. In the survey that I sent out to local entrepreneurs, here's what they struggled with the most:
Creating content that's creative and in-line with the brand
Maintaining a routine to post regularly and consistently
Finding the TIME to be active on social media: posting, responding to comments, engaging.
Solutions For Social Media Struggles
Raise your hand if you resonate with any (or all) of the above struggles...
To the small business owners out there: have no fear! Together we'll work through best practices and tactics for growing your business and making more money.
This week, see if the following two solutions help you feel a little more at ease:
Clearly Define Your Brand
Your "brand" is more than just a logo. Clearly defining your brand means taking into account the emotions, thoughts, images, color schemes, and goals that are associated with it. Write down 3-5 words that you want your brand to embody; they can be values, colors, feelings, etc. that people should experience when they encounter your brand.
Once you clearly define your brand, creating content will be easier! You'll have guidelines for fonts, filters, color schemes, and topics for what your posts should look like and what the captions should be about.
Plan Ahead with an Editorial Calendar
One of the biggest struggles for small business owners is finding time to post. By planning ahead you can minimize the time you spend per day a) thinking of what to post, b) creating the content, and c) publishing the posts. In a planner or spreadsheet, write down what you want to post each day for the next week/month/quarter. Planning ahead is the best way to avoid a thought we've all had at one point or another: Crap! It's 9 PM and I haven't posted anything yet. What do I do?!
To take it a step further, try a scheduling program like Hootsuite, Iconosquare, or Planoly.
Save the Date for the Next Instagram Workshop
Alas, there aren't just two solutions to your social media struggles. I'm excited to announce that I'll be hosting Instagram workshops here in Charlottesville! Our goal will be to cover the basics of Instagram and Instagram Stories: how to use them to share content, increase brand awareness, and drive sales for your business.
Our first workshop will be held THIS fall right in the city, close to the downtown mall. I'll be sharing more details as we get closer to the date, but if you want want to be the first to know about the workshops, sign up for the e-mail newsletter HERE.