With 2.8 billion social media users*, we take a closer look at a successful business that has utilised social media to gain a loyal following and consider why it is so important for small businesses to get social.
Marketing Week recently interviewed entrepreneur Ella Mills about the role that marketing has played in the success of her business. She has built up a massive online following with her brand Deliciously Ella which has an audience of about 28 million. She started her blog in 2012 following an illness which affected her mentally and physically. Her business stemmed from her learning about diet and lifestyle and how it could have an impact on her illness. She subsequently recorded what she was eating in her blog. She gained a loyal base of followers interested in her recipes and progress. Fast forward to today, and Ella is regularly engaging and reaching out to her audience directly via social media and built on her business model by introducing bricks and mortar delis. For Ella, she sees social media as ‘accessible, authentic and approachable’ and ‘the most important way of keeping in touch’.
With Ella’s success of social media marketing in mind, we consider how small businesses can utilise and benefit social media for themselves
Content is king
One of the key things to remember about any communication with your audience is the need for good quality content. By creating interesting and relevant blogs and videos you can share these via social media. So, providing tips, advice and commentary on trends, can help you attract and retain customers.
Think strategically
Understanding why you are on social media will help you achieve your goals. The channels are not just there for engagement and a #ThrowbackThursday comment, they are about customer retention, brand awareness, sales and quality leads. So, spend a little time initially working out what you want to get from social media and devise your strategy.
Understand your audience
Conduct a straw poll with your customers to find out what channels are most popular and research which social media channels your competitors use. This way you will have some indication of where to focus your efforts if you are starting out or doing a review of relevant channels you’re signed up to. For example, a local café may find Facebook and Instagram popular for spreading their message. But, it is not necessarily the same approach that is best for an accountancy firm, where Twitter and LinkedIn may provide the best approach.
Let’s face it, if your competitors are using a particular channel then it’s worth sharing the same space as them.
Marketing plan
Remember, to see social media as just another marketing tool. It is providing a way to reach out to your target audience, so working out what you want to say to them and how is all part of the process. For a small business, it is sometimes difficult to manage or perhaps the last thing on your mind with everything else you have to juggle. So, look at tools such as Hootsuite which can help you manage when you send messages out and at what time.
Social media Croydon
If you’re looking for some initial help, the Smart Cow team can help you formulate a social media strategy and create content for a few months to set you on your way.
Drop us a line if you have any questions about social media for your small business and we can help guide you through.
Source: *We are Social: Digital in 2017 Global Overview
