Social Media: How Small Business Can Get Results Without Getting Overwhelmed

Is your small business struggling to figure out of how to effectively use social media?

Would you like to know what your fellow small business owners are doing to manage their social media efforts?

Social Media Examiner surveyed over 300,000 small business owners about their use of social media and some interesting information was revealed. First, 96% of survey participants noted they use social media marketing, and 92% of those agree or strongly agree with the phrase, “Social media marketing is important for my business.”

Would you be surprised to learn that the majority of small business owners who responded to the survey carry out social media marketing on Facebook? Do you? The chart below shows that 93% use Facebook, ahead of Twitter at 79%. In the coming year, 62% of respondents plan to increase their use of Facebook for marketing purposes. Sixty-six percent will increase Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn activity.

In my coffee and smoothie business, I use Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn. I will be testing out SlideShare in the next few months, as I’m trying to reach corporate catering decision makers to grow our catering business. I don’t use any of the new “video” chat tools like Vine, SnapChat or Periscope but I can see how they would be very useful in showing some of our events live to help people understand the “experience” we provide.

The main thing I want to reiterate here is YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO EVERY SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM. And honestly I wouldn’t encourage you to. This is where I see small business owners get overwhelmed. They think they have to be on every platform – and 1) it’s not realistic to do that and 2) you really want to be where your customers are.

Here are five ideas to help you stay calm and carry on.

Master the marketing fundamentals.  Social media is just that – SOCIAL. The platforms and the rules of posting may change, but the fundamentals don’t. People do business with people and if you look at social media as just another channel to do that – by putting on your “marketing glasses” – you’ll see that it can be a terrific medium to tell your small business story.

Form a support group. You can’t possibly keep up with everything and neither can your friends. But together, you can make a dent in it.  I belong to a few groups – both online and offline – where I can ask questions and get answers. I encourage you to join the Small Business Success Facebook Group. It’s absolutely free and it’s where your fellow small business owners are hanging out and getting their small business questions answered.

Start with one.  It’s unrealistic to think you’re going to be able to manage multiple social media platforms simultaneously, especially if you’re just starting out. There’s nothing worse than posting something and then never checking in to the site again. Social media needs to be done DAILY, probably multiple times throughout the day. So if you’re a time-starved small business owner who is going to manage your own social media, then just start with ONE platform. The one platform where your audience hangs out and you’ll enjoy interacting with them. You can then grow from there.

Go where your customers are. Look, maybe it’s time to give up on Snapchat or even (gasp) Google+ and simply stay on top of the platforms relevant to your customers. Hang out where your customers are. You’ll get much more engagement and you’ll enjoy it a lot more.

Give yourself a time limit. Are you reading and responding to social media posts in bed? Maybe it’s time for a self-imposed time limit to force yourself to focus and prioritize. Or better yet, outsource it a professional like Small Biz Marketing Specialist (yes that was a selfless plug). Seriously, you’ll sleep better, your posts will be better and you’ll get more engagement. You do NOT need to be doing social media. You’ve got a business to run!

What social media platform(s) are you focusing on right now? How are you coping with the amount of change in the social media landscape? Share your comments below.
(NOTE: If you struggle with figuring out what marketing campaigns to do every month, check out the Silver Platter Marketing Membership – it’s like having marketing handed to you on a silver platter!)

About Stacey Riska

Stacey Riska, aka “Small Business Stacey” is a serial entrepreneur who is passionate about saving small business and rebuilding Main Street. She helps small and local business owners become a #SmallBizMarketingWiz by teaching them marketing strategies that get MORE: MORE leads, MORE customers/clients, MORE sales, and MORE money. Stacey is the founder of Small Biz Marketing Specialist, THE go-to place for marketing tips, techniques and strategies that get results. Stacey is also the creator of the Daily Deals for Massive Profits Training Program, an online video training program that teaches small and local business owners how to use daily deal sites like Groupon to skyrocket their business growth and get massive profits. In this program she teaches from experience, as it was the key strategy that transformed her coffee and smoothie business from being $500K in debt to a 7-figure profitable business. When not saving the small business world, she enjoys sipping red wine, eating chocolate (who doesn’t!) and spending time with her amazing husband.