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7 Social Media Marketing Tips for 2019
For too long, I’ve seen social media marketing “experts” burning their clients’ money on nonsense…posting for the sake of posting but with no real strategy. That’s why social media has been a big letdown for most small business owners. A big investment of time and money, with little return.
How to Get More Marketing Results From Social Media in 2019
In this post, I’m going to provide 7 tips that’ll make your efforts on Facebook and other social media sites easier, more effective, and provide a more measurable return on your marketing investment. (These are not in any specific order.)
Social Media Marketing Tip #1
Facebook Check-In
Your customers who are Facebook users have an average of at least 500 friends. Many have 1000’s!
For businesses whose customers come into your physical location, the check-in is an excellent way to reach lots of people. It’s perfect for restaurants, retailers, personal services (hair, nails, spa, massage, yoga, fitness), healthcare providers (chiropractors, dentists), and more!
The Benefit of Social Media Check-Ins
When your customer is at your location and they check-in on social media, hundreds of their Facebook friends and Instagram followers could see this as a post on their news feed.
Your business name, along with a map showing a pinned position of your business, will show up on the post — which would say something like: John Adams is enjoying lunch at Sophie’s Diner in Quakerville, PA.
You have now made an impression on potentially hundreds of people, for free! And the fact that John has made this post is equivalent to a testimonial. It’s called “Social Proof” and it has the power to influence other people’s decisions.
If it’s good enough for John, it’s good enough for me.
I recommend that you post a few small signs throughout your business that encourage your customers to check-in on Facebook and/or Instagram. They can do it while in your place of business in less than 30 seconds!
To get even more participation, you can add an incentive such as a $5.00 off coupon or some cheap giveaway. This is high-quality advertising and it’s worth a few bucks. Heck, you might find out it’s one of the best tools in your marketing toolbox!
Check-ins that include photos (and especially selfies) are a home run!
Social Media Marketing Tip #2
Add Video to Your Social Media Posts
Facebook LOVES to show live video, so if you have the guts to “go live” your message could get a lot of traction. If you don’t care to go live, posting a video is still a great idea.
I recommend that every business has its own (free) YouTube channel. Not only is YouTube one of the top social media platforms, it’s also the #2 search engine behind Google! Simply post an informative video (not a commercial) onto your YouTube channel.
It doesn’t need to be a professional quality production. The value is in the content, not the presentation, and your smartphone is all the equipment you need. After uploading your video to YouTube, you can upload it to Facebook and any other social media sites you use, and also embed it onto a page on your website.
Videos make you more trusted and place you in a position of expertise; with more opportunities to be shared online and referred to offline.
BONUS TIP:
For some great ideas on how your business can leverage video, just Ask Andrew (click here).
Social Media Marketing Tip#3
Search-Friendly Posts
All the social media sites have a Search Bar at the top of the page. People use these search bars to find people, but they also use them to tap into people’s posts about certain topics.
In your posts, consider what people might be looking for when they’re looking for a business like yours. Use a keyword phrase in your post which people might use when searching. For example, Electrician in Philadelphia; Best sushi in Edison, New Jersey; Pregnancy massage in Atlanta.
Social Media Tip #4
A Call To Action (CTA)
A call to action (CTA) is the most important part of advertising/marketing. Your post should always have a photo and they should always have a CTA. The CTA should be in the form of a link back to your website where you have an offer. The offer should be an incentive for your visitor (potential customer) to opt-in to your email list or to claim some sort of offer. You should still be capturing contact information as part of the offer.
The opt-in, the act of claiming a coupon, or some other offer, is the tangible and measurable element of marketing. Measurement is usually NOT what your social media marketing professionals are too eager to provide because they might expose their failure to produce a justifiable return on the money you’re paying.
If you need any help with any of the ideas here so far, you can click here to Ask Andrew for help. There’s no charge to get my feedback.
Social Media Tip #5
Repurposing Content
Repurposing content means using one piece of content on multiple platforms. You may be thinking “Yikes! What does THAT mean?” Well, let me just give you an example:
I’m going to post this article on the Small Business U. blog. Then I’m going to link to it on a Facebook post, a Twitter post, and a LinkedIn post. Then I’ll post it on Tumblr and maybe another microblogging site. I quite possibly will make a video on the subject and post it on YouTube, and then embed that video onto this post at a later date.
Repurposing turns your content into a more valuable asset. I create content once, use it on several platforms, and it stays online almost indefinitely, which can potentially serve me and my potential customers — forever!
Social Media Tip #6
Event Marketing
You can have events no matter what business you’re in, and these events can be promoted for FREE online on any number of channels. An electrician can have a Smoke Alarm Event or a Home Energy-Saving Event. A restaurant can have a New Menu Event, a Blueberry Event, a Chocolate Lover’s Event. A Massage Therapist can have a Hair-Skin-Nails Event or an Aromatherapy Event.
My point is that an event need not require tents, banners, music, or a juggling act, but you can still get your event and your business on the computer screens of potential customers.
Events can be promoted for free on
- Craiglist
- Eventbrite
- Yelp!
- and other bulletin board type sites
All of these sites get plenty of traffic, so your event will be seen by lots of people.
Social Media Tip #7
Networking with Other Business Owners
Are you located in a shopping center?
Do you attend networking events?
Are you a part of a business organization or association?
Do you belong to a country club?
When it comes to your marketing efforts you don’t have to think BIG. Instead, think LOCALLY.
Work together with other business owners with whom you already have a relationship, and also reach out to form new connections. By collaborating with one other, you can expand your customer base because you’ll be reaching new people.
A smart idea is to get together and agree to Like and Share each other’s social media posts. Their friends will see your posts, and your friends will see their posts! The more that your posts are Liked and Shared, the more they will show up on other people’s newsfeeds.
And be sure add a compelling Call-To-Action to your photo. It will increase the potential of more traffic to your website, and will build your customer base even more!
And that’s what it’s all about.
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Author: Andrew Mazer, Founder of Small Business U.
Contact Andrew at Andrew@smallbusinessu.org or sign up for THE ONE GOOD IDEA NEWSLETTER for great Small Business Marketing and Management Ideas.
Small Business Marketing Ideas for 2018-April
Looking for ideas or themes for your emails, social media, videos, or in-store promotions? Small Business U. provides this FREE RESOURCE every month to help you prime the pump so you can create interesting, fun and engaging content to help your marketing and message stand out from your competition. Never miss an issue: SUBSCRIBE!
April 2018 Marketing Ideas Calendar
Monthly Holidays in April, 2018
National English Language Month
National Month of Hope
National Canine Fitness Month
National Internship Awareness Month
Distracted Driving Awareness Month
National Child Abuse Awareness Month
National Donate Life Awareness Month
National Cannabis Awareness Month
National Fair Housing Month
Month of the Military Child
International Guitar Month
Keep America Beautiful Month
National Autism Awareness Month
National Couple Appreciation Month
National Decorating Month
National Humor Month
National Landscape Architecture Month
National Inventor’s Month
National Jazz Appreciation Month
National Soft Pretzel Month
National Straw Hat Month
National Poetry Month
National Pecan Month
National Volunteer Month
Occupational Therapy Month
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Stress Awareness Month
National Safe Digging Month
SUBSCRIBE and get this FREE RESOURCE every month.
Famous February Birthdays
4/9/2018 Hugh Hefner
4/13/2018 Thomas Jefferson
4/23/2018 William Shakespeare
4/26/2018 Carol Burnett
4/26/2018 Melania Trump
4/27/2018 Erik Schmidt (Former CEO of Google)
Weekly Holidays in April
April 2-8
National Public Health Week
National Window Safety Week
April 8-14
National Work Zone Awareness Week
Animal Control Officer Awareness Week
Crime Victims’ Rights Week
National Library Week
April 10-14
Cancer Registrars Week
April 15-21
Boys and Girls Club Week
National Pet ID Week
National Volunteer Week
April 22-28
National Princess Week
Sky Awareness Week
Every Healthy Kid Week
SUBSCRIBE and get this FREE RESOURCE every month.
Daily Holidays in April, 2018
4/1/2018 April Fools Day / Easter
4/2/2018 National Ferret Day
4/3/2018 National Find a Rainbow Day
4/4/2018 National School Librarian Day / National Walking Day
4/5/2018 National Deep Dish Pizza Day / National Read a Road Map Day
4/6/2018 National Student Athlete Day
4/7/2018 National Handmade Day / National Love Our Children Day
4/8/2018 National Zoo Lovers Day
4/9/2018 National Name Yourself Day / National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day
4/10/2018 National Siblings Day / National Equal Pay Day
4/11/2018 National Bookmobile Day / National Barber Shop Quartet Day
4/12/2018 National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day
4/13/2018 Natinal Scrabble Day / National Thomas Jefferson Day
4/14/2018 National Reach As High As You Can Day
4/15/2018 National Tax Day / National Take A Wild Guess Day
4/16/2018 National Bean Counter Day
4/17/2018 National Ellis Island Family History Day
4/18/2018 National Animal Cracker’s Day
4/19/2018 National Hanging Out Day
4/20/2018 National Look Alike Day
4/21/2018 National Kindegarten Day / National Aucioneers Day
4/22/2018 National Earth Day
4/23/2018 National Picnic Day
4/24/2018 National Teach Children To Save Day
4/25/2018 National DNA Day / National Administrative Assistants Day
4/26/2018 National Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day
4/27/2018 National Arbor Day / National Day of Silence
4/28/2018 National Pool Opening Day
4/29/2018 National Shrimp Scampi Day
4/30/2018 National Military Brats Day