Build Trust Through Social Media: The Right Approach for Small Business Owners

META DESCRIPTION: Learn to harness the power of social media to establish credibility, drive traffic to your small business website, and improve sales.

Despite the traditional label, we no longer consider social networks to be the new media. In this day and age, popular platforms for connecting and sharing offer much more than light entertainment, and brands actively use their potential to build a reputation on the market and increase conversions.

As the number of social media users grows exponentially, companies rush to create and maintain their digital footprints. However, a mere presence on social media is no longer enough.

In a fast-paced digital era, all brands should learn to recognize the right audiences and reach potential buyers on platforms they love and frequently use.

Here’s how to create and promote social media content that demonstrates your expertise, builds rapport and helps earn the trust of your audience.

What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing is all about publishing relevant content that entertains, educates, and converts. It’s a multifaceted process that includes other activities as well: engaging your target audience, investing in paid advertising, monitoring KPIs, and analyzing the results.

The most popular social networks include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Depending on your brand personality and target audience, you can also promote your products and services on platforms like TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Reddit.

Each social platform comes with its assets and challenges. To prosper on social media, it’s crucial to combine the right channels and publish content designed to entice your followers and promote your offer.

Benefits of social media for small businesses

The gains social media marketing brings to your small business are manifold: from increasing brand awareness and competitive advantage to improving sales.

Your business accounts on social networks provide an opportunity to:

● Make your brand stand out
● Establish credibility
● Create a memorable experience
● Attract new website traffic
● Provide seamless customer support
● Get to know your audience
● Sell more products and services

Furthermore, small businesses that advertise on social media often benefit from unique advantages compared to large corporate structures.

Small businesses have inviting brand personalities

Large organizations typically approach audiences in a uniform and strictly professional manner. This comes at the risk of making these brands appear distant, and even cold. Such companies often go to great lengths to “humanize” their brands and make them more appealing to customers.

On the other hand, a small business can establish a compelling brand personality a lot more organically: by relying on its founder’s authenticity and listening to the immediate needs of its audience.

Small businesses are community-oriented
Small brands have the ability to communicate with their followers faster and more directly than large companies, which in turn brings significant advantages.
Quick responses to queries and comments leave a lasting impression on consumers, making them feel valued and taken care of.

A small business offers a personalized service

Compared to a large enterprise, a small business typically experiences fewer daily interactions with customers. This creates an opportunity to tailor responses and services to each individual request, which is something consumers highly appreciate.

Narrow target groups = affordable advertising

Social media ads focused on narrow, precise audiences cost significantly less than broad audience targeting that’s typical for large firms and corporations. With well-defined goals and laser-focused target groups, a small business can truly get the most out of its investment.

How to make a social media strategy for your small business?

When it comes to social media marketing, creating a solid plan is half the battle. Take the time to outline your communication strategy, establish your brand voice, and identify the best channels for promotion.

Once the foundation is set, continue to provide value and regularly analyze results.

1. Define your objectives and find the right audience

As a small business owner, you should have concrete expectations of social media. The first step is to set your primary goals: raising awareness, interacting with your audience, leading traffic to your website, boosting sales, building a community…

Different strategies work for different goals, so it is crucial to define what your primary objectives are and do so early on.

Defining the right audience is the second vital step in the process of creating a solid social media plan. To attract attention and increase conversions, you need to know who to address, where to find them, and how to grab their attention.

Paint an accurate picture of your ideal client, accounting for details like:

● Gender, age, and location
● Interests and personality traits
● Lifestyle and purchasing power
● Problems or challenges this person is facing (and how your offer can help).

If you run a small B2B business, your ideal customer is not a private entity, but a person who makes purchasing decisions at a target company. In this context, the ideal buyer persona should also be defined by the size of the company they work for.

2. Establish your approach and brand voice

Should you put an emphasis on informative, inspiring, or entertaining content?

Is it more suitable to focus on storytelling, or opt for a more direct approach that pushes sales?

How should you choose the right brand voice, capable of capturing the hearts of your audience and leading them toward desired actions?

The answers to these questions depend on your target group and brand personality.

Your brand’s mode of communication is extremely important, especially on social media. For example, a small business selling handmade jewelry communicates differently than a company that offers finance-related consulting services.

If you fail to address your audience the right way, you can easily alienate them instead of inspiring engagement. The personality of your brand should reflect your values and offer, and its voice must be designed to attract your ideal customers.

3. Choose the right social media platforms

Social media marketing comes with a few notable challenges, the most prominent among them being: how to find your audience in the right place at the right time?

Each social network offers certain advantages, attracting groups with different demographic characteristics. To use the full potential of a certain platform, you must understand what it offers and what type of audience it targets the best.

For example, Facebook lets you create business pages and advertise using a retargeting feature. Additionally, the platform’s messaging system is ideal for direct communication with individual clients.

Instagram is a perfect choice for small businesses in the retail and hospitality sector since they can easily illustrate their offers with compelling visual content.

Twitter is a powerful social network for small B2B businesses, while also serving as a suitable channel for direct communication between brands and their followers.
LinkedIn is yet another platform suitable for B2B. You can use your brand’s

LinkedIn account to share articles and other useful resources to profile yourself as an industry expert.

Choosing the right social media channels also means you need to purposefully allocate your resources. Integrated marketing is essential for your brand, but not every platform is equally valuable for your business.

Don’t spend money and precious time in an attempt to be present on every social network out there. Stretch yourself too thin, and your small business will end up with several poorly managed profiles rather than a few quality ones.

4. Be consistent and relevant

To earn the trust of your audience, you must consistently provide value through content that informs, solves problems, educates, and entertains.

To be successful on social media, you don’t have to meet all of these conditions. Opt for a mix of content that meets at least two of the proposed requirements. For example, you can share content that informs and educates, educates and solves a problem, or solves a problem and entertains.

Remember that consistency is another aspect you must pay attention to. Publishing rarely and irregularly won’t help you establish a solid basis and inspire desired actions.

5. Focus on content quality

Yes, posting frequency is important in social media marketing. You have to be present to stay on people’s minds. However, sacrificing quality for quantity isn’t an advisable practice.

If you can’t commit to providing value every day, schedule posts for every two, three, or more days. Whatever interval you end up choosing, remember to be consistent. Let your followers know when they can expect new content.

If you don’t have the capacity to create quality content regularly, don’t worry. Running a small business is a demanding job and it’s never easy to allocate internal resources for promotion. Seek the help of professional marketers and rely on their expertise.

6. Invest in paid advertising

Quality content will attract the attention of existing followers and new audiences, allowing your profile to grow. However, it’s important to know that the organic growth of your social media profiles takes time, dedication, and learning from your own mistakes.

If you’re building a small business “from scratch” and are yet to become self-sufficient, it’s crucial to present your products or services to as many people as you can, as quickly as possible.

To effectively reach audiences that don’t know about your brand, invest in paid advertising on social media. Although “boosting” existing posts is a legitimate way to create an ad, you will be much more successful if you create targeted campaigns with unique content instead.

Set your daily budget and define target groups, then craft content tailored to your message and the action you want to inspire.

7. Track relevant KPIs and analyze the results

When your marketing plan is well-designed and implemented, maintaining your profiles on social media will run like clockwork. However, this doesn’t mean you’ll no longer have to invest your time and effort.

Certain pieces of content and ads you create will deliver excellent results, while others will go unnoticed. This is why analyzing campaign effects and adapting to the results is crucial.

The goal is to keep creating content that brings the best engagement. Examine what went well and follow that path, abandoning the content that didn’t resonate and inspire conversions.

How to establish social media marketing goals?

Creating a strategy for your small business’ online presence is the cornerstone of success. To set the right objectives for your brand, use the technique known by the acronym SMART.

SMART marketing goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based:

● Set clear and specific goals regarding the results you expect (brand awareness, lead generation, website traffic, community building…);
● Make sure the results of your efforts are measurable, so you can assess which techniques work and how well;
● Define goals that are realistic and attainable. Unattainable objectives create confusion and might needlessly demotivate you;
● Your marketing goals should be relevant to your small business. For example, if you run a local coffee shop, your primary goal probably won’t be to prove expertise. However, this type of objective is appropriate if you run a business like an accounting agency;
● Establish goals that are time-based. Ask yourself the following question: is it possible to achieve these objectives in a given time frame?

Make the most of social media for your small business

Your small business is unique—just like yourself. Your social media strategy needs to account for your authenticity so it can present your values and offer in the best light.

When it comes to social media marketing, there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach. Discovering the best strategies and methods takes experience and concentrated effort.

While some entrepreneurs enjoy creating social media content for their small businesses, most find it challenging and very time-consuming. If you don’t have the resources to handle social media marketing on your own, it’s time to partner with specialists ready to take the burden off your hands.

Our team is here to help you at every stage of the process, from setting a plan and producing content to advertising on the best social platforms.

We create a social media marketing strategy perfect for your business!