SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SMALL BUSINESS

When was the last time you scrolled through your Facebook feed and saw an image that just wasn’t right. Maybe it was a profile photo on an account that awkwardly chopped off the top of someone’s head. Or maybe it was like these “postcards” from a page I like, but am constantly frustrated by:

So, you’ve created your social media accounts, and you’ve scheduled a steady stream of posts for the next few weeks (after considering the best times and days for them to appear). So you can just sit back and relax for a while, right?

Sorry. No.

It can be easy at times to focus on just one marketing channel at a time—focusing on your local media advertising when the TV or newspaper ad salesperson knocks on the door, but thinking about something totally different when you sit down to dedicate time to social media.

The problem is that when you do that, without considering an overarching marketing strategy, you may send mixed messages, or at the least, lose out on opportunities to make each of your channels work more effectively by building off the others.

One key benefit social media has over many other types of marketing is its ability to engage followers in an interactive way. It is not just a passive medium.

And by engaging followers, you not only increase their involvement with your page, but also expand your exposure to others as their own contacts see when they like, comment or share your content.

When you first opened your spa, chances are you had a business plan. It spelled out the details of income and expenses, employees and services, hours and location, and all the other bits of information your bank or other financial backers wanted to know. It spelled out how you would succeed.

That business plan probably also included at least a rudimentary marketing plan — how would you get the word out and bring customers in?