8 Effective Strategies to Increase Your Small Business’ Social Media Audience

Social media is a fast, free, and highly effective marketing avenue for small businesses to grow their brand and reach more customers. Over 3.8 billion people use social media, and 89% of marketers use Facebook in their brand marketing efforts. These stats indicate the world of opportunities that social media presents for small businesses looking to scale.  

That being said, social media is an increasingly competitive space packed with hundreds and thousands of small businesses all trying to outdo the other while directly taking the fight to big brands. So, how do you remain relevant in such a cutthroat landscape and drive more people to follow your business and engage with you?  

Here are eight effective strategies to grow your small business‘s social media audience. 

Post regularly 

Whether your business is present on one social media platform or omnipresent on all major platforms, it‘s crucial to post regularly and remain consistent.  

A company that publishes content regularly with the right hashtags and targeting parameters will draw more followers and relevant audience groups. It’s important to consistently post on social media—from promoting your product or service to industry-related information to interesting facts to motivational content.   

Use short, branded links 

Whether you‘re sharing a link to your new blog post, to a new landing page, or an infographic, it‘s wise to use branded short links instead of cryptic third-party links like bit.ly/xsr3yi/1igs4.  

Not only are such links hard to remember and gibberish to look at, but they’re also an essential social media real estate that can be used to reinforce your business‘s brand.  

For instance, an eyewear brand like ‘Eye See You‘ can use eye.cyou/sunglasses to share their new product page for sunglasses. Doing this will augment your business‘s credibility in the minds of new people who discover your posts for the first time.  

READ: 5 Low-Cost Branding Tips for Your Small Business  

Make the most of hashtags 

Using the right hashtags is an effective way to reach new audiences on social media platforms.  

Although Twitter was the first to adopt hashtags to search for information, Instagram took things to the next level. Insta users can follow hashtags as topics of interest, and this means using generic hashtags that engage followers is a great way to optimise your posts so that they reach more people.  

Instagram allows a maximum of 30 hashtags per post. It‘s wise to use all 30 hashtags smartly by mixing popular generic hashtags peppered with some niche ones so your post reaches the right people and doesn‘t get lost in the clutter.  

You can also craft specific hashtags for your brand, like a message or a phrase. For instance, .cyou domains use #WeCyou as a short and straightforward phrase to denote their brand.  

Follow influencers and engage with their content 

One of the smartest and most effective ways to grow your small business‘s social media footprint is to get an influencer from your niche to notice your brand.  

Influencers enjoy a loyal fan base of people who are relevant to your business. While collaborating with them will cost dearly, engaging with their content is a great way to get them to notice your business.  

Like, share, retweet, and comment on their posts regularly. One shoutout from a well-respected influencer can change the fortune of your small business on social media.  

Engage with your followers 

It‘s vital to engage with your followers on social media. Replying to comments and messages deepen connections with your followers and show new people that you are an active business that appreciates and responds to your followers.  

Interacting with your followers is a great way to foster engagement with your followers and build credibility for new people who discover your business.  

READ: 10 Useful Social Media Marketing Tips for Businesses in 2020 

Include links or buttons to social media everywhere 

A great way to increase your social media presence is to leverage all your marketing platforms. Include social media buttons or links in your email signatures, newsletters, on your website, and author bios for content collaborations.  

Match your content with the relevant platform 

If your business is omnipresent on all leading social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, then it‘s crucial to filter your posts based on the platform.  

For instance, what works well on Instagram may not work well on LinkedIn. People use social media platforms for different intents and purposes. It is crucial first to create the message and to identify the target audience you’re sending it to. Then, decide which platform works best.   

For example, Instagram and Facebook are better platforms for an ecommerce business to announce a new sale.  

This is because users on these platforms are actively browsing for new content and deals as opposed to people on Twitter, who prefer browsing for news, or those on LinkedIn, who are browsing for jobs or hiring new candidates.  

Embrace new features introduced by social media platforms 

Instagram recently introduced Reels, as did Twitter with Fleets. These new features offer a gateway to reaching new audiences and innovatively appealing to them. Embracing new features is a great way to show that your business is ‘with it.‘  

The same goes for using existing features like Facebook Live or Instagram Stories. It‘s wise to use all available routes to reach new audiences and build your business‘s presence on social media. 

Final thoughts 

Adopting the tactics mentioned above will help your small business build a strong and loyal social media base. The idea is to create a brand personality that people enjoy engaging with, even if they don’t buy from you. Publish high-quality content that reinforces your brand ideas and message.  

It’s time to take your small business to the next level! 

Eshan is a Senior Marketing Specialist at ShortDot, the registry behind some of the most successful new domain extensions, including .icu, .bond, and .cyou. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.