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Digital Marketing for Small Business

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Choosing the right social media platform for your small business

Choose the right social media platform for your small business

  1. Facebook is a must
  2. Instagram is for visual storytelling
  3. Twitter is for regular users

Choosing the right social media platform for your small business

Are you one of the many small business owners confused as to which social media platform suits you best? If you’re new at this, don’t fret. You are not alone. In this post, we will give some tips on how to choose between the top three biggest social media platforms available today.

You don’t need to go crazy and pick every single one available out there. One or two platforms are enough for your small business. Pick carefully so you don’t waste any of your precious time.

Facebook is a must

If you’re going to have just one social media platform for your small business, then pick Facebook. As we mentioned in our previous post, Facebook is King and it looks like it’s not changing anytime soon. You can do extreme audience targeting using this platform without busting your budget threshold. Aside from that, it is easy to use and has features that will allow you to create your own community. Building a community around your brand is one of the main reasons to be on social media.

Use Instagram for visual storytelling

Does your small business have a visual story to tell? Contrary to common misconception, Instagram is not only for small businesses that sell products. You can also use it if your business provides a service. Use Instagram when you’re showcasing your products, or the services that you provide. Stuff like works in progress or behind the scenes are really interesting for followers. One of the big advantages of Instagram is making the most of user generated content (USC). Reposting the posts of your fans/followers creates good vibes on your social media platform. But before opening an Instagram account decide the purpose of doing so and really think about whether or not you need to be on this platform.

Twitter is for the regular users

With Twitter, users need to post more than once a day, otherwise you will get buried in the noise. If you don’t think you can dedicate the time to interact on

Twitter several times a day then don’t open an account. These days, businesses use Twitter to interact directly with customers and followers. But small businesses can use it to find their customers too. According to Sprout, small business owners need to search for their audience and be proactive in order to use Twitter to its full advantage. Read up and decide for yourself whether Twitter is for you or not.

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Free resources for your small business

Free resources for your small business

 

We all know that being a small business owner means wearing a million hats. You’re the business administrator, bookkeeper, marketing guru, sales executive, social media ninja all rolled into one! Wearing all these hats can be exhausting on the limited resources you have as a small business owner. Our time is our most valuable resource so we’ve done the tedious research. We scoured the internet and discovered the hidden gems also known as FREE resources to make running your small business smooth as.

Business.gov.au

This site offers you simple and convenient access to all the government information, forms, and services you need. They provide essential information on planning, starting and growing your business. They have free templates on just about everything your small business heart desires.

Need to freshen up that dusty business plan? They have the template and guide for that! Need some whiz-bang marketing plan to impress a potential investor? Ask no more, they have that too.

How about an exit plan? Read that one especially if your goal is to hopefully sell your business in the future (so you can retire in Tropical Bali).

NSW Small Business Commissioner

Did you know that about half of us in NSW work for one of the state’s 680,000 small businesses? And those small businesses make up make up 96 percent of all businesses? Ninety-six percent! They’re the micro-engines that keep the economic wheels turning and churning.

In recognition of the crucial role that small businesses play, the NSW Government established the Office of the NSW Small Business Commissioner back in 2011.

Since then they have helped thousands of small businesses like ourselves operate as professionally, as efficiently and as successfully as they can. The NSW Small Business Commissioner help small business owners by:

  • Serving as a neutral party in mediation and dispute resolution between small businesses or between a small business and a larger one or between a small business and government
  • Providing high-quality business advice and advisors with access to world-class tools
  • Speaking up for small businesses within government

Check them out if you haven’t already. Make sure to follow them on social media too.

Inside Small Business 

Inside Small Business is a print and online magazine dedicated to small business stories and issues throughout Australia. We just love this site, their articles are always timely and relevant. Go visit their site and subscribe to their feed. You’ll thank us later.

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3 Common mistakes small business owners make when using social media

Common mistakes small business owners make when using social media

  1. Overpaying for set up
  2. Inconsistent branding
  3. Not following other social media pages
  4. Being on too many platforms
  5. Not being on Facebook

 

Small businesses today need an online presence whether they want to or not. According to a latest survey, 70% of small businesses said that using Facebook helps attract new customers. Around 56% also said that using social media as a business tool increased their sales.

But starting your online presence can be overwhelming especially if you’re not very tech savvy. In this post, we will discuss the three most common mistakes small business owners make when using social media.

Overpaying for set up

Like we said in our post, setting up a website these days don’t have to cost you thousands and thousands of dollars. Unless your website has super complicated functions, you can get away with just spending a couple of hundred of dollars for a professional one. If you’re tech savvy, you can set up a website yourself. There are a lot of drag-and-drop sites you can check out. If not, you can hire someone who can do it for you.

Inconsistent branding

Be aware of the colours, font styles and designs you are using across all your social media channels. If you’re using a certain avatar for your Facebook page, then you should use the same avatar for your other pages. This will create a consistency across all of your sites and will ensure that your customers remember you when they follow you on your other social media channels. If one social media site indicates a promo on your avatar, use it with the others as well. Remember, be consistent on all of them.

Being on too many platforms

You don’t have to be on every single social media platform out there. Pick one or two. We previously wrote a post on how you can choose the right social media platform for your business. Have a read and figure out which one you would like to use. You need Facebook, though. That’s one you can’t skip. But for the other platforms, consider what you want to do with your business then pick the best platform.

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Tips for small business owners: Social media guide for beginners

Social media for small business owners

  1. Don’t make it personal
  2. Be professional at all times
  3. Share a lot but with caution
  4. Share user-generated content
  5. Plan your content ahead

Social media guide for beginners

You’ve set up your Facebook account and you’re running your page. You’re off to a good start garnering some Likes and Followers. You want to keep going and continue the momentum. But now what? What exactly should you share? What topics do you need to cover? What can’t you talk about?

Being on social media representing your small business can be quite daunting especially with little experience in these platforms. In this post, we will discuss important tips that beginners should keep in mind when maintaining social media channels.

Don’t make it personal

Yes it is often hard not to make things personal especially since you’re talking about your business. But it won’t do your small business any good if you make everything personal. First of all, be professional at all times when responding to comments – especially the negative ones. This will always happen because it is impossible to please everyone. But stick to professional comments when responding. This goes for what you post on your social media platforms as well. Separate your small business stories from your personal life stories. Personal stories go into your private social media account while business posts go in your business page.

Share a lot but with caution

As a small business, you should follow several Facebook pages related to your industry. Not only will you find new information that could help your business, you also have fresh content for your own page. Be nice and share because sharing is caring. This is very true for social media. But only share information and links that are related to your business. Share articles that your customers will find useful. Or maybe ones that will give them an insight about your industry. Be careful with the links you share though because there are a lot of fake news out there. So share but ensure that you’re following legitimate pages and websites. Also, sharing user-generated content (USC) is another good way to encourage engagement with your followers. Search your tags and hashtags every now and then and share your USCs.

Preparation is key

Don’t get caught grappling for content and posts each day. One way to do this is to plan ahead of time and create a content calendar. Come up with themes and topics for certain days. For instance, maybe do an inspiration post one day a week by posting quotes in a beautiful layout. Or post short useful information that you think your audience will like. You can do a weekly plan or even a monthly one. That way you always have something to post. It doesn’t mean you have to post everyday. Pick certain days that you know your audience will be there. There is no point posting when no one is around.

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Why you should visit your local council

Why you should visit your local council

Running a small business is not an easy task. You need all the help you can get. Preferably for free. But where can you get help without having to fork out so much money?

Look to your local council. What a lot of small businesses don’t know is that there are actually a lot of things that your local council can help you with. Here we have listed the top three things you can get help from your local council. For the annual membership fee, you can get heaps of stuff back.

Free Business Advice

You may know a thing or two about starting a business and running one, but it won’t hurt getting some professional advice. Check your local council for sessions with a business advisor. It might just be a free initial consult or on a subsidised fee. Still, it is worth checking. There might be a point or two that you don’t know about. Maybe details on a new legislation or a way to maximise your opportunities.

Digital Marketing/Social media

A lot of small business owners today are grappling with social media. They don’t know how to start, where to start or how to sustain it. Some local councils provide free sessions and workshops for this topic. It is worth checking out the annual schedule of workshops to see if it’s part of the offering. Also, call them to know if they provide free consult.

Local council networking events

We can’t emphasise enough the importance of networking events. You will not only meet people who might become future customers but also people who might be able to provide you with a service. There are several networking events scheduled each year. Make sure you’re already a member of your local council business group to ensure you join the free events.

The Canterbury-Bankstown Business Advisory Service (CBBAS) has all these opportunities and more. 3C Digital is available every Thursday for free 45-minute sessions with small business owners. Make sure you register your interest.

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Facebook pages small businesses should follow

Facebook pages small businesses should follow

We previously discussed several reasons why your small business should be on Facebook. Aside from the things you need to do on your Facebook page, there are pages you need to follow too.

Why follow other pages? There are many reasons why you should. Here we are listing the top five pages and types of pages you should follow and why. Read up and see if you ticked all of them.

Business.gov.au

Big or small, businesses should follow Australia’s Business website. Not only will you get useful information that can help your business, you will also get updates. Changes in regulations come up all the time. You need to know when they do and know how they affect you. They post latest reports, scam alerts and lots of information.

Local council

This is also a no brainer. Your local council will have a lot to say about small businesses around the area. News reports, local legislation, community activities and free events for small businesses will be on their Facebook page. It’s the best way to update the constituents and get the message through. Also include neighbouring councils, not just your own. Or areas where you are looking at expanding.

News sites

You don’t have to follow all of the news sites, just the ones you trust. We all have our preferences so pick the top three news sites. Maybe ABC or SBS, or news outlets catering to your specific locality. Also follow media sites that focus on your specific industry. These B2B sites will be a good source of information for your business.

Industry group

Every industry has a specific group where businesses come together to discuss issues. It is worth joining these closed groups or following their pages. You’ll end up learning from others and interacting with other businesses. Plus, they may have online workshops and seminars that would be good for your business.

Competitors

Yes, competitors should be on your list. You need to know what they are doing. Thus is the nature of business. But if you just want to follow them without them knowing you are, then there’s a solution for that. You don’t have to Like their page, just click Follow. You’ll still see their posts.