Many SMEs rely on social media as part of their marketing strategy. But small business owners are often understaffed and time-strapped, which means managing your social media marketing on top of everything else can sometimes be challenging. We asked Leeann Bassett from Face UP Now to give us some tips for SMEs on how to make managing your social media a little easier.

Why should your SME be using social media?

There are lots of reasons that SMEs should be using social media. Social media is now used by most people in some form or another, so it’s important that your business has a presence on at least one of the major platforms.

Social media is a bit like dating – it takes time to build a meaningful relationship and there are often lots of different steps before you get to the “sale” or “recommendation” stage. By being consistent and posting a variety of content that is meaningful and valuable to your audience, you can use social media as a way of growing the relationship as people get to know you, like you, relate to you, and trust you and your business.

If your competitors are using social media, then you need to be there as well. Some people use social media like a search engine and will choose a business based on what they see and learn about them on social media. It can be lots of fun, especially when you have a great strategy and content plan in place. Having a system makes it easy to know what you’ll be posting instead of feeling overwhelmed and stuck on what to post.

What social platforms should I focus on for my business if I am time-strapped?

I’d recommend doing some research and finding out where your audience tends to hang out and what platforms they use. It’s quite simple to be active on more than one platform by using a scheduling tool such as Meta Business Suite (for scheduling on Facebook and Instagram), or Canva allows you to schedule to most platforms and there are lots of others to choose from. By creating your content ahead of time, you can then schedule it to post at a later date and use the same content across multiple platforms.

I often see SMEs just using Facebook because this is the platform that they feel most confident on. But if your audience doesn’t use Facebook then you are missing a big opportunity on other platforms. So, aim to be where your audience is, not just where you are confident.

What are some tips for making social media more manageable?

• Invest in working with an expert to create a plan to follow.
• Make sure all of your platforms are set up properly so that you make a great first impression.
• Create your content in batches and schedule ahead using a scheduling tool.
• Outsource if you don’t have the skills in-house, even if you create the content (words) and get a virtual assistant (VA) to create the images and schedule the posts for you.
• Stick to 1-2 main platforms and do a great job.
• Engage in other people’s content and work on building your online relationships.
• Keep things simple, be consistent and add value to your audience so that they want to follow you.
• Work on constantly growing your email database in case one of your social media platforms disappears or is hacked and you lose everything.
• Talk about one topic per post and keep it simple.
• If you’re using video (which I highly recommend) keep your video short and sweet, use trending music and captions, and be yourself.

How can I create content that resonates with my target audience?

You need to test by posting lots of different kinds of content and see what resonates the most with your audience, then do more of that. Look at your page Insights and analytics and learn how to understand them so you can see what is working and what isn’t doing so well

Research what other people in your niche are doing – look beyond local accounts. Look at similar businesses overseas and see what they’re doing and get inspired. The kind of content that people love to see usually always involves something relatable that is about you or your team. Photos and videos of people are very popular on every platform.

Do you recommend using an external digital marketing/social media manager to manage my social media content? Why?

Yes and no. I always recommend that it is good to have an understanding of what is involved before handing it over to an external manager. This way you know what needs to be done and how long it takes. Then you‘re much more likely to be aware of when the manager is doing a good job for you, or not. Plus, you’ll then value the investment you are making for someone else to do it for you.

I see lots of people paying way too much for things they have no idea about and don’t understand. It makes me sad to think they are putting their complete trust in an external company and sometimes not getting the results or service they should be due to their lack of understanding and knowledge. This is where Digital Boost is so valuable for SMEs as they can learn the basics and then watch some of the more in-depth expert advice videos before they decide to outsource. This way at least they will have an understanding of what is involved.

One of the benefits of outsourcing is that it frees you up to focus on the parts of your business that you’re best at and you can let an expert take over the social media. I do recommend that you provide the people that you outsource to regular photos and videos of you and your team to use. Invest in some professional images as these make it much easier to show your face and feel confident, plus make a great first impression of your business and team.

What are some of the other ways SMEs can increase their digital presence?

• Email marketing needs to be an integral part of your online presence.
• Running targeted ads on different platforms is a great way to increase your brand awareness, get people to visit your website, and grow your business
• Google Business Profile is really important and is often overlooked by SMEs. It’s worth making sure your profile is set up fully and that you are actively posting new photos and content and keeping up with any Google recommendations for your business.
• Using reels on both Instagram and Facebook, plus venturing into the land of TikTok are excellent ways of reaching new audiences.
• Engaging in other businesses’ content needs to be part of your daily time spent on social media. Even just 5-10 minutes a day liking and commenting on other people’s/organisation’s posts. This will really help with building your own presence.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Don’t be scared on social media, it can be fun and not as overwhelming or stressful as you may think it is. Invest some time and money into learning the basics so that you know what your priorities need to be, what you could outsource, and what you can do in-house. Register for Digital Boost and spend time on the videos, especially the hours of expert content that is all free and easily accessible for everyone.

You can follow me and connect with me by looking up @faceupnow on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Email me: info@faceupnow.co.nz Website: www.faceupnow.co.nz

I also have an online course called the FUN Social Media Academy that covers everything you need to be successful and grow your business online. It is also approved as a service under the Regional Business Partner network so you may be eligible for funding to work with me. Get in touch for more information.

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