A Guide for 2021
As businesses look to other ways of engaging with clients in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, more and more are exploring social media as a new and easy means of reaching clients and delivering products and services. It’s not surprising as there has been a dramatic uptake in social media use and ecommerce sales during the pandemic.
Before diving into the deep end and posting on social media, take some time to define who your target audience is and on which social media platforms you can find them. Depending on what age range you’re focusing on, you’ll need to interact on different social media platforms. But don’t try to be everywhere, focus on one or two platforms to begin with – the ones you’re most familiar and comfortable with, and start engaging with your audience. Once you’ve built a following, you can then look at the need to expand to other platforms.
As with all marketing tools, know what you want to achieve with your social media strategy, otherwise navigating social media without an end-game can become frustrating. By defining your goals, you’ll be able to track how well your strategy is performing and know what works and what doesn’t.
Here are a few ideas to help you boost your business with social media in 2021:
Plan your content :
An easy way to get started and not feel overwhelmed by social media, is to plan out your posts ahead of time.Spend some time brainstorming ideas for content and create a batch of content all at once. Alternate between visual, storytelling and interactive content – and don’t just make it a sales pitch ! Small business need to look beyond just product marketing and simultaneously work on promoting their products and services as well as providing value to their users. Plan what, when and where you want to post your content. There are lots of theories about how often to post on social media – you should always prioritise quality over quantity and therefore you need to decide on where you draw a line to find the right balance.
Authentic, personalised & quality content :
Followers on social media come to you for a product or service but continue to follow you because they like your style and personality. You need to think of social media as an extension of your brand’s voice – it should represent who you are, your values and your personality. It is also important to focus on personalization. You need to understand who your target audience is and deliver content that is relevant to them.
The rise of live stories & short video content :
Video content is hugely popular and has become a powerful marketing tool that you need to include in your strategy. Written content is becoming a blur as users scroll through their feeds, therefore video content is more likely to be seen and be shared. This is particularly true for the 18-35 age bracket – so if this is your target audience, brainstorm some ideas and start making some videos to engage with them. If the idea of videos and live stories terrifies you, start with animating your content – the key is to keep it short and make it move.
Mobile optimisation is more important than ever :
There is an ever-increasing number of consumers using their mobile devices to access social media accounts, websites and shop online. This makes mobile-friendly content an absolute essential for small businesses. On social media, keep your content short and catchy and be sure your call to action links are visible and easy to click. Websites should have a responsive design, be quick to load and be optimised for voice search.
Voice search & local SEO optimisation:
The number of smartphone owners using voice search continues to increase every year, and shows no sign of slowing down. This means that if you want to attract local consumers, your local SEO strategy needs to be optimised. Voice search, page speed, quality content, Google my Business and reviews have all become essential elements when optimising your website for local SEO.
These are just a few of the social media trends that will shape 2021. If you haven’t adapted to these trends, it’s time to do so and stay ahead of the competition.
