5 Things to Consider for Your Small Business Marketing Strategy

You need to incorporate social media into your small business’s marketing strategy. Your target audience, whether they’re down the street or across the country, are turning to social media more than ever to learn about products & services both local and beyond. 

Here are 5 Things to Consider to get the most out of your small business marketing strategy, curated by the social media experts at Thumbstopper. 

Number 1, diversify your social media presence and get your business onto as many social media platforms as possible. Whether you’re looking into Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Google; every social media platform fulfills a unique niche to help elevate your business’s visibility. Google (for example) is key for discovery, as most people turn to the search engine for recommendations and reviews about small businesses. Instagram on the other hand, is a crowd favorite for posting pictures & tagging businesses to spread the word about cool new places. It’s hard to imagine, but your customers genuinely want to advertise your business for you! Giving them an easy way to tag your business by being on as many platforms as possible is the less you can do to promote user generated content. 

Let’s move onto number 2. Creating a strategy that includes both paid & organic content. Having a successful social media strategy isn’t expensive, but it’s not entirely free either. The best way to get the best bang for your buck is to combine both paid & organic content to not only reel in new followers but keep them engaged after they like your page. For example, Facebook & Instagram have built-in advertising tools so you can upload an ad & tailor the audience that will receive it based on age, location, gender, and interests. Depending on your target demographic, a successful ad can cost as little as $5 – $10 a week and reach thousands of users that fit your specifications. Creating a low-cost ad campaign like this is the best way to guarantee growth, but it’s equally as importantly to keep them engaged afterwards. Which is why I want to stress the importance of regularly scheduled, organic content, that your audience wants to be looking at.  

Now that you have a steady stream of content, consider number 3, engaging other businesses. The world is a crowded place, and you aren’t the only small business vying for attention. Outside of paid ad campaigns, the next best solution for reaching new followers is to show up on a page they’re already following. Keep an eye out for local businesses or complementary businesses that are a part of your industry to share posts with. Consider even reaching out for a potential collaboration so both businesses can benefit from each other’s audiences. Think of social media like a digital chamber of commerce! The networking opportunities are endless and mutually beneficial. 

Now that we’re nearing the end of the list I want to stress the importance of tip number 4, revisiting your strategy to maximize ROI. Constantly keep an eye on your insights to see which posts perform best and plan accordingly. You’re going to notice that certain types of posts that are published at certain times perform better than others. If you’re a restaurant, it might be high quality pictures of your favorite entrees. If you’re a retailer, it might be giveaways or special events posted on the weekend. The only way to know for sure is to locate the analytics section on your social media platform of choice and plan accordingly. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out which posts result in the best engagement. We even have a whole video about how to find the best time to post on social media! If you’re interested, check it out in the description below. 

Now. You have a variety of social media pages, a steady stream of both paid & organic content, and a network of other businesses to interact with. But let’s be honest, time is always a top challenge for small business owners and managers. Digital marketing can feel like another item on an endless to-do list and one of the easiest to delay. Which leads us to number 5. Utilizing supplemental services to save time and money. One of the biggest myths surrounding digital marketing is that it all has to be executed in the same place. The good news is that you don’t have to choose between all or nothing. 

With ThumbStopper, you get the top-notch content your brands already produce, pushed to your social media channels effortlessly and for much less cost than you might expect. With that major task off your plate, you can focus on more of the fun social media posts, letting your business’ personality shine.  

Find out how ThumbStopper can do the heavy-lifting for you. Visit Thumbstopper.com or subscribe to our YouTube channel for more tips on how you can take charge of your business’s social media. 

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Key Points:

 

  • Companies should understand the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to ensure their websites are accessible.
  • Brands that concentrate on accessibility on social media demonstrate care for their customers and build a positive brand reputation.
  • Brands should always consider inclusive design, such as plain, straightforward language, in their social media posts.

 

 

Accessibility may not be a term you usually associate with the internet and social media. You might picture wheelchair ramps, directional signs in braille, or sign language interpreters at live performances. The landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 dictates the legal necessity of these and similar accommodations in public spaces. As we’ve come to rely on the internet for everything from entertainment to buying groceries, it’s become clear that the internet is now also a public space. It must be accessible to everyone. And like other applications of ADA, businesses that do not comply are liable for damages caused by inaccessibility.

 

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are an international set of standards to provide instruction on meeting accessibility needs. It’s important for companies to understand how this applies to their websites, especially if they engage in e-commerce. In terms of social media, the requirements are less concrete. But prioritizing accessibility on your company’s social media is essential to your reputation, even if the legal requirements are uncertain. We’ll look at why it’s important to your customers, how it affects the perception of your brand, and how to make these changes efficiently.

Social Media for All

The cornerstone of accessibility is inclusive design: products or experiences that are accessible for everyone regardless of disability. The most important place where this shows up is on company websites where most users expect to also find links to the brand’s social media profiles. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of websites are not accessible, despite the fact that the application of ADA to the internet is over 20 years old. Making websites accessible is a complex process without the use of specialized software like Accessibe or EqualWeb.

Unlike websites, making sure your social media is accessible is a straightforward, ongoing process. Every social platform has been quick to release optional accessibility features. These features are important to many users even if they don’t rely on them to use social media.

Making your social presence accessible tells users that your brand cares about people, not just profits. It’s the same idea as the push for the representation of different body sizes in fashion or more expansive skin tone ranges in beauty products. Brands that meet the needs of underrepresented groups endear themselves to others as well. And while optimizing your brand website for accessibility might be a larger project you aren’t ready to tackle yet, starting with your social media pages is a great way to show customers that you’re listening to their concerns. 

 

Making Content Accessible

Shifting to accessible content means incorporating inclusive design into your creative process. The practice varies by type of media. For platforms that have graphics or videos with captions, it means not only adjusting each component but also being mindful of how they interact with each other.

For example, YouTube’s automatically generated closed captions and subtitles are often inaccurate. It's one of many examples where the caption generation software has issues picking up strong accents and mumbled words. This could be remedied with handcrafted video transcription services. If that’s not in the budget, the video creator could add their script or transcription to the video description.

None of the technology for accessibility is perfect yet. Teaching computers to digest complex information for human understanding is difficult, and the variations in disabilities further complicate it. The majority of adjustments creators need to make revolve around helping assistive technology better understand their content. Let’s look at how to make different kinds of content accessible. 

Text

  • Use plain language that’s easy to understand 
  • Avoid text in all caps
  • Capitalize the first letter of each word in a hashtag, like #SocialMediaMarketing, a practice called camel-case

Videos

  • Provide descriptive captions. Instead of just displaying the words people on-screen say, explain background noises and other sounds that are relevant to the scene.
  • Add your own subtitles or enable auto-subtitles on the video platform of your choice
  • Use captioning for live videos when possible

Graphics

Distribute Accessible Content

Many users find their new favorite brand through social media. When disabled people (who make up 26% of the population according to the CDC) can’t access your brand’s social posts, you miss the opportunity to connect with a demographic that’s eager to engage in online communities. On a hyper-local level, that kind of connection goes even further.

That’s why ThumbStopper exists to help brands distribute their social content to their retailer network. Retailers can connect with their local audience - with your accessible, branded content - in a more personal way. And since content goes to their page automatically once they sign up, retailers can effortlessly promote your brand online while focusing on running their business. 

Ready to see how ThumbStopper can help your brand improve its reach? Check out our brand reach calculator or book a demo.

 

 

accessibility
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