Social media can be an incredibly effective tool for small business to win new business and develop their brand identity. The trick of social media success for small business is to use it wisely, stick to the basics as you get to know your audience on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WordPress and all social media platforms.

If you’re starting out on social media for your small business or wonder why it’s not working as well as people say it should, here are 5 simple tips for social media success for small business:

5 simple tips for social media success for small business

1. Decide what to post and where to post it

Think of social media as a way to talk to customers, potential customers and customers of your competitors. It’s a bit like an online pub without the drink. You can be talking to friends, talking to new acquaintances and be overheard by strangers. Share posts about things relevant to your business. Show off your areas of expertise, share interesting posts that highlight what you do and why you do it well. Avoid controversy. Unless there’s a controversial topic that affects your business or something you’re campaigning for, it’s best to avoid controversy or political posts that might alienate a proportion of your target followers and customers.

2. Say something people want to hear and use keywords

Create a shortlist of keywords or key phrases relevant to your business and website. Search engines index social media posts so what you write and having your social media profiles complete is really important. There is an art to writing keyword specific posts. You can do keyword research to find the best keywords to use or use a social media consultant or copywriter to help you get started.

Remember, it’s all about being social – be an upstanding member of online society with social media, be helpful, informative and someone people want in their circle – and enjoy social media success for small business.

3. Complete your social media profiles and make them relevant

Don’t cut corners on if you want social media success for small business. Make sure you complete your profiles. If you’re a new business or only just getting your website sorted out, often your social media pages will start higher up Google search rankings than your website. This means you should have your website address, contact email, business phone number and contact details complete on your profiles. Use the ‘about us’ or ‘long description’ to say what you do and get the message about your key services out there.

4. Consistency is the key to social media success

When you post on social media, you’re making a commitment to people that follow you or like your page. To build relationships through social media, you have to post consistently, remain ‘on-brand’ and maintain interest. As a starting point, consider 2 tweets per day, three Facebook posts per week and at least one blog article per week on your website. Don’t forget, your blog post can be shared on all your social media platforms as extra content to develop your social media communications.

5. Promote yourself, don’t sell yourself

To achieve social media success for small business, remember: Social media is called social media, not sales media. People are quickly turned off by constant sales posts and direct marketing. Social media should be fun, informative and engaging. Share fun posts, things that people will share to their followers and friends. The occasional sales post is OK, but no more than 1 in 10 is advised. Post helpful advice, talk about great products and services that you sell, and link to blog posts on your website that showcase the benefits of being your customer.