Whether you’re a social media enthusiast or a cautious observer of its influence, one fact is undeniable: social media is here to stay. Whether you’re a newcomer or an established brand, these essential social media hacks will empower your marketing strategy and ensure its success. Get ready to elevate your social media game and achieve remarkable results.

There’s a common misconception that social media success is reserved for influencers with massive followings. While we may fantasize about having Kardashian-level fame and influence, the truth is that small businesses can thrive on social media without reaching such astronomical heights. In fact, working with micro-influencers who have smaller but highly engaged followings can yield up to 11 times more success.

The good news is that with a little digital savvy, you can tap into new audiences, attract new customers, nurture your existing fanbase, and even explore various forms of digital marketing, all through the power of major social media platforms. And here’s the best part: you don’t need to be a complete expert in deciphering the elusive algorithm to make it happen.

7 Social media hacks for small businesses

• Get to Know Your competition
• Know when to post
• Expand Your Reach through Cross-Posting
• Harness the Power of Hashtags
• Optimize Efficiency with a Social Media Scheduler
• Master the Art of Timing
• Make it Shoppable

Get to Know Your competition

The digital landscape has always been an exciting and fast-paced place for small businesses to connect with new, bigger audiences and generate more sales. Now more than ever, if you’re not online then you’re probably losing out on audiences that are being won over by your competition.

Regularly viewing your competitors’ social channels and staying aware of their activity makes it easy to analyze what they’re doing, how well it’s performing, and whether there are any tricks you’re missing when it comes to reaching your shared audience. Of course, you might also find that you’re nailing it in comparison, and you can use other brands’ social content and engagement levels to confirm lots of things you’re already doing right.

As part of your social media strategy, be sure to include an in-depth competitor analysis. This should account for your major competition, and take into account where their brand sits in the market, what makes them appealing to your shared customer base the things you think they’re doing well, and the tactics that you won’t be taking inspiration from—both are useful in informing how you want your digital presence to look and perform.

Know when to post

One valuable metric provided by social media scheduling tools is the optimal time and day to post your content. While it’s common for many brands to discover the same peak time, leading to a surge of posts during that period, it’s important to consider this metric’s insights.

Scheduling your content in accordance with your optimal posting time is recommended, but it shouldn’t restrict you entirely. It’s not just a matter of guesswork; various platforms can inform you about the best times to post. For instance, Meta Business Suite suggests optimum posting times based on user activity and engagement trends when scheduling a new post. However, keep in mind that these suggestions might not always be 100% accurate, as optimal times can fluctuate. Therefore, it’s advisable to experiment with different times and days to find what works best for your specific audience.

You might assume that Sundays are not ideal for business posts if your business is not open on that day. However, it could be precisely when your followers are most active on social media. By paying attention to the numbers and analyzing engagement data, you can determine the most effective days and times to share your posts, enabling you to optimize your social media schedule for maximum impact.

Expand Your Reach through Cross-Posting

One of the most effective strategies to boost traffic and gain more followers is cross-posting your content across multiple social media channels. It can be as simple as sharing the same image with a similar caption on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. In other cases, it may require more effort, but the results are well worth it.

Take, for instance, the differences in video dimensions between Instagram and YouTube. Converting your content into two different aspect ratios might seem like a task, but it opens up the opportunity to attract a broader audience that you would otherwise miss by solely focusing on one platform. Apps like ViaMaker, InShot, Adobe Premiere, and even basic video editing features on smartphones can help you quickly adjust the video ratio to fit different platforms.

Creative ways to showcase non-visual content

Similarly, when you have published a blog post or have been featured in an article, don’t limit yourself to sharing it only on Twitter and LinkedIn. There are numerous creative ways to showcase non-visual content on image and video-centric platforms. For example, since Instagram allows only one link in the profile bio, many brands utilize services like Linktree to create a landing page with a list of website links, directing audiences to content across various sites.

By cross-posting strategically and adapting your content to different platforms, you can maximize your reach, engage with diverse audiences, and drive traffic to your brand from multiple sources.

Harness the Power of Hashtags

Hashtags may sometimes seem trivial, but they hold significant potential for expanding your audience. However, it’s crucial to approach them strategically instead of simply adding a plethora of irrelevant or overly popular tags to your captions. By using hashtags effectively, you can effectively broaden your reach.
Consider this: photographers who use a particular camera or lens are more likely to utilize specific tags related to their equipment, rather than relying solely on generic tags like #photography. Similarly, travelers exploring a specific destination are more inclined to follow tags that curate content from their desired locations, rather than using a generic tag like #travel.

Invest your time in researching popular tags within your industry that are likely to be followed by your target audience. While it may be tempting to include as many hashtags as possible, Instagram suggests that the optimal number is relatively low, ranging from 3 to 5 hashtags. Whether you choose to place them within your caption or in the first comment, Instagram states that it is equally effective. Consider the length of your caption when making this decision. If your caption is already lengthy, it’s best to include the hashtags in the comments section.

By selecting relevant and focused hashtags, and employing them strategically in your social media posts, you can enhance your discoverability, engage with a wider audience, and drive meaningful interactions.

Optimize Efficiency with a Social Media Scheduler

If time management is a concern for your small brand when it comes to social media, there are numerous advantages to be gained by leveraging tools that can streamline the posting process. Let’s face it, stepping away from a dinner gathering to publish a social media post for your brand at 9 PM on a Saturday is far from ideal.

Enter social media schedulers

These platforms offer the convenience of automating your content plan, saving you valuable hours. Popular options include Hootsuite and Later, which allow you to schedule posts across multiple channels and preview how they will appear on each platform. Additionally, Meta’s Business Suite is a comprehensive solution for managing Facebook and Instagram posts together. With these schedulers, all you need to do is upload your content, set the desired posting times, and voila!

To further enhance efficiency, consider uploading a week’s or even a month’s worth of posts at once. However, it’s important to maintain flexibility as unexpected events may arise, requiring your brand to respond or share relevant content in real time. Additionally, take advantage of the valuable analytics reports provided by these scheduling platforms. These reports offer insights into the performance of your posts, helping you refine your strategy and optimize your social media presence.

Master the Art of Timing

Knowing when to post on social media can make a significant difference in your brand’s visibility and engagement. Social media schedulers provide valuable insights into the optimal time and day to reach your audience. However, be aware that if every brand follows the same advice, there might be a “posting rush hour” where everyone floods the platform at once. It’s like a virtual traffic jam!

While it’s wise to schedule your content during the recommended peak times, don’t let it restrict you entirely. These suggestions are based on performance metrics and the activity patterns of your audience, but they’re not infallible. Platforms like Meta Business Suite even offer specific recommendations for when your target users are most active and likely to engage. However, remember that these suggestions aren’t always set in stone, and the best posting times can vary. So, don’t be afraid to experiment with different days and times to discover what works best for your brand.

Who knows, you might find out that Sundays, when your business is closed, are actually the perfect time to catch your followers scrolling through their feeds. So, pay attention to the numbers, keep an eye on the trends, and include the most effective days and times in your social media schedule. It’s time to navigate the virtual traffic and find your brand’s smooth cruising lanes!

Make it Shoppable

Gone are the days of using social media solely for marketing products. Now, it’s all about turning those likes into buys with the rise of in-app shopping experiences across various social media platforms. It’s time to bring the store to your audience’s fingertips, right on their screens, without them even leaving your Instagram page.

By integrating your Shopify or other ecommerce platforms with your social channels, you can easily tag your products whenever you post them. It’s a breeze for brands, and it taps into the impulsive nature of online shopping and social media browsing. Who can resist the allure of a seamless shopping experience, right at their virtual doorstep?

So, hop on the bandwagon of these new features and unlock a world of revenue and audience growth. Social media platforms tend to favor users who make the most of their latest tools, and that includes in-app shopping. It’s time to transform your feed into a virtual marketplace and make the cash register go ka-ching!

Elevating Your Business through Social Media

Though it may seem overwhelming, these 7 essential steps will equip your small business to master social media. Quality and concise content, tracking relevant metrics, leveraging time-saving automations, and utilizing algorithm-friendly tactics are key to boosting your online engagement swiftly.