Are you excited at the thought of growing your business? Welcome to the Hayley Osborne show. This is the place where you’ll learn how to get more high-quality leads and sales in your business. My goal with this show is to help you grow your business, be inspired, nail your creativity, get the best out of your marketing, and show up as the most fearless superhero version of yourself. I’ll be teaching you the tailored frameworks and tools I use to unlock my client’s superpowers and turn them into quality leads and inquiries. And I want the same for you. I started my first business at the age of 25 and continue to build three successful businesses along the way. Small business owners are the backbone of the economy. And I’m here to demystify marketing, make it easy for you and help you reach more customers. Let’s do it.
Welcome back to another episode of The Hayley Osborne Show. This is episode 80. And I am so glad that you are here. It is exciting. There is a new intro, if you notice. The words are a little bit different. I have been doing a little bit of work on my business and decided that it needed a refresh. And you’ll hear at the end the outro is also a little bit different. And I think it’s more my vibe. It goes with everything on my website, it goes better with my marketing messaging, and it just goes better with me. So here we are. We have a new intro, and it’s exciting and the cover work will still be the same. So not much has changed really apart from the messaging a little bit.
Today’s episode, I really wanted to talk to you about the important topic of social media strategy. And I want to talk to you about how you can create this for your small business because I think there is power in doing it for yourself. And if I can teach you a little bit about how to do this, that will work wonders for you. And it will help you attract more high-quality leads and customers to your business.
What is a social media strategy for small businesses? Well, it is a lot of things. Okay. But basically, if you are trying to build a brand on your social media without any kind of defined strategy, right, without any objectives, it can really be counterproductive. And I’ll tell you why. Because you’ll find yourself just posting for the sake of it with little rhyme or reason. And as a result, you won’t see any return from your maximum amount of effort. And that’s really annoying because I do know how much work goes into creating content. But it’s the content creation that’s really powerful because content creation helps you remain relevant and real and top of mind and all the things and that’s why we know that it’s so important.
A social media strategy basically covers everything you want to do and achieve on your social media. Right? It details what you post, how you do it, the platforms that you’ll use and to find really measurable goals that will support your specific business needs and your specific business goals. Okay, so one supports the other. And smart social media strategies for small businesses can really increase your audience, it can increase your brand awareness, and it can increase your bottom line, which is revenue, which is profit, right? And I bang on all the time about that know, like and trust factor. And well, this is it, it is it. That is what you need to be building. And I’m going to teach you how in this podcast episode. However, you need to remember that this growth won’t happen overnight. It requires a consistent and strategic approach and consistent doesn’t mean, oh, I’m gonna go and do it for a month and then that’s me done. No, it means consistent, like the year years of work, because you really don’t know what’s around the corner. And if you are not consistent in a crowded marketplace, you will be left behind. And that is the scary fact of it all. And if you don’t realise the impact of social media, the impact social media can have on your business. I think you’re living under a rock as a business owner, and I’m sorry to say that but I do call a spade a spade. And if you’ve been listening and following along for a while, you know that I really don’t have a grey area. There’s, it’s black and white. And there’s not much in between.
I understand as well that if your business is built around referrals, right? Hear me out on this, even if all the awesome people in your life are referring everyone they know to your business. These people are going to Google you. Okay, they’re going to look at your website, which is like the suit-and-tie version of your business. And then they’re going to look at your social media to see what you really like. Okay, which is the shorts, the shorts and T-shirt version of your business, everyone’s really nosy. If you haven’t got much going on in your socials, though, then you might just lose a potential customer. And what kind of impression in this era are we living in if we kind of can’t capture that or understand? So you don’t need to do all the things, right? Like dancing, or whatever, or whatever you don’t want to do. But you do need to do what works for you. And you need to figure out what feels right. And this, my friends, is how you set up the foundations of a social media strategy.
It is an essential tool for your business today. It will help you to reach more people and more customers. It will help you to increase traffic to your page on your website. And it’ll make your products and services really visible across what is actually a global platform. So with increasingly crowded marketplaces, and you know this, as soon as you leave your house, you are, if you’re driving right now, look around, there are buses with advertising, there are bus shelters, there’s billboard advertising, there’s shops, there’s a frame advertising, if you’re in your car listening, there’s a lot of things that we are being forced to ingest as, as customers, as potential buyers that we that, you know, we have to compete with as business owners as well.
I want you to be able to develop really effective social media strategies in order to stand out from the competition and stand out from the crowd. So I want to take you through how to create, or how you can create, a successful social media strategy tailored specifically towards your small business needs. Because if DIY is your thing, then listen in.
First Point:
There are seven points here that I want to talk to you about. So identify who you are targeting. Right? Who are you trying to reach on your social media? Write this down as the start of your strategy. When it comes to your social media, who your target audience is, is critical to starting how you are going to attack your message and send your message out there. Who are you trying to reach with your social media? Maybe it’s a niche group of consumers who would be interested in your unique products, or perhaps you’re trying to target a wider audience, including, you know, collaborators, or whoever that is, but honing in on your target audience, you can really tailor your messaging and content to resonate with them and increase your engagement, which obviously, you know, boosts your overall brand awareness and bottom line. Now, you know, your target market might be women, it might be men, it might be a specific age group, it might be accountants, it might be florists, but figure out who it is. And talk to that person. Now. If you think that you are going to exclude people think again, right? Because the more tailored you are, the more people are just going to vibe with your energy. And people will come because that’s what happens. The more you nation, the more tailored your messaging becomes, and the clearer that you are, and you’re going to attract your vibe regardless.
Second Point:
I want to talk about determining which platforms best suit your business needs. Okay? Not every platform is for every business. Right? Instagram. I love Instagram, personally, Facebook, yes, LinkedIn, definitely. Twitter is not for me, kind of, you know, but it is for other businesses. And that’s cool. You need to determine which platform best suits your business needs. So it can be overwhelming with so many to choose from, but you need to determine which one is the best fit for you. It’s important to consider your business’s needs before making a decision. And knowing my listeners, you probably are already. You’ve already figured this out. But if you want to reach a younger audience, for example, TikTok and Instagram might be the right decision. On the other hand, if you want to build an engaged community with an older audience, Facebook and Instagram might be the way to go. If you’re targeting just corporates, LinkedIn might be the way to go. But figure out what they are and make an informed decision. And that will help you to grow your business and target your messaging.
Third Point:
I want you to figure out is to create content that resonates with your target audience. Think about the topics they’re interested in and create content around that. And there are plenty of episodes in the past that I talk about how to create content and how to easily do that, that will help you to add this, that into this strategy that I’m talking about now. So I’m not going to go into creating content, but you want to be able to do it in a way that resonates with your target audience. As a small business owner, I know that it can be challenging to create content that resonates with your target audience, You’re probably thinking, How do I do that, but it’s essential to keep your audience in mind when creating and crafting your content strategy. So by understanding the topics that interest your target audience, all right, you can create valuable content that will definitely strike a chord with them and figure out what that looks like individually for your brand. You know, for me, I go down that superhero path a lot. And that has struck a chord with my audience, and they love it. And so I’m gonna play on that. But these things just haven’t happened overnight. It is an evolution over time, and it is layering and layering onto your business. Okay, so again, have a think about what that looks like for you, and you can’t compare your one to someone else’s 20. Okay, so you might need to go off and do that. There’s another episode on that, actually, on how to go away and what you need to do to create awesome content in your business. But that is again, I can link that back in the notes. I think that was a real list of heavily played episodes. So go back and have a listen to that. I’ll put it in the show notes. So whether it’s through informative blog posts that you link to engaging social media content, video content, or creating content that speaks to your audience’s interests, it can help you build that loyal following. So really nail down what that looks like. And remember, the key to your success in this space is understanding your audience and delivering content that speaks to their wants and needs. Alright, so you have to think about what that looks like and what your content pillars are.
Fourth Point:
It is to stay up to date with trends on each platform, take note of what works, and adjust accordingly. Okay, reels are still a thing on Instagram. However, carousel posts are very, very powerful. And they are kind of coming in a hot second. So adjust your strategy accordingly and learn to keep educating yourself to stay up to date, Don’t keep doing something just because you’ve always done it. Because if you’ve always done it, it may not necessarily be the thing that is going to work in the future. So adjust yourself readjust and take note. Digital is changing. Digital marketing is changing every single day. So if you don’t stay on top of what’s trending, you will get left behind. And that’s why it’s important to always upskill and educate yourself, like listening to this podcast. So whether it’s like the latest algorithm change on Instagram or the rise of short-form video content on tick tock, for example, paying attention to these shifts can make all the difference in the success of your online presence. Just because you’ve always done it doesn’t mean you should do it. All right, it’s quality over quantity. So take note of what’s working well for your audience and look at what your competitors are doing for competitor analysis because that is healthy, and be willing to adapt and adjust your strategy accordingly. Keep your finger on the pulse, guys, because what resonates with your audience can help you stay relevant and help you build your business.
Fifth Point:
That I want to make is to set measurable goals for each platform to track your progress and success. Because if you don’t do this, you’re essentially just shooting in the breeze. Okay, so you want to be able to track your progress and success. What’s worked, what hasn’t worked? What do you need to do more of? What you need to do less of these things is really important to understand because you don’t want to be doing something for the sake of it. Okay? Unless you want to start a podcast at the beginning. It’s very difficult. But what I found, especially for me, this is my hero piece of content, right? And everything works down from there. And what has it done after about episode 50? So this is episode 80. It started to open doors, it started to position me as an expert in the market, and lots of great things have happened. So you need to track each platform’s success and what each post is doing or video or whatever or what have you and do more of that.
Sixth Point:
I want to make is to make sure that you are in your accounts. Okay, you need to have as a part of your strategy an effective direct message strategy, okay, and an effective comments strategy, right one where it is not flowery or wishy-washy, where it is straight to the point and it also is not creepy salesy, because that’s yucky. Okay, what does that look like for you to figure out a strategy behind your direct messages and responding to comments? I cannot tell you how many people’s business accounts I see with unanswered comments in posts. You might think, oh, no, I respond to every comment on my social media. That’s great that you do, but lots of people don’t. And that’s huge. That’s a huge, I guess, hole. So fill the hole, fill that gap because that might just be a potential client. I’ll never forget when I had a long-term coaching client of mine who went through and purchased everything that I sell within my business. And they came from a response to a poll that I put in my stories. And if I had never responded to them, this relationship would never have blossomed. Okay, so you just never know where it’s going to come from. So be strategic and have a strategy around your inbox and around your comments. That is super, super important.
Seventh Point:
Analyse the data from each platform to determine the return on investment and adjust accordingly. I cannot stress this enough.
There are seven points here. And those seven points will help you to create a social media strategy for your small business. Listen to this again, and take notes if you need to. And that will help you to build if you need more help. And if you think this is something for you, this is my zone of genius. This is where I lean in and love. So I wish you all the success in the world. And I want you to absolutely nail it on your socials. That’s all for me, guys, and I will see you next week for another episode of The Hayley Osborne show.
I hope you’ve enjoyed listening to this episode. If you have hit subscribe so you don’t miss any new episodes released every Tuesday. And while you’re there, leave me a review. I would absolutely love to read it. Also, don’t forget to tag me @HayleyKOsborne over on Instagram and share this post with your audience so they can get learning and sharing is caring. If you want more, head over to www.Hayleyosborne.com.au/category/podcast for today’s show notes and links. Catch you next week for another episode of The Hayley Osborne show.
