Are you a small business owner who wants to increase your visibility on social media but finds it difficult to stay consistent?
Habits are the key to success when it comes to developing an effective and focused social media presence, especially for small business owners like you who are doing all the things. It’s the putting yourself out there all the time part that you need to get consistent with in order to raise awareness to get more engagement, which means more likes, comments and shares. Followed by more DM’s, more clicks to your website and therefore…more sales.
It’s all very logical, right? But what I’ve found with the small business owners I work with is they get stuck mostly because they don’t know what to do, so they do nothing. As small business owners and entrepreneurs, you have big goals, right? This is why you’re listening to this podcast, so getting stuck hampers progress, goals and dreams. And to me, getting stuck and staying there is not on my to do list.
With the right habits in place, you’ll be able to use social media consistently and strategically in order to maintain valuable connections with potential customers. Not just be on social media for the sake of it. Or just because everyone else is doing it.
In this podcast episode, I want to look at how you can create strong habits as a small business owner that WORK so you can increase your consistency on social media. So you can develop relationships and goodwill with your followers and new ones while establishing yourself as a leader in your industry! Consistency is the key. Doing it is a whole other thing.
- Create a plan – how can you not have a plan right now in your business for your social media? The amount of business owners who tell me they don’t have a plan is crazy. AND not to mention the number of small business owners that tell me they want to kill it in business and life and achieve great things and they don’t have a plan!! I honestly cannot get my head around this. Guys, why? Why don’t you have a plan? There is too much abundance and money that you are leaving on the table without a plan.
A plan is setting clear, achievable goals for your social media presence. I’ve said it so many times – there are 2.35 billion monthly active users on Instagram alone. I don’t want to get ranty, but come on!!!
Want to reach more people? It’s time to sit down and craft a solid plan of attack in order to do it. It’s totally worth your time. This is to make sure your social media efforts are not in vain, it’s important to have a carefully crafted plan that outlines clear and achievable goals.
Your plan should identify your target audience, the social media platforms they use, and the type of content that resonates with them. By regularly posting engaging content, thought leadership content, dare I say it = POLARISING content and responding to comments, monitoring your analytics, you can grow your social media following and drive more traffic to your website. With the right strategy in place, your small business can establish a strong social media presence and stand out in a crowded marketplace. I don’t want you to be shaking your head saying “yeah right” because you can. There is more than enough room for you to coexist in a crowded marketplace. You know how I know this? Because no one can ever be you.
- Schedule posts in advance and create a content calendar to keep yourself on track
As a small business owner, it can be overwhelming to constantly come up with fresh content for your social media platforms. However, scheduling posts in advance and creating a content calendar can be game-changing for your business. By planning out your content ahead of time, you’ll have a clear direction for what to focus on and when to publish it. This not only saves you time but ensures that your content is consistent and on-brand.
Plus, it gives you the flexibility to adapt your schedule if unexpected events come up. Don’t let the stress of content creation hold you back – streamline your small business marketing process by starting with a content calendar. THIS is game changing, it has been for me, and can be for you to start posting with confidence!
- Track progress with analytics tools to measure the effectiveness of your efforts
Now whyyyy do I say this!! For small businesses, it can be challenging to understand how effective certain efforts are in achieving your business goals. That’s where analytics tools come into play. Utilizing these tools can enable you to track progress in real-time and measure the effectiveness of your efforts. In other words, they can provide valuable insights into what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to adjust your strategies accordingly.
With analytics tools, small businesses can make more informed decisions and take advantage of opportunities that will help them succeed in the long run.
If you look at your analytics and think WTF should I even be tracking haha – that is what a social media strategy is for and this is what I put together for my clients to not only make it easy to show up, but outlining exactly what, how, where and when. Everything is easy when you know how.
I found that the biggest problem I see with my clients is not being able to translate their business over to their social media to market what it is they actually do well. Asking for help is not a bad thing. It’s actually an empowering thing.
- Set aside time each week to work on creating content, scheduling posts, and engaging with followers
Running a small business can feel like a never-ending to-do list, trust me I know. But the list never goes away, you just get better at managing the list and your own expectations.
By setting aside dedicated time each week to work on your content strategy it can help lighten the load. Creating content, scheduling posts, and engaging with followers are all crucial tasks that take time and effort, but they are essential to growing your brand. Don’t think just because you see Sally over here doing so well on her social media that she doesn’t spend time doing all the things, because I can guarantee you, she does.
Whether it’s 30 minutes in the morning or an hour in the evening, setting aside consistent time each day to focus on your social media presence can help you build a loyal following and stay ahead of the competition. As a small business owner, your time is especially valuable, so make sure to prioritise this crucial piece of your marketing strategy, which is getting your social media strategy right and the daily and weekly habits that go with it.
- Make use of automation tools, such as Meta, Planoly, Canva, Buffer, Plan and so many more, to save time
Believe it or not, automation tools come in handy. If I didn’t have these in my life with a 1 year old and a 2 year old, I’m telling you, my life would crumble.
By automating repetitive tasks, such as social media scheduling, you can free up valuable time to focus on more important aspects of your business. There are so many popular options that allow you to automate everything from posting your latest blog to scheduling tweets in advance.
Not only do these tools save you time, but they also help to streamline your social media strategy, ensuring that your message is consistent across all channels. By embracing automation, you can work smarter, not harder, and grow your business without sacrificing your precious time.
- Take breaks when needed, but make sure you’re staying consistent with posting.
It’s important to take care of yourself in order to produce your best work.
Remember to take breaks when necessary, whether it’s to recharge your batteries or to tackle other aspects of your small business. Yet, it’s just as important to remain consistent with posting. Failing to do so could cost you your hard-earned following and hamper the growth of your small business. So, remember to prioritise your well-being but also stay committed to delivering quality content. With the right balance, you can build a thriving small business without burning out.
In summary:
1. Create a plan and set clear, achievable goals for your social media presence
2. Schedule posts in advance and create a content calendar to keep yourself on track
3. Track progress with analytics tools to measure the effectiveness of your efforts
4. Set aside time each day to work on creating content, scheduling posts, and engaging with followers
5. Make use of automation tools to save time
6. Take breaks when needed, but make sure you’re staying consistent with posting
Overall, creating a consistent presence on social media is possible. By following the steps outlined in this podcast episode, you can create habits that work for your consistency and track your progress with analytics tools. From there, you can refine your plan as needed in order to make sure that you’re consistently driving success for your business on social media. It’s also important to remember that consistency does take time and effort– so be sure to set aside time each day use automation tools when necessary.
In the end, though, if you maintain dedication to the commitment of being consistent, it won’t be too long before you start to see results from it!
