Engaging Social Media Ideas for Small Businesses

Social media has the potential to catapult a business to great heights if you use it well. Your goal is to ensure as many people as possible know about your services, and the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram could help you achieve your aim.

Contest Marketing

One of the greatest ways for a company to reach a wider audience is to hold a competition. Start a simple ‘Like, Share and Comment’ contest for people to win a superb prize, which should remain in-line with your services and brand. Not only will this ensure more people become aware of your product, but it will help you boost your followers and increase your social media engagement.

A Recurring Series

Just like with a business, your social media account must have a USP. Give your audience a reason to want to follow you, and a recurring series can help you do just that. Take Ascot Diamonds as a perfect example. The company specializes in diamonds in Dallas and regularly provides their Facebook followers with amazing facts they ordinarily wouldn’t know about the gemstone – so they will keep following to learn a little more.

Takeovers

Why not allow another company or well-known person to take-over your social media accounts for the day? This is a great way to build interest around your brand and could even help with your PR efforts, as the press might jump at the chance to cover a local celebrity, respected company or businessman running your social media accounts for the day.

Share & Retweet

While you shouldn’t share or retweet your competitors’ social media posts, there’s no reason why you can’t share other tweets or posts from local, national and international brands from other industries. It’s a great way to engage with companies and you can provide your readers with content they will enjoy, too. It’s a win-win.

Tutorials

Most people take to the internet every day to learn something new, so why not educate your followers with a handy tutorial? Show them how they can create the perfect festive bake during the holidays, or help them repurpose old clothing or a broken item. Think about the main questions people might have about your brand or a product and provide them with the answer.

Videos

Did you know Facebook videos have a 135% greater organic reach in comparison to photos? Videos have become one of the easiest ways to engage with an audience, because people want to find the latest viral content, trigger their imagination and watch something that pulls at their heartstrings. Videos really do work, as Facebook has an average of 8 billion daily views. So, if you’re not using them yet, now is the time.

Collaborate with a Brand

There’s nothing quite like co-marketing with another brand, as this proves the companies really have their finger on the pulse when it comes to social media – which is reason enough for people to engage, because they will view you as someone worth following.

Team up with a brand to offer a joint competition, tagging the company and combining your brand to become one for a short time only. You can both benefit from each other’s audience and you could even engage with a wider demographic. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain – and that’s the beauty of social media.