Small business work on small budgets. They don’t enjoy outside support that large businesses take for granted, be it investor funding, experts opinions, substantial marketing budgets, among many others.

They have to cut their coat according to the cloth. Simply put, they have to work within their means. So, most of the time, they tend to ignore social media thinking that customers know where to find them. So, why invest time on social media?

But the fact is: Social media is no more an option for businesses these days. Be it big or small businesses, you need to have your presence on social media.

Here I walk you through 5 ways that could help your business gain quick publicity for your small business on social media.

1. Look Beyond Facebook

Yes, I know, the conventional wisdom on best social media practices suggests that you need to focus on one particular platform and not scatter your presence all around.

However, the fact is, just having a Facebook account or Instagram account doesn’t help. With so many social media platforms growing significantly, it’s more important than ever to make your presence felt on as many platforms as possible.

Take a look at the leading social media channels that small businesses are taking advantage of:

The above chart indicates that Facebook is hugely popular amongst small businesses. But, if you look at other platforms, they are all catching up. A good number of small businesses also uses Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. Even LinkedIn and Snapchat are being leveraged.

Nonetheless, before you start creating your profile on all these channels, see whether they are worth your attention or not.

In other words, if you are running a B2C business, a LinkedIn profile will be of no use to you because LinkedIN is basically for B2B companies. In fact, LinkedIn helps generate 80% of the leads for B2B brands.

And in case your target audience is Gen Z, then your business should be more on Instagram and Snapchat. While if Baby Boomers forms a good percentage of your buyer persona, then, of course, Facebook should be your go-to social media.

Sure, all business should focus on Facebook, first and foremost, because it’s still considered to be the fastest growing social network with almost 1.5 billion daily active users. So no matter what Facebook should always be on your radar, irrespective of your target audience.

Once, your Facebook account is up and running, see which other social media channel could be beneficial to you.

Also, see if you could get your YouTube channel running.

2. Post Content Regularly

Once you have created profiles on diverse platforms, see that they are not dormant.

A dormant account could prove to be a big disappointment for your followers. If people are following you, they would expect new posts from you on their homepages and timelines on a timely basis.

So, if you don’t provide with them with new posts from time to time, be assured, they’ll unfollow you in no time.

So, if you want to make your presence felt strongly on individual social media accounts, you need to post often and post ephemeral content. This will give you an edge over those competitors who believe in posting just once. It’s easier to create an impression on your followers if you post daily.

The more you post, the more you are reminding your followers that your brand is doing really well. So, the moment they need anything that your brand offers, automatically they will think of your brand.

One of the primary reasons why small businesses avoid posting content regularly is that they don’t know what to post. For such companies, they need to go back to their marketing goals.

For instance, if your goal is to increase the sales of new products, then you could post more promotional offers of your products. You can even repost old content often. Guy Kawasaki is known to retweet the same thing over and over again for viewers who may have failed to see his earlier tweet. Or for that matter, you may have created an instructional guide for your YouTube audience. You can use that same content on Twitter and Instagram and other social media channels.

You can even use content from your website. Further, you need to engage with customers by responding to them. Check out GoodFirms’ social media research report to know about the latest trends.

3. Leverage Ephemeral Content

As you might already know, ephemeral content is not regular content. The content is displayed for a shorter duration, such as 24 hours.

You will find such content commonly on Instagram and Snapchat. Both these platforms have “story feature” that display ephemeral content.

Of both these platforms, Instagram could prove to be more effective for promoting your business. If you are into posting content several times a day on social media, opt for ‘story’ feature. This won’t spam the timelines of your followers.

If your business hasn’t tried ephemeral content yet, try it for your next sale campaign and see whether it works for you.

4. Collaborate with Micro-Influencers

Forming an alliance with social media influencers in your niche has its benefits. The best part is that you don’t have to worry about posting content on social media because they will do it for you.

When you are thinking of influencers, the first thing that comes to your mind is celebrities. And, I know, joining hands with a star personality is out of question for you given the kind of budget required. But then you can’t deny the fact that influencer marketing is the fastest growing marketing strategy in the digital world.

In fact, 67% of the brands are planning to leverage it and even have increased their influencer marketing budget as well.

So, the question now is: how will small business implement an influencer marketing strategy? Simple. Target micro-influencers. They are the marketing force of the future. And the best part is that micro-influencers don’t charge as much as the celebrities do.

So, try getting in touch with micro influencers who fall within your budget and at the same time enhances your product credibility.

Sure enough, these influencers may not have a huge fan following. But then, if they can post content for a few hundred dollars what’s wrong. You, probably, can getaway by offering some free products in exchange for a post.

This strategy is far more effective than engaging with real big influencers because micro influencers tend to enjoy stronger engagement with their followers.

And given that they are regular people with regular jobs, people tend to relate with them more than the Kardashians of the world.

So, seek out micro-influencers who might live within the surroundings of your small business. Because it helps their followers relate to your brand more easily.

Wrapping Up

Small businesses cannot survive these days without social media. And, as mentioned earlier, they need to look over and beyond Facebook as well, if they want to take advantage of social media. Also, choose diverse platforms where your target audience is active and post ephemeral content daily. Plus, collaborate with micro-influencers.

Over to you now! What other strategies do you think small businesses should implement to gain quick publicity on social media?