Boost your business’s online presence with these social media business tips

The incredible rise of TikTok, paired with the constant new features from Instagram, Facebook and X, means that nailing your social media can feel like an overwhelming task. But in a world where work and play have shifted virtually, it’s more important than ever to know how to grow your lightweight social media presence so it can keep up with the heavyweights. A well-structured social media marketing plan is essential for organizing and executing effective social media strategies.

It might sound like a big job, but don’t fret – we’ve got you covered. Here’s my foolproof social media marketing guide, with big brand strategies that will take your small business to the next level in 2025.

1. Define your goals and audience

Defining your goals and target audience is the cornerstone of a successful social media marketing strategy. Your goals will serve as the driving force behind your social media efforts, guiding your content creation and engagement tactics. Start by considering what you want to achieve through social media—whether it’s increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or driving sales. Use the SMART framework to make your goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For instance, instead of aiming to “increase followers,” set a goal to “gain 500 new followers on Instagram within three months.”

Understanding your target audience is equally crucial. Dive into demographics, interests, behaviors, and pain points to create a detailed customer profile. Social media analytics tools can provide valuable data about your existing followers, helping you refine your target audience. Create buyer personas to guide your content creation, ensuring your posts resonate with your audience’s needs and interests. By aligning your goals with a deep understanding of your target audience, you’ll increase engagement and conversion rates, making your social media marketing efforts more effective.

2. Choose the right social media platforms

Not all social media platforms are created equal, and selecting the right ones for your business is essential for a successful social media marketing strategy. Start by considering your target audience and the type of content you plan to create. For example, if your audience is visually-oriented, platforms like Instagram and TikTok, which prioritize images and videos, might be ideal. On the other hand, if your audience is more professional, LinkedIn could be a better fit.

Utilize social media analytics tools to track engagement and conversion rates on each platform. This data will help you identify which platforms yield the best results for your business. Focus your efforts on these platforms, allocating your resources to maximize impact. Remember, creating a strong presence on a few key platforms is more effective than spreading yourself too thin across many. By choosing the right platforms, you’ll ensure your social media marketing strategy is both efficient and effective.

3. Create a content strategy for your target audience

As with all things, creating a winning social media strategy for your business starts with your business objectives. Having the end in sight ensures you’re here for a good time AND a long time. Like any form of goal setting, your social media goals (or #goals if we’re really getting into the swing of social media lingo) should be SMART. However, try not to focus your objectives solely around the number of followers you want, as engagement through likes, comments, saves and retweets, etc is a much better indication that you are serving your audience adequately through your content.

The next step is to create a customer profile.

This is a crucial step as it will give you a deeper understanding of how your customers behave online, which social media platforms they use, who influences them, what their pain points are and their broader interests beyond the product or service your brand is selling. Understanding your target audience is essential for refining strategies within the broader digital marketing landscape.

Here’s a working example for a new non-alcoholic spirits company: Our objective is to become the go-to resource for non-alcoholic drinks across social media to help increase our brand awareness and drive sales for the business. Our customer profiles show we target mainly health-conscious millennial and Gen Z female audiences looking for an alternative to their favourite tipple. We’ll use Instagram and TikTok to share cocktail recipes and fun facts, create content in partnership with health-conscious influencers, and run exclusive giveaways. Our content schedule will be five times a week for an initial period of three months and we’ll use the results to gauge average engagement and growth rates to set KPIs (key performance indicators) for the next three months.

4. Content is still king

As clichéd as it sounds, creating and posting high quality content is the best way to grow your business on social media. But what does ‘high quality content’ actually mean? The findings from your customer profile research will provide the foundation for your content themes, e.g. if you know your customers’ pain points, then you can help provide solutions through your content. Knowing your customers’ interests outside of your services and products can help you decide what relevant trends you should jump on. A brand that does this well is online beauty retailer Look Fantastic. They understand that, aside from loving all things beauty-related, their customers also love binge watching trending shows like Emily In Paris and Tinder Swindler, so they jump on this trend by creating relevant memes using popular characters and sayings from the show.

When doing this, it’s important to also put some content guidelines in place before posting to ensure the quality of your content is consistent. Managing each social media account effectively is crucial to maximising engagement and reach. They could be anything, such as ‘does this post draw attention?’, ‘is it entertaining?’, ‘is it educational?’, or ‘does it provoke an emotion or an action?’, to name just a few.

5. Embrace the latest social media trends

It’s important to note that content has evolved over the years. With TikTok becoming the most visited platform and Mark Zuckerberg stating that video is a priority for Facebook (Reels has recently become Facebook’s latest feature), it should be no surprise that video is the highest-converting medium across social media. For best results it’s important to move and adapt with the times, so consider expanding your content verticals to include anything from explainer videos, stop motions, fun or educational reels, to trends on TikTok. Using a content calendar to plan and schedule social media posts effectively can help businesses stay organized, distribute resources efficiently, and improve team collaboration. We’ve seen a shift to ‘brands as publishers’, proving that trending content verticals are not solely reserved for Gen Z and Millennials.

6. Consistency is just as important

It’s important to note that you will only see results through consistency. Creating original, engaging social media posts is crucial to driving consumer interest. Just like building a business, social media is NOT a quick-fix job. There’s not a ‘one rule fits all’ when it comes to how often you should be posting; instead, the onus should be on consistency, whether twice a week or daily. It’s essential to choose a realistic schedule with your resources and time, or else you set yourself up to become overwhelmed and, inevitably, fail. You’re establishing key relationships which takes time, and you will only begin to gain your audience’s trust through familiarity. The best time to post is when your audience is active on social media. Each platform has in-app analytics tools to help you determine the best time for your business. If your business has relatively new profiles, then utilise insights on posting times from reputable sources like our post on social media posting times, where we have carried out extensive research.

7. Don’t forget the ‘social’ part of social media

No one likes the person who spends all of their time talking about themselves, whether at a cocktail party, in the office or over the phone, so why would you do that to your customers on social media? It’s vital to ensure you’re replying to comments, responding to DMs or, at a minimum, acknowledging comments with a like. Active participation on social media fosters relationships and enhances visibility, making engaging rather than posting passively crucial. This is essential to building a direct relationship with your consumers and encourages continued engagement and support. Avoid scripted or robotic responses and allow your company’s personality to shine through by humanising your copy, both when engaging with your audience and replying to incoming queries.

8. Consider influencer marketing

Influencer marketing has quickly become the go-to option for speaking to consumers authentically. Leveraging the trusted voice, community and reach of someone with influence can amplify your business at scale. The influencer economy on Instagram alone has been valued at $1 billion by marketing agency Mediakix but this doesn’t mean you should throw your budget at just anyone. The challenge is to find influencers that align with your brand, and do your due diligence on their true level of influence. Once you’ve identified influencers, agree to KPIs or analytics reporting to help you measure ROI (return on investment). Pairing influencer marketing with social media advertising can enhance visibility and drive consumer purchasing decisions effectively.

Meal-kit company Hello Fresh saw a 1,200% increase in new customer leads and created 274% more impressions after investing in an influencer and affiliate marketing campaign. They worked with a range of established and emerging UK-based influencers to create content using the meal kits and provide their fanbase with discount codes. On the other hand, Supermarket chain Iceland ditched celebrities in favour of micro-influencers. It saw their approval ratings jump from 10% to 80% after mums viewed vlogger-created content, which exceeded the agreed digital KPIs.

9. Use the features that are given to you

Get creative with the features available on each social media platform; they exist to help you serve your customers better, for instance, on Instagram that could mean using Stories to show the behind-the-scenes or day-to-day running of your business, using polls to collect insight from your audience, or, as we have seen, using reels which have a favourable effect on your discovery within the app. One of Instagram's most requested features recently delivered is its shopping feature, which creates a more seamless shopping experience for your consumer by allowing them to make purchases in just a few taps without leaving the platform. British luxury lifestyle brand, Barbour, reported a 42% increase in their sales from Instagram by using the shopping feature. Using platform features creatively is a key component of a successful social media strategy.

10. Social media analytics are your friend

Data should drive any changes to your social media strategy. Each social media platform has analytics to help you identify what is and isn’t working, and what resonates with your audience. Evaluate best performing posts to double down on what’s working and look out for your worst performing posts to see what adjustments need to be made to your content. Deep diving into your engagement rates, reach and growth will help you establish your average benchmark. These analytics are crucial for refining your social media marketing tips and strategies.

If you’re thinking to yourself ‘how am I supposed to keep track of several social media platforms on top of running a business?’ then not to worry, we’ve got you covered with Google Analytics. It lets you see the big picture by bringing all your social analytics into one place, including: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other marketing insights from Google & Mailchimp. Plus, it lets you see different areas of your business such as accountancy, HR & ecommerce.

Implementing these Social Media tips for small businesses won’t happen overnight, but once it’s embedded as part of your overall marketing strategy, you’re in for the win.

11. Leverage employee engagement

Employee engagement can be a game-changer for your social media efforts, adding authenticity and a human touch to your brand. Encourage your employees to share company news, updates, and behind-the-scenes content on their personal social media accounts. This increases brand awareness, drives website traffic, and attracts new customers.

Use social media management tools to track and incentivise employee engagement. These tools can help you monitor which employees share content and how their posts perform. Consider creating an employee advocacy program to empower your team to become brand ambassadors. Offer incentives such as recognition, rewards, or even bonuses for actively participating employees. By leveraging employee engagement, you’ll create a more relatable and trustworthy brand presence on social media, amplifying your overall marketing efforts.

12. Review and refine your strategy

A successful social media marketing strategy is never static; it requires regular review and refinement. Use social media analytics tools to track key metrics such as engagement, conversion rates, and overall performance. Analyze this data to identify what’s working and what needs improvement.

Conduct regular social media audits to assess your content, engagement, and overall strategy. This will help you pinpoint areas for enhancement and make data-driven decisions. Remember, the digital landscape constantly evolves, and staying adaptable is key to achieving your goals. Continuously reviewing and refining your strategy will ensure your social media marketing efforts remain effective and aligned with your business objectives.