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Social media for small business is a topic close to my heart.\u00a0 I have run a number\u00a0of small businesses and one of the biggest challenges has always been time.\u00a0 As a small business owner you have to wear many hats: Sales, HR, bookkeeper, janitor, manager and marketing strategist; when all you really want to do is what you love and make money at it\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n I am writing a series of 4 blog posts to help small businesses strategically manage their social media marketing through:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n First you need to know who you are and what you are offering.\u00a0 Then you need to define who your audience is.\u00a0 With these 2 things defined the marketing plan falls into place between the goal posts.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n A bit about branding<\/em><\/strong>:<\/strong> it is a good idea to do a branding exercise to define a few things about who you are and what you offer and where your niche is.\u00a0 I watched a bunch of YouTube videos about branding and this is what fell out of the process:<\/span><\/p>\n The offer:<\/em><\/strong> I offer my clients a complete graphics solution.\u00a0 I will make their marketing collateral work across both print and web media.\u00a0 I will take care of their marketing needs.\u00a0 I offer value.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Who is your audience & where are they?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/strong>The audience:<\/em><\/strong> My clients are solopreneurs, small businesses, and medium sized businesses that have a budget for marketing.\u00a0 They understand the value in having brand consistency across platforms and they don\u2019t have the expertise or time to do it for themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Where is your audience? <\/em><\/strong>This is a whole topic on its own, so rather than reinventing the wheel I will point you to: Ken MacArthur: The Top 10 Ways to Find Your Audience<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n If you can answer the questions Ken poses then you are really on your way to finding your audience.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Speak to your audience<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n Keywords:<\/span><\/strong> Some of this is covered in Ken MacArthur\u2019s blog above, but I wanted to emphasize it.\u00a0 To reach your audience, you need to know what they are searching for when they want your product.\u00a0 To do this you need a list of \u201ckeywords\u201d pertaining to your business offering.\u00a0 You can get recommendations from Google and other sources.\u00a0 You can check out the Google Keyword Tool Box<\/span><\/a> get some Keywords and some insights.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #Hashtags:<\/span><\/strong> I like #Hashtags because they offer the opportunity to group posts and tweets into categories that may not be included in the post itself. For instance I want this post to be seen by solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, small & medium-sized business so when I tweet about it I might use #hashtags like:\u00a0 #smallbiz, #smallbusiness, #business, #solopreneur, or #entrepreneurs.\u00a0 You should make a list of #hashtags that are already in use that pertain to your audience and use them when you post, but don\u2019t be redundant, don\u2019t #hashtag a post that already contains the keywords in the title.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Things in common<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n What do you want to gain from Social Media?\u00a0 Aye, there\u2019s the rub!\u00a0 Truly, what you want to gain from social media is engagement.\u00a0 You want to find your niche audience, you want to interact with them, you want to be part of their world, and them yours.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
Making a Social Media Plan<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n
Who are you & what do you offer?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
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Instead of making up an example I thought I would use my own business as a case in point.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
Reaching your audience<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n
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Defining Your Goal<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n
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