Social Media Management Tips for Small Businesses

When it comes to managing a business Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter account, you might be asking yourself Where do I even start? Big-brand strategies don’t always work for small businesses — and not everyone has unlimited marketing resources to dedicate to social.

If you’d like some advice, we’ve got your back. Our crew has put together some go-to tips for anyone managing a business Facebook, Instagram, or other social media account right now. Read on!

Tip #1: Quality Over Quantity

It’s tempting to post, re-share, and catalogue everything that happens to your business on your social media. This is especially true in our “go go go” world — it seems big brands and influencers constantly have something to say!

You don’t need to feel pressured to update your profile every single day, though. When it comes to social media (just like all communications) quality matters more than quantity. It’s better to share a single post each week that provides real value to your audience than to inundate their feeds with superficial content.

Tip #2: Know Your Audience

Not all of your customers are going to spend time on your social media — and not all of your social media followers will end up being customers. Here are two questions that can help you post with the right audience in mind:

Who currently engages the most with your content?
Who do you want to engage the most with your content?

You might be perfectly happy if your current social media following is mostly employees, family, and friends. If that’s the case, prioritize company updates and staff features! Make your audience feel like they’re part of your business’s day-to-day action. (This is one of the things social media is best at, especially for small businesses.)

On the other hand, maybe you’re hoping to eventually reach a few new customers through your social media channels. If so, make sure to talk about your services, products, and differentiators some too.

Tip #3: Choose Your Social Platforms Intentionally

Not every business needs to be on every social media platform, which should come as a relief! With dozens of options for connecting with your audience, it can be tough to decide how to spend your limited resources.

We recommend sticking with 1-3 accounts when possible. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are still the largest social media platforms — here are some recent demographic stats to help you decide where you can best reach your audience.

Facebook Demographics

21% of Facebook users are ages 45 and older.
32% are ages 25 to 34.
More males (56.4%) than females (43.6%) use Facebook.
Males ages 25 to 34 make up the biggest demographic of Facebook users.

Twitter Demographics

29% of Twitter users are between the ages of 24 and 34 — and 57% are ages 25 to 49.
70% of Twitter’s advertising audience are male and 30% are female.

Instagram Demographics

51% of all Instagram users worldwide are female.
One third of Instagram’s users are ages 25 to 34.
Instagram is the most-used social media platform among American teenagers.

Tip #4: Focus on Visuals

We love words, but there’s no denying it: Engaging visuals are what really draws a user into your social media content. This is particularly true on Instagram (the first photo-centric social media platform) but engagement rates for image posts on both Facebook and Twitter are also higher than plain-text content.

To maximize your social media reach, try pairing eye-catching visuals with short, engaging copy. Here are a few great examples:

Photos of your employees or office space accompanying staff “fun facts” or company tidbits
Infographics made with Canva (or another simple online editor) to help explain a key process or impact of your business
Large text on a minimalist background — if words need to be the focus, this is a great way to get users’ attention

Tip #5: Take Time to Respond

Finally, one of the most important — and most overlooked, especially by small businesses — aspects of social media is the ability to directly engage with your audience. Responding to feedback helps you build rapport with followers, positioning your organization as a reputable company who cares about their customers.

And that’s not all: The more you respond to comments on your content, the more social algorithms prioritize your posts. Actively engaging on your social media accounts helps you extend your reach farther, faster.

We hope these tips help you feel a little more confident in handling your business’s social media. At the end of the day, it should be fun — let your company’s personality shine! If you’re looking for additional help, drop us a line. Our team would love to meet you!