If you’re a small business owner, you’ve got a lot on your mind. Building profits, maintaining customer service, and ensuring you’re covered with the right business insurance policy are probably just a few of the things that keep you up at night.
Another item that’s been added to your to-do list in the past several years? Social media. After all, you’d be crazy not to capitalize on all the potential it can offer. Maybe you’ve created one or more accounts on different platforms, and you might follow like-minded entrepreneurs.
But using social media for your business and making it work for your business are two totally different things.
Sure, you can play it safe by featuring pictures of your products or even reviews from your happy customers. But fortune favors the bold, and engagement should be the name of the game with each of your posts.
If you’re looking for some inspiration, try some of these social media campaigns to really garner attention for your local business and drive sales in the right direction.
Campaign Idea #1- Takeovers
There’s so much to love about social media takeovers. If you’re not familiar, hosting a takeover simply means turning over the reigns of your social media to another business owner or influencer for a set period of time. With a fresh set of eyes and ideas, someone else jumps in for a designated amount of time and breathes new life into your business’s online presence.
Since their origin, takeovers have proven wildly successful from both the business owner’s and the audience’s point of view. The pressure is off of you to create, you’ll be building brand awareness by reaching a whole new audience, and they’re just plain fun!
Campaign Idea #2: Comarketing Campaigns
If comarketing makes you think only of competition, you’re missing out on a world of opportunity for your business. Find a non-competitor in town that has a similar vision as your company and take advantage! It doesn’t have to be fancy–collaborate on a project or at an event, promote each other’s services, or simply agree to share each other’s posts periodically.
Yoga studios can partner up with healthy restaurants. Book stores can team up with coffee shops. Similar to takeovers, you’ll be growing your audience by tapping into someone else’s, and both businesses can reap the benefits. It’s a win-win!
Campaign Idea #3: Giveaways
One of the best ways to get the attention of potential customers is by offering a giveaway. Who doesn’t like free stuff? Those who run successful giveaway campaigns will do more than just put a random item up for grabs and leave it at that. You want the attention to become revenue, after all.
Instead, capitalize on the attention a giveaway naturally brings and multiply the exposure.
You can require the standard “like, comment, share, and tag” model, or you can get more creative. For example, run a photo contest and spin the spotlight to the customers. Ask your audience to tag your business in photos of themselves using your product in unique locations, and watch how much traction your posts gain!
Campaign Idea #4: Make Yourself a Resource
It’s generally accepted that businesses should find some variation of the 80/20 rule to follow with their social media content: just 20 percent of postings should directly promote your business, with the remaining 80 percent entertaining, educating, and informing your audience about related topics.
While this isn’t a hard and fast rule, it makes sense. We tend to tune out businesses that beat us over the head with incessant advertisements.
So give the people what they want, and consider how your business can serve as a broader resource. Are you in the wellness space? Retweet the latest research about the benefits of self-care. Have your own photography business? Share with your potential clients the color palettes that work best for coordinating outfits for family photos.
With posts like these, you’re not directly screaming, “Hey! Hire me!” but you’ll stay in the forefront of your audience’s mind (and feed) because you offer valuable information and care about your clients beyond the sale.
Campaign Idea #5: Client Buy-In’s
No matter your business, customers love to feel like they have a voice in the company. Consider what opportunities you have to let clients weigh in with their opinions, and then use social media to gather feedback. Polls offer a really simple, interactive way to get engagement.
Have your customers vote on new apparel designs or even something seasonal that’s only tangentially related to your business (favorite Christmas movie, road trip song, etc.). Make the topic enticing enough, and everyone will want to have their voice heard!
The Bottom Line
If you’ve read this article to this point, you already know the power internet content has in capturing your attention. Harness that potential and reign new business in by trying out these campaigns and making social media work for you.
