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5 Social Media Growth Hacks for Small Businesses

This article is more than 9 years old.

As a small business owner, it’s of the utmost importance to make people aware of your company. And, the best way to spread the word about your business is by being active on social media and other places where they can communicate directly.

Whether you want to share updates, promotions, events or gain new customers, social media provides you with the opportunity to do so. But, that may be easier than it sounds. If you don’t have a respectable amount of followers or fans on Facebook, Twitter , Pinterest, etc. then you may be talking to an empty room. This is way you need to grow your company blogs like I have done in my hosting blog as well as your social media visibility to attract new fans. And, here are five hacks to accomplish that feat.

1. Social Media 4-1-1

If you’re a new business that’s just starting out on social media chances are that you don’t have many fans, followers, etc. on your channels. If this is the situation, then one of the best ways to increase your social media presence is by getting influencers in your niche to notice you. Andrew Davis, the author of “Brandscaping,” suggests that you do something called Social Media 4-1-1 to catch the eyes of influencers.

Here’s how this tactic works according to Joe Pulizzi from the Content Marketing Institute:

For every six pieces of content shared via social media (think Twitter for example):

  • Four should be pieces of content from your influencer target that are also relevant to your audience. This means that 67 percent of the time you are sharing content that is not yours, and calling attention to content from your influencer group.
  • One piece should be original, educational content that you have created.
  • One piece should be sales-related — like a coupon, product notice, press release, or some other piece of content that no one will likely pay attention to.

Joe also adds that you don’t have to have exact numbers, just implement this idea to help make influencers take notice of your social media accounts. When influencers are encouraged and like what they see, they’ll share your content with their followers.

2. Show-Off Reviews

Reviews are a major factor for customers when making a final purchase decision. Research from BrightLocal has found that “73% of consumers say positive customer reviews make them trust a business more.” Even more important, “79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.”

But, how can you share those reviews on social media?

One of the easiest ways is to simply use a tool like GetKudos or ServiceKick. You could also look into the services offered by SocialToaster or Zuberance. If you’re a local business, then you should read this guide from the Houston Chronicle on how to share Yelp reviews on Facebook.

However, another way to ensure that customers leave positive feedback on Facebook or Twitter is by having top-notch customer service. In fact, research has found that customer is the number one factor in trusting a company. To make sure that you keep customers happy make sure that you act quickly and respectfully. Furthermore, reviews expert suggests that you are polite, authentic and prove that your customers matters.


3. Include Calls-to-Action

If you want your fans or followers to do something on social media, then you have to ask them. Dan Zarrella has found that if you just do the following you’ll help increase engagement and growth on social media:

  • Facebook: Use words like “share,” “comment,” and “like” in your posts:
  • Twitter: Include the phrases “please retweet,” “please help,” “spread,” and “visit.”

Social Media Examiner also recommends that you create a sense of urgency, include a great hook and place your calls-to-action in multiple locations. And, don’t forget that CTAs should match the voice of your brand and be visually appealing.

4. Make Use of Google +

Compared to Facebook or Twitter, Google+ may not be on your radar for social media networks. However, Google+ offers some exciting benefits for small businesses.

For starters, Google+ has a large amount of followers - even more than LinkedIn, Pinterest and Instagram. This is because anyone with a Gmail or YouTube account also has a Google+ account. Secondly, Google+ users engage just as much as Facebook posts and twice as much as Twitter posts. Finally, being active on Google+ can increase your ranking on search results.

Be frequently updating your Google+ account and containing vital business information - such as your address and phone number - is a great starting point for customers to share reviews and discover your business.

5. Optimize Images

Social media users can’t get enough of images. Research from eMarketer has found that Facebook posts containing images are the most shared with a 87% interaction rate. Twitter has found that tweets featuring an image URL will results in retweets by 35%.

To get the most out of images, you want to create a variety of captivating images. Examples would include infographics that contain stats regarding your industry, inspirational quotes, a humorous “Caption This” for fans to fill-in or asking fans to share images of them enjoying your product or service. Also, make sure that you’re using the proper dimensions. Jon Loomer recommends that for Facebook the size should be 1200x628px.  Online marketing expert Drew Hendricks says "If you're unable to find a good infographic that would fit for your article try to include up to 3 images in the piece to keep users engaged and reading the entire article."

Besides sharing these images on Facebook, Twitter or Google+, don’t forget to look into image-based social networks like Instagram or Pinterest.