Social media marketing has become an integral part of small business owners’ marketing strategy as they look to reach out to their customers and grow their businesses without spending much money.

When it comes to social media marketing, you have plenty of options to choose from and can use several types of social media channels at the same time if you think this will work best for your business.

There are lots of different social media marketing ideas you can use to help grow your small business, but there are also a few essentials that every business should be doing on at least one platform,

Whether you already have an established social media presence or you’re just getting started with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., here are 14 great social media marketing ideas that can help you reach more customers and build your brand name..

Develop your business page

The first step to social media marketing is to make sure you have a strong and credible presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and all other relevant platforms. E

ach platform will have its own unique SEO strategy, but it’s a good idea to make sure you’re listed on at least five different platforms—ideally more.

This alone may help you dominate your industry or market space as long as they remain top of mind when people are looking for businesses like yours.

Update at least once a day

To stay on top of your social media accounts, you need to be posting regularly.

It’s best to make a schedule and post at least once a day, but don’t overdo it.

Posting too much can get boring to your followers, so make sure you aren’t annoying them with multiple updates every hour.

The best practice is to only post when you have something new or interesting to say.

Post quality content that adds value

Sounds simple, right? Yet it’s a mistake made every day by businesses of all sizes. If you don’t want to get lost in a sea of tweets, pins and posts, your social media strategy needs to focus on one thing above all else: content.

Not only does that mean developing interesting things to say; it also means having a plan in place when someone interacts with you online.

Get connected with people you don’t know

Social media is a great way to communicate with new people and businesses. Set up profiles on all social media platforms that you think might apply to your business, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Using social media to connect with people you don’t know is a great way to gain exposure and expand your business.

A recent survey showed that 48% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. This means building your presence on platforms like Facebook and Instagram can help develop brand loyalty and boost sales.

Networking through Twitter, LinkedIn or Pinterest also helps you build relationships with new people who could one day turn into customers.

Engage with customers regularly

As your company’s social media accounts grow, so will your number of followers. And when you’re first starting out, engagement is key.

As much as possible, try to interact with customers in real time and make it a point to respond to every customer query within 24 hours. For instance, if someone asks a question on Twitter, respond on Twitter—don’t direct message them. If someone posts a negative comment on Facebook, reply publicly instead of ignoring it.

Even if you can’t resolve their issue immediately, let them know that you’re listening and that you care about their feedback.

• Not only does responding publicly show your commitment to providing stellar customer service, but it also gives other users something interesting to read.
• It will increase your chances of being seen by more people who might be interested in following or interacting with your brand.

Build relationships, not followers

It’s easy to get lost in how many Twitter followers you have or Facebook fans your page has —especially if you’re running a small business and want to try out social media marketing.

But these numbers don’t really matter! 😲

What does matter is that people can actually find you on social media — and it’s easier said than done.

You want to create a community of people who engage with your content and provide you with insight. The best way to do that is by adding value.

Related: How content marketing drives sales

Reach out to influencers in your niche

Influencers can be great people to connect with and ask if they would be interested in reviewing your product/content or answering a question you have about something relevant to your business.

Remember though, not everyone will respond or agree for an interview, so it may take time before you get a response from someone you approach.

Check your page often and respond quickly

Whether you’re on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or another platform, check your page and respond to comments often.

That way, people will feel like they have a personal connection with you and it can improve your presence in social media marketing.

If they know they can reach out to you directly with questions, they’ll feel like your page is theirs as well.

Also, respond quickly; it shows that you care about what others have to say about your business.

Run contests with prizes

No one wants to engage with a boring brand!

A fun and engaging contest will earn you loyal fans who will continue to share your content and grow your social following.

Offer some sort of reward, whether it’s a free product or service from your business or a chance to win something big, like an iPad. People are more likely to talk about your company if they think they might win something.

Engage as many senses as possible

When you write a post on Facebook, it’s very easy to forget that you’re not just writing to text-based readers.

A picture is worth a thousand words—so get one on your page. Add music, video, infographics and other multimedia content to engage all of your followers’ senses.

connect with potential customers.

While it’s obvious that social media sites like Facebook and Twitter offer an amazing opportunity to build your business brand, it’s easy to be intimidated by these tools.

Take some time to get comfortable with what each site offers — you don’t have to post on every one if you don’t want to! And ask yourself: what kind of content will help my audience find value in my brand? What do I want them talking about?

measure the success of your marketing campaigns

It may seem tedious to measure your social media marketing efforts, but it’s an essential part of any campaign.

If you aren’t able to track how well your campaign is doing, then how can you know if it’s successful?

Once you have collected your data and analyzed it, then use that information in future campaigns.

You want to apply what you learned from one social media campaign to another.

create a marketing strategy for your business.

You can no longer afford to ignore social media — it has a massive reach that every business needs to tap into.

If you’re new to social media, it can be tempting to just jump in and start posting.

But if you don’t have a clear strategy, it can actually hurt your business more than help it. Start by creating a marketing plan and mapping out what you want to achieve through your use of social media.

keep your customers informed about your business.

Keeping your customers informed via social media is one of your best ways to keep them interested in and satisfied with your business.

Your followers will be impressed by your willingness to interact with them regularly and are more likely to respond when you reach out. Make sure you take full advantage of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.!

Make sure you take full advantage of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, etc.! Let your customers know about any events or specials occurring at your store and ask them to come in.

You can even offer giveaways!

Remember that social media is an opportunity to create real connections with people who have an interest in what you do. Use it effectively and they will not only spread your business’s name on their own; they’ll keep coming back again and again!

Some more ideas on Social Media Marketing for small business

1. Use social media to promote your business.
2. Create a social media account and start using it to promote your business.
3. Use social media to create a brand for your business.
4. Use social media to connect with potential customers.
5. Use social media to build your customer base.
6. Use social media to engage with your customers.
7. Use social media to measure the success of your marketing campaigns.
8. Use social media to create a marketing strategy for your business.
9. Use social media to market your business to a wider audience.
10. Use social media to keep your customers informed about your business.