Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools available to businesses today. And the best part about it? All of the most popular social media platforms are free to use, meaning you can spread the word about your business without paying a cent.
There's just one problem: If you don't know how to make the most of these online resources, you could be wasting your time and effort. For example, overpromoting your content and products can drive followers away, and avoiding questions and complaints from customers who post on your page can ruin your brand's reputation. Social media marketing is about creating meaningful connections with customers.
So how can you improve your social media strategy? Here are five social media tips you absolutely need to keep in mind, according to entrepreneurs and social marketing experts.
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The 80/20 rule
No matter what your social media strategy is, your focus should be on creating and sharing quality content. But not all of the content you share should be yours — in fact, most of the content you share should come from other sources that are also relevant to your brand.
"Too often, companies only post things that are about the business and highly self-promotional," said Erika Montgomery, CEO and chief publicist at Three Girls Media, a PR and social media management agency.
To avoid overselling your business online, you should stick to using an important strategy called the "80/20 rule."
"The 80/20 rule dictates that 80 percent of a company's content should be a variety of nonpromotional content, such as memes, infographics, videos, pictures, articles [and more] that are related to what the company does or its brand," Montgomery said. "Then, 20 percent of the time, it's cool to toot your own horn and promote things specifically about the business."
Location, location, location
For small local businesses, it's especially important to target users based on their location. This way, you can focus on the quality, not the quantity, of your followers and grow a more relevant audience.
"So many people are worried about the number of followers and fans they have, but that is not what is important," said Raubi Perilli, founder of Simply Stated Media, a company that offers Web development and promotion services. "To get the most leverage out of your social media presence, you need to focus on building your list of targeted followers — followers that can actually do business with your company."
For example, Perilli said, if you're a small business that offers services only in Tampa, Florida, having thousands of followers across the country won't help you. Rather, a few hundred followers who live in Tampa and are interested in your services will benefit your business a lot more. And targeting your audience by location is a lot easier than you might realize. [5 Location-Based Mobile Marketing Tools for Small Businesses ]
"To find targeted users on Twitter, you can use the Advanced Search feature to filter out posts based on location," Perilli said. "Then, you can engage with those users, knowing they are in your area. [And] on Facebook, you can post ads filtered by location."
Use Twitter lists
Everything on Twitter moves quickly, so if you're active on the platform, it can be hard to keep up with what everyone has to say. One way to avoid becoming overwhelmed is to use Twitter lists, which allow users to organize the people they're following so they can keep track of relevant content and other influencers.
"When you create Twitter lists, you're able to significantly improve the signal-to-noise ratio on Twitter and focus on interacting with the right people," said Kari DePhillips, owner of The Content Factory, a digital PR agency.
In fact, using Twitter lists the right way can help you do more than just organize the content you're seeing — it can also help you network and build a better following.
"If you're smart about what you name your Twitter lists and write flattering descriptions that make people want to be included in your lists, you can get off on the right foot as you start building relationships with your targets," DePhillips said.
"In practice, we've seen Twitter lists drive engagement and followers [and result] in media coverage," DePhillips said.
Focus on relationships
In addition to following the 80/20 rule, businesses should be careful to focus on the "social" aspect of social media and build relationships with other users.
"Social media is, above all, a social undertaking," said Shane Walton, founder of Green Vine Marketing, an SEO and Web services company. "[Traditional marketing] is a shotgun approach, and you want as many people as possible to see your newspaper ad, billboard or TV spot. Social media, on the other hand, is a participatory marketing channel."
More than any other tool, social media platforms give you the ability to engage with customers, so in addition to providing quality content, you need to create real connections with your audience.
"If [users] enjoy your content, they will follow your profile, and you will have the opportunity to continue marketing to them each day for years to come," Walton said, warning that content that lacks value will scare potential followers and clients away.
"The most successful social media marketers provide excellent content," Walton said. "They educate and entertain their audience. They care about them, just like they would a friend. They build relationships. And when they take this approach, the market responds. Their content is shared, they see an ever-increasing following and sales rise."
Schedule ahead (but don't automate!)
"When managing social media for your business, it's important to maintain consistency," said Laura Nunemaker, an online marketing specialist and owner of Social Media for Small Business, a social media management company. "This isn't always easy, but it can be if you set up a system."
The good news is, there are many free and inexpensive tools that can help you schedule social media posts ahead of time, and they can be great resources if you use them correctly.
"Schedule time once a week to sit down and use a scheduling tool like Buffer or Hootsuite to lay down a minimum amount of posts for each of your accounts," Nunemaker advised. "For most platforms, one post a day is fine. On Twitter, you probably want to schedule at least three."
But it's important that you don't use scheduling tools to automate your entire online presence. Nunemaker noted that these scheduled posts are the bare minimum and should be treated like a starting point to build off of in real time, or a backup plan when you don't have time to focus on your networks.
"Throughout the week, you can add posts that are more in the now," Nunemaker said. "But if you're too busy or can't think of anything, you've got a safety net of the posts you already scheduled."
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