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how to get started on social media.

According to a 2019 study from Visual Objects, 40% of small businesses do not execute social media marketing. I wasn’t a math major in college (excuse me while I never stop laughing at that thought), but it seems to me that indicates that almost HALF of SMBs aren’t doing any social media marketing. At all. None. Zilch.

This is amazing news!!! Know why? Because it means that you and I both have some awesome opportunities. It means that you as a small business owner who is NOT currently doing social, you can skip your next Social Media Abstainer’s Anonymous meeting and just get started.

For me, this is an opportunity to help you get started in the best way possible to set yourself up for massive success. See? We both win so much. Like all the winning. That’s what we do. Let’s start at the very beginning, which, according to Julie Andrews, is a very good place to start. Spoiler alert: you’re going to read all the way to the bottom, because I’m sharing my three super quick tips to get started. So don’t be a quitter!

 

It all starts with the why.

You have to be able to explain WHY you want to use social media. If your answer is, “Because everyone else is” or “Because I feel like I have to,” I’m going to send you back to the drawing board. Please don’t feel like you’re alone if this is your answer. In fact, most of my clients say something to me along these lines when we start working together. But my job is to (gently) get you to look at bigger picture and find out what concrete business goals you are trying to accomplish with social media. Some examples might be:

  • Increase brand awareness
  • Build relationships with prospective clients
  • Execute on a sales funnel
  • Generate raving fans

You can have many of these goals, or just one. The point is that the strategy will be different for each goal, so it’s important to know what you want to do to understand the how. Make sense?

 

The next most important question is who.

I swear I’m not going to go super deep into the weeds of building a social media strategy (that’s a whole other blog post, probably). What I am going to say is that you shouldn’t post on social without knowing who your target audience is. Things to think about:

  • Age
  • Income/Lifestyle
  • Pain points (what keeps them up at night)
  • Where you fit in

I go through an in-depth process with my clients to find out what kind of language will resonate with the target market, we name our ideal client and we know a lot about these people. I’m not saying you have to know all of this about your target market, but there is a very important reason why it matters that you think about who you are targeting: if you don’t start with your end user in mind, the default is to make your social all about you. That’s a dangerous situation and one that should be avoided.

 

Please write a strategy.

It doesn’t have to be formal, it doesn’t have to be perfect (in fact, it shouldn’t be—read on to find out why), it doesn’t have to be super complicated. All you have to do is write out what you want to do and where you want to do it for what results. Here’s a super-quick checklist of stuff to include to get you started:
-Who your target market is

-What their pain points are

-Where you are going to post (hint: it’s where your target market is)

-What you’re going to post about

-Measurable goals

That’s literally all you have to do for right now. You can refine as you go, but this is enough to get going. Which brings me to the next point….

 

Get the car moving, then steer.

If you’ve followed my advice (and you’d BETTER be following my advice), you will have everything in place you need to get started. However, if you are anything like me, you’ll be finding every reason under the sun to NOT get started. Here are some of my favorite excuses (that I make) to not start something:

“I just need to work on the strategy a little more.”

“This is a busy day/week/month/year/decade/entire career. I’ll start next day/week/month/year/entire career.”

“It’s not a good time for my target market.”

“I don’t have anything I want to sell today.”

“Let me perfect my processes.”

“My horoscope told me not to start any internet-based marketing initiatives this lifetime, sooo….”

You get the picture. But there are two amazing quotes from one of my favorite coaches (looking at you, Matthew Hussey) that are super relevant right now:

 

“You can either have the excuse, or you can have the result.”

So regardless of how many excuses you actually have about not executing your strategy, the bottom line is that it’s time to just do it.

“We get the car moving, and then we steer.”

If you remember anything from this article, let it be this concept: it is impossible to create a perfect social media marketing strategy before you begin. Your target market will tell you what they like and what they don’t like. Sure, there are definitely ways to be more strategic about getting started, but you’ll never have everything you need before you start. Never. So just start. Adjust as you go, using analytics to drive future actions.

 

A couple of quick ideas.

Y’all know me. Know how I earn a livin’. I’ll catch this bird for you, but it ain’t gonna be easy…

Sorry, I slipped into Quint from Jaws for a second. What I was trying to say is that I always like to leave you with some tidbits you can use right now to jump into social (after you’ve taken my first few steps).

Here are three quick start ideas for posting on social:

1.A TF out of some Qs 
(answer some questions 😉

Make a list of your top 10 questions. Answer those questions. Boom, you’ve just come up with 10 social posts. And potentially overcome some objectives 


2.The “Walk the Walk” Strategy

This is perfect for literally any kind of coach: simply document yourself following your own advice. Whether that means snapping a pic of you taking the weekend off to refresh, or you grab a video of your dinner to show your nutrition clients how you eat, be the change you want to see in your clients.


3.Caring Via Sharing

As an industry expert, there are definitely some thought leaders you love that your target market loves. Share their ideas, blogs, quotes and stats. Be sure to give proper credit (tagging can even boost your exposure). Remember: stealing is not caring. It doesn’t even rhyme. But you CAN share away.

 

Good luck!

I really hope this article helps you get started on social media marketing. It’s definitely not impossible, but I want to be honest about the fact that it’s also not as fall-off-a-log easy as some people believe. It’s doable, but it will be easier if you follow my advice. Still need help? Let’s chat!

 

Xoxo Becky

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