Opening and operating a business is extremely challenging. You're going to put everything you have into making sure your business starts off on the right foot which can leave you drained financially, physically, and mentally. There is good news! Owning your own business is extremely rewarding, and it's an awesome career choice for problem-solving individuals. How can you get your business to succeed like all the behemoths? You're going to need some killer marketing. Since it's 2020, you'd better make sure that digital marketing is one of your top priorities. We know how daunting digital marketing can be, so we're going to break down the basics as to why you need to get on social media and how to create an incredible account.

Social Media Marketing Gets You In Front Of Millions

Take a second to think about how long you're on social media every day. Now, take a wild guess at how long the average American is. According to Statista , the average time Americans spend on social media daily in 2019 was around 2 hours and 24 minutes. That's over two hours every day where they could be exposed to your business, products, and services! Now, to be clear, simply starting a social media account will not get you seen by thousands. You'll need great content and some very effective social media ads. You'll get some follows, likes, and comments organically, but social media advertisements will really boost your weekly stats. In order to run social media ads, you need an account that is up and running. If your ad leads to a Facebook Page that has no posts or has poorly-created content, you still won't get any new followers or engagement. That would truly be a waste because social media ads can be laser-targeted to get your business in front of the exact audience you want to attract. Check out our blogs about social media advertising for more details and stay tuned for additional blogs on the topic!

There Are Digital Platforms For Every Business

There are so many digital platforms to post your business, products, or services on. No matter what industry you're part of, there's almost certainly a platform specifically for you. There are hospitality sites, auto sites, housing sites, crafting sites…. You get the picture. Here, take a look:

• Facebook: One of the most popular social media sites, especially for businesses. This platform is great for just about any business, so long as you don't plan to advertise and prohibited products and services.

• Instagram: Another one of the "Big Three" platforms. Instagram is owned by Facebook and follows the same guidelines, but it performs very differently. Instagram is best-suited for highly visual businesses. Photography, arts and crafts, fashion, beauty, health, etc. all thrive on Instagram, whereas other industries are not well-received at all. Since Instagram focuses on photos and videos, it makes sense that aesthetically-pleasing accounts perform well.

• Twitter: Twitter rounds out the top three platforms, but it may not be great for your business. Twitter accounts that do well are highly active and tweet in real-time. This is not very easy to keep up with as a business unless you have an employee dedicated to it. Twitter is also not a great platform for getting people to make purchases because they are there for news, memes, humor, and conversation.

• Pinterest: Pinterest is super underrated in our opinion. It's not just for girls and crafts. While there are definitely industries that make a lot more sense on Pinterest than others, you'd be surprised at how many viewers you can get per month on a business profile. And, great news, Pinterest is one of the best places to run social media ads because 83% of users have made a purchase through the site! Learn more about Pinterest in our blog: https://bsyl.ink/is-pinterest-right-for-your-business.

• Houzz: Houzz is the place to be for any business related to home improvement, development, or decor. Users can shop for home-related items, get inspired by photos, and search for professionals in their area.

• TripAdvisor: If you're in the hospitality business, TripAdvisor is for you! Users can compare prices, see what's nearby, and plan their perfect trip. TripAdvisor is also great for entertainment/attraction businesses because users can search for those categories too!

• Yelp: We can't forget Yelp! This site is dominated by dining, hospitality, and general services. Peer reviews are extremely important to consumers, so you want to have good reviews on Yelp. When the inevitable bad review comes in, you want to be active on the site to rectify the situation and show other customers that you listen to criticism and act on it.

There are literally hundreds of other sites you can post on, but these are some of the most common!

Create Accounts that Get Attention

Here are the basic steps and things to remember when creating social media accounts.

1. Choose a Username/Handle that is as close to your business's name as possible
2. Use your logo as your profile image
3. Use the cover photo/video to show customers what value you offer them
4. Connect your accounts to a business email and phone number
5. Invite people to like your new page
6. Fill out as much "About Info" as possible so users can learn what you're about
7. Include a link to your website!
8. Post regularly and consistently
9. Keep your Bio short, sweet, and to the point
10. Make sure the page clearly reflects your business

So How Can You Get Started?

Navigating the world of digital marketing can be extremely difficult if it's your first time. If you're feeling overwhelmed, consider investing in managed social media! Managed social media is maintained by an outside party such as an agency (hint hint BusySeed) so that you don't need to worry about it. Our team has created hundreds of accounts from the ground up on countless digital marketing platforms. We're kind of pros at managed social media. Hiring an agency to do the heavy lifting is a great way to make sure your branding is on point and that your social media ads are targeting people who benefit you the most. Having managed social media will save you a lot of headaches, especially when first starting your accounts. We make sure your accounts are inviting, unique, and memorable so that you'll see thousands of new followers in just a few months! Call us at (888) 353-1484 to get started with managed social media and professionally-created social media advertising.