Ruby McKenzie
Social media posting is a cornerstone of online marketing for businesses small and large alike. If you run a mom-and-pop shop, you might think that social media posting isn’t worthwhile or is a bit too far out of your wheelhouse.
But that’s not true! In fact, there are lots of smart social media posting strategies you can leverage to bring people to your shop each day and keep it profitable, even if you’re competing against big corporations. Let’s break down those strategies one by one.
Post at the Same Time Each Day
The number one rule to effective social media posting is consistency. To make sure your social media posting brings people to your mom-and-pop shop, you need to post at the same time each day or each week.
For the best results, try to post at least once per day around the same time. This is beneficial since it:
- Builds consistency with your viewers and customers
- Rewards you since the Google and Facebook algorithms focus on consistency and will rank you more highly for relevant search results
By posting at the same time each day, your biggest fans can always expect new content for you on social media and will eagerly await it. Plus, newcomers to your store may find you more easily thanks to the above-mentioned search engine results boosts from Facebook, Google, and other social media platforms.
Interact with Commenters
One of the biggest advantages you have in your corner as a small business is interactivity. You don’t have so many customers that there’s no feasible way for you to chat with them all. If you run a mom-and-pop store, you can often chat with them!
If someone comments on a social media post, respond! Say thanks, strike up a conversation, or try to alleviate their concern depending on the comment’s content. The more you interact with your commenters, the more down-to-earth and relatable you’ll seem. This is a huge difference between your small mom-and-pop store and bigger corporations or chain stores.
Sales/Holiday Social Media Posters
Your social media profiles are also perfect opportunities to put up stellar digital posters. Digital posters are fantastic for advertising current or upcoming sales or big holiday events, like your Black Friday offers.
Not sure how to make attractive social media posters? Good news: you can design engaging social media posts with the right tools and templates from PosterMyWall. With these intuitive tools, you can whip up excellent online posters that attract your target audience and bring them to your store on the most important days of the year.
Be sure to include some engaging graphics, stylish fonts, and the address of your store so people can find it easily. As a mom-and-pop store, don’t hesitate to reference local events or things that set you apart from the competition. Remember, to market successfully as a small business, you have to distinguish yourself from the bigger fish in the economic sea!
Pics, Pics, Pics
Certain platforms, such as Instagram, are almost exclusively visually focused. You should lean into this. Decide which person on your small staff has the best eye for photography, then have them snap tons of pictures of your products, food, and charming location.
Post those pictures on Instagram and other social media platforms. These are the best ways to bring tourists from out of town to your shop; they’ll see the engaging photos on your Instagram and want to swing by to take a look.
But pictures can also bring locals to your store again and again. The better your pictures are, the more traffic they may generate. Plus, you can share those pictures on other social media platforms like Facebook.
Target Your Social Media Ads
Lastly, don’t be afraid to go local if you post ads on social media platforms like Facebook. Social media digital ads are great tools, especially for bringing new local folks to your store. But they will only be maximally effective if you target people in your local area.
For example, you can use tools on Facebook’s ad platform to exclusively show your ads to people within driving distance of your store. Or you can use localized keywords to make sure they show up for the right people, such as “BLANK store in [town, state]”. Either way, the more targeted you get with your social media advertising, the more likely you are to bring people to your shop consistently.
Wrap Up
Ultimately, posting on social media with the right mindset and strategy can go a long way toward maximizing your marketing budget and bringing locals to your store all day long. The Internet and social media platforms have equalized the marketing competition for mom-and-pop shops just like yours, so take advantage of them!
