Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses

As of today, there are over 1 billion active users on social media…which equates to endless opportunities for you to extend your business reach online and get your brand in front of more customers. From what I’ve noticed, figuring out which social network to use is the hardest part for most small business owners (myself included!).

The Top 7 Most Effective Social Media Marketing Networks for Small Business

Just recently, Social Media Examiner published its annual 2015 Social Media Marketing Industry Report that details what social media channels businesses are getting used the most for marketing. According to the report, the Top 7 Social Networks being used for business marketing are as follows:

Most Effective Networks for Business: Social Media Examiner Report 2015

1. Facebook
2. LinkedIn
3. Twitter
4. Youtube
5. Google Plus
6. Pinterest
7. Instagram

• Increased Exposure (I couldn’t agree more)
• Driving traffic to your blog/website
• Building a loyal fan base

If you are new to social media (in general), I am rounding up a great list of Beginner’s guides that you can use to get started with using social media marketing in your business. There are also tools that can help you manage your social media accounts. My advice for getting started is simply this: Pick one network, build up a fan base there, then move on to another one. It’s better to do an excellent job of managing a few social networks the right way…than poorly managing multiple networks.

Below, we will give you the best guides we have found for building a following on each of the top 7 networks.

1. Facebook

• How to Create a Facebook Business Page in 5 Simple Steps (Hubspot)
• Facebook Marketing Plan: How to Grow Your Business With Facebook (Social Media Examiner)
• 11 Ways to Boost Facebook Engagement for Small Businesses (Social Media Examiner)

2. LinkedIn(My personal fav)

• How to Create a LinkedIn Company Page to Promote Your Business (Social Media Examiner)
• Top 5 Ways to Market Your Business With LinkedIn (Social Media Examiner)

3. Twitter

• How to Setup a Twitter Business Account in 3 Easy Steps (Hubspot)
• How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business (Copyblogger)

4. Youtube

• How to Upload a Video to YouTube from Start to Finish (Constant Contact Blog)
• How You Can Use How-To Videos for Your Small Business (i7Marketing)

5. Google Plus

• Google Plus for Business – How to Create a Google Plus Page (Hootsuite Blog)
• 5 Tips for Using Google+ to Boost Your Marketing (Social Media Examiner).

6. Pinterest

• Pinterest Business Accounts: The Definitive Guide to Getting Started (Social Media Examiner)
• How To Use Pinterest For Small Business (Forbes)

7. Instagram

• 5 Quick Steps for Getting Your Small Business Started on Instagram (Go Digital Marketing)
• 26 Tips for Using Instagram for Business (Social Media Examiner)
• 15 Powerful Strategies To Get More E-commerce Traffic From Pinterest Right Now  (MyEcomClub)

And there you have it! I’m hoping that this roundup of guides will get you started with using social media in your business. Cheers!