Since their inception, the internet and social media have become very intricate and integral parts of our existence. More so every day. And that does not stop at our personal lives – it carries over into business as well. Black business owners all over the globe have and will continue to employ social media as a means to grow their brand, engage their target audience and increase their customer base.
Business cards are obsolete. Flyers have been replaced with QR Codes as a marketing tool. This allows business owners, like you and me, to focus our limited time on the strategy and not the process. It’s going to take consistency and effective content to reach the over-5-billion-and-growing, online user base. There are some experts who contend that social media has replaced the traditional website, even exceeding its importance all together.
For the Black community, social media has always served a dual purpose: 1) Entertainment and 2) Getting to the Bag. From Instagram, to Facebook, to Tik Tok, to YouTube and Snapchat, in a matter of seconds the right content goes viral. That’s how akin we are on social media, as a Black community. Think I’m exaggerating? Go check out #BlackTwitter. These platforms have provided a free and relatively easy way for Black business owners to gain a competitive advantage, increase their audience, engage their following and tap into new opportunities. To get the most from social media, its best to stick to a few rules of thumb. Here are 5 FREE Social Media strategies every Black business owner needs to get familiar with by 2023 or get left behind.
Your Content Must Engage
Your job is to stop the scroll. People WANT to engage with the content they see to break up the monotony of scrolling through endless posts. You can only do that if your content is eye-catching and appealing while not salesy or inappropriate. Try to use various formats to provide information that your audience is already looking for.
Also try different styles of content. Motivate, educate, promote. Do a mix of these consistently. Then add in even more creative content like polls or questionnaires. This gives you the perfect opportunity to interact with your audience in one place on topics that they are interested in and commenting on.
Keep in mind, these are real human beings on the other side of your posts.
Clear Call to Action
If you are taking the time to engage your audience it’s important that, while you have their attention, you stop them from scrolling on. That’s called a CTA (Call to Action). It’s the action you want them to take after they have digested your content. If you have too many, or it’s not clear what you want them to do, they won’t do anything. Think about what you are trying to accomplish. Do you want them to join your email list? Watch a video? Visit your website? Buy a product/course/service?
Don’t Buy Your Clout
Buying followers, likes, views and reviews is not the way to go. If you are going to spend money, do so on a properly planned and executed paid promotion. Fake accounts are never going to buy from you and barely interact with you. Repeat after me: Do not buy your followers!
Timing is Everything
Get familiar with Meta Business Suite, a downloadable app, and use it to link your Instagram and Facebook accounts. The app will then help you schedule your posts to each platform at its own individual and optimal time. Genius, right? It’s also a great way to save yourself from having to remember to post every day, set aside the time, or figure out WHEN to post. Let the algorithm do it for you!
Human Capital is the Best Capital
Last but not least, make sure you are taking advantage of UGC (User Generated Content), which engages your audience even more. You can do so through contests, testimonials, case studies, live q&a sessions, webinars, blog posts and podcasts. So every time someone tags you, you’re adding that to your content feed as well, and they feel like a hero for helping their favorite/local business in the process.
Bonus: The most important free strategy I can give you is to have fun! Don’t let social media become an obligation or just another task on your to-do list. Let it be a driving force!
What are your favorite free strategies to drive people to your social media posts and hold them there? Share them with us in the comments.
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