With over 4.9 billion social media users spending an average of 150+ minutes online daily, social media plays a vital role in small business development. Some entrepreneurs wait to build their new business’s online presence until they’re already up and running. However, those who build it before launching their product or service often reap significant benefits.
Here are five ways to leverage social media during the prelaunch phase to ensure your business is successful once you open your virtual or physical doors.
[Read more: How a Mother-Daughter Startup Leveraged Social Media for Success]
Establish social media goals
What you share and how you represent your business online is crucial to developing your brand and ensuring its long-term success in your market.
To successfully leverage social media, define the specific goals you hope to achieve for your business. These may include gaining a certain number of followers, increasing your revenue, boosting your brand visibility, or driving more traffic to your website. Prioritizing these goals gives your business something to focus on, drives your social media strategy, and provides measurable benchmarks to strive for.
Generate buzz
By establishing a social media presence before launch, small businesses can secure their preferred handles, define their message, and begin interacting with their target audience. The social buzz you generate ensures people know who you are and what you do before you officially launch, which builds trust with consumers and positions you as a contender in your desired market.
To generate buzz, Lindzi Shanks, Co-Founder of XO Marshmallow, recommends sharing behind-the-scenes content as you develop your brand. This helps to captivate your audience while adding personality to your business and highlighting its uniqueness.
“Show the creation process,” Shanks said. “What's your inspiration? Interviews with the founders? Setting up your space? There is so much you can do!”
[Read more: Simple Ways to Build Buzz Around Your Small Business]
Planning is what allows social media to be manageable and not [overtake] your life.
Lauren Lauterbach, Co-Founder of Moon & Stone
Follow a content calendar
While a social media presence is essential for small businesses, you shouldn’t share random content for the sake of posting. Instead, use a content calendar to strategically plan your upcoming posts and effectively engage with your target audience.
A content calendar provides an organized overview of past posts and helps to draft and schedule future posts and campaigns. Following a content calendar allows you to align your posts with important dates, such as holidays or company milestones. It ensures your strategy offers the right balance of educational, valuable, and entertaining content.
“Your social media strategy should follow the 5-3-1 ratio rule,” recommended Emily Balfour, Vice President of Technology Solutions at York Solutions. “Five posts that educate, three posts that engage your audience, [and] one post that promotes your product or service.”
Create a long-term strategy
You’ve gathered a following and are generating buzz in your market — now what? To maintain that initial momentum and keep it growing, Lauren Lauterbach, Co-Founder of Moon & Stone crystal shop, emphasized the importance of following a complete strategy rather than “winging it.”
“[Identify] your target audience and [create] relatable content to go alongside it,” Lauterbach said. “What is your target audience experiencing right now? How can you help your customer base with their pain point in a relatable, easy-to-digest way?”
With a strategic plan, you can produce the right amount and type of content your audience wants to see, helping to maintain engagement without overburdening yourself or your team.
“Planning is what allows social media to be manageable and not [overtake] your life,” Lauterbach said. “Get personal. People become more attached to a brand when there is a personal connection behind it.”
[Read more: How to Build a Successful B2B Social Media Strategy]
Be consistent
When launching your small business on social media, post frequently and consistently and maintain the same tone and message across all platforms. Inconsistent messaging and sporadic posting schedules can make communicating effectively and developing trust with your audience challenging.
“Consistency is so important when… building a following and becoming a thought leader on social media,” said Bob Spoerl, Co-Founder and President of Bear Icebox Communications. “You can take a few breaks for vacation, but don’t expect to take off of … any channel you’re looking to accelerate growth in and expect to start where you left off. These platforms encourage and reward consistency.”
For more tips on building a strong social media strategy, check out our guide.
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