Making quality sales calls and meeting new people is something I enjoy. I love learning about people on a personal and professional level. Because of my basketball history and background, the conversation often turns to hoops . . . or in this case, buckets. Much has been made lately about Steph Curry and how his 3-point buckets are changing the NBA game.
Buckets are changing the social media game for small business owners, too. Want to use buckets to up your game? We’ve mapped out a strategy for you.
BUCKET 1 – CONTENT
We have all heard the adage that “Content is King.” Don’t underestimate how important a solid, consistent and relevant content strategy is to your overall social media plan. A well-thought online presence is a great equalizer, even the playing field between you and larger, more established businesses.
Consider these items for your content bucket:
- GRAPHICS – Potential customers get their first impression of your business upon their very first glance. Professional graphics that give you a consistent look and feel are critical.
- MOBILE STRATEGY – When people are doing an online search, the vast majority are doing it on a mobile device. Surveys show that it doesn’t matter if these potential customers are sitting in their homes with a computer beside them. They’re still doing their search on a tablet or smartphone.
- DIVERSITY IN CHANNELS – Each social channel represents a different market. It is important to look like a pro with content that is customized for each of those channels.
- ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES – There’s never been a better opportunity to utilize a satisfied customer. Business owners that get buckets have an easy way for satisfied customers to share their experience with friends on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. Smart business owners aren’t relying on one-to-one word-of-mouth anymore.
BUCKET 2 – AUDIENCE BUILDING
We can learn a lot from industry leaders. The biggest and best companies in the world will go to great lengths to get someone to follow their brand online. Smart companies know they have a good chance of doing business with someone who engages with them on a particular social channel.
Because social channels need to monetize their platform, the rules of growing an audience can seem to be a moving target. Even with a moving target, it is important to find ways to be productive. Bucket-getters take their stellar content and put a budget together to address the following:
- ADVERTISING – A targeted ad campaign that takes your quality content and helps you reach more of your core audience.
- BOOSTING – A paid strategy for helping your content be seen by more of your followers. This keeps you top of mind and establishes your business as a thought leader in the industry. When they have a need for your product or service, they think of you.
- CONTESTING – A great way to engage with people you are trying to reach, giving you a chance to capture their contact information for future engagement and follow-up.
It is surprising how many people within your core audience that you can reach on social media for only a few dollars a month. This strategy will help you increase the number of people who like, follow or connect with you on your social channels. Once they’ve connected with your business, potential customers are much more likely to convert to paying customers – at a much better ratio than one-and-done forms of advertising.
BUCKET 3 – SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION/ONLINE DIRECTORIES
For the companies at the top of the search engine results, success awaits. It may seem to the small business owner that it’s difficult to compete with the deep pockets of these leaders in each industry.
Just like any overmatched opponent, it is necessary to have a good game plan. Believe it or not, there are quality local SEO strategies that can be effective and cost efficient within your particular demographic. A creative approach to keywords helps. There’s more than one way for a business owner to get buckets when they can think outside the box with new technologies and content strategies. What isn’t a good strategy? Conceding SEO to others and not compete at all.
Another critical component for small business owners is making sure your business is listed with correct information on all online directories. This includes everything from Siri to major search engines to car navigation systems. There are more than 150 different ways that people can do a search for you. It is worth a lot of business for someone who makes sure they are represented correctly in these areas.
For fun, while writing this blog, I asked Siri to find me a mortgage loan officer in my hometown. I had 15 results come up with a grand total of three reviews. Many businesses have no social presence at all. Others have only one or two of the buckets above. I am sure there’s a similar opening in your area and in other industries too.
This is a HUGE opportunity for you to get BUCKETS! Let’s go!
