If you are a small business owner you are probably the wearer of all hats, including your social media presence. Using social media to grow your business, build your brand and find new customers can seem overwhelming. There are things you can do to make your efforts easier and more successful!

Whether you’re just getting started, or are the master of all things social, these tips (or reminders for the experts) will get you going in the right direction.

Create a plan – determine which social network makes sense for your business. You don’t need to be on every channel, pick a couple and be really good at them!

Post consistently – tweeting once every three days or throwing up a Facebook post once a week is not a social media strategy. You are better of to do nothing than do it as an afterthought.  Develop a schedule and stick to it.

Be selective about your content – is it entertaining, educational or informative? Is it relevant to your business and your audience? If not skip it. 

Use Videos and Images – we are a visual world, these posts work. Statistics show time and time again that posts with images and/or video create more engagement than posts without. 

Interact with your followers – respond to comments, questions both good and bad. Let your audience know you really are there, this will bring them back!

Check your stats – Analyze your results to measure if what you are doing is working. Reach and engagement for Facebook, visits and mentions on Twitter, views Google+, engagement and impressions on Pinterest and likes, comments and mentions on Instagram are just a few to keep up with.

Keep up with your competition – follow your competition, what are they doing, when are they posting and what are they posting. Don’t copy them, just be aware.

Keywords & Hashtags – use keywords and hashtags in your posts, help the people searching find you! 

What is your favorite social media strategy?