Your small business needs social media. In this day and age, social media marketing for small business is more than just posting videos or connecting with others—it’s a powerful tool for growth. People use social media like a search engine, looking for answers to their questions and discovering local businesses. Having an active social media presence is essential to boosting your online visibility and helping potential customers find you in your area.
But you don’t have to struggle to figure it all out. We’re here to help with 10 easy-to-follow tips for a winning social media marketing strategy for small businesses.
1. Set Clear Goals
Your goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This means that you should sit down and set a few goals within these parameters, really thinking about what’s achievable for you in the near future.
Some common social media goals include posting frequency, engagement, gaining more followers, or increasing likes and comments. You may not know how to do any of that yet, but read on.
2. Know Your Audience
Take some time to research your audience. You probably already know who your ideal buyer is; if you don’t, take some time to create “buyer personas” for your social media. A buyer persona is a fictional person who represents your ideal buyer. You know their approximate age, where they live, their income level, gender, education level, what they value, and maybe what sort of hobbies they have.
To find your buyer persona, conduct some research. Since you are a local business, start by searching for the average incomes of people in your area or the average age range of homeowners. This will help you start to build that buyer persona.
Once you have a buyer persona, it’s time to find out what social media platforms they use. Different social media platforms cater to different age groups. If you are targeting elder Millennials and Gen X, you don’t want to be using TikTok—you want to use Instagram. If you are targeting Baby Boomers, you want to use Facebook and not YouTube. Once you know the platforms, you know where to create an account.
3. Choose the Right Platforms
Choosing the right platform isn’t just about knowing your buyer persona; it’s also about knowing what type of content you’re capable of creating and how often. If you don’t want to use video, YouTube won’t fit your content needs. But, if you have a lot of great photos, Instagram may be a great fit for you.
Here’s an overview of the main social media platforms and what content works:
- YouTube: Long- and short-form videos and podcasts
- Instagram: Photos with engaging captions and short-form videos
- Facebook: Posts, photos, and short-form videos
- X (Twitter): Posts and photos
- TikTok: Short-form videos
Match the strengths of the platform with your business type and audience by assessing where your content style fits best.
4. Create a Content Strategy
A content strategy is the content (photos, posts, and videos) you’ll be posting on social media. You begin by deciding what type of content you’re posting—blogs, stories, reels, live streams? The sky is the limit!
Once you know what you’ll be posting, create a content calendar so you’ll know which days to post and what to post. It’s a good idea to create a calendar once every quarter so you can keep track of things.
Planning your posts requires a little bit of work, but it’s worth the effort to stay on top of posting. One of the best practices is to post a good balance of promotional and engaging content. Eighty percent of your content should invite engagement, and only 20% should promote your business.
Learn more from LocaliQ: 6 Smart Social Media Strategies to Try in 2025
5. Engage!
Don’t just post and forget it. That won’t do anything for you on a social platform. You need to read comments, respond to them, and read and respond to messages. The more you engage, the more your audience will engage. Most social platforms reward engagement in some way. It may be by pushing you higher up the algorithm or making your posts more visible.
6. Consider Paid Advertising
Social media ads can be daunting at first. However, they are worth it for some small businesses, especially if you have found the right platform for your buyers. Almost every platform allows you to post ads or promote posts to a wider audience for a fee, and you can set your own budget.
If you decide to use paid ads, set a small budget at first and see how things perform. It’s really important to track your ad performance to see where you can improve in the future.
7. Track Performance
Whether you put out a paid ad on social media, or are growing your audience organically, you need to have KPIs—key performance indicators. KPIs usually include likes, engagements, visibility, clicks, and sometimes even sales. When you create an ad, think of what KPIs are relevant for you. As a small business, your KPIs may revolve around click-through rates (CTRs), which bring people to your website, appointments set, or calls made.
Once you have KPIs set, you can use the tools provided to track your ad and its performance. If something isn’t working, don’t worry! Look at what didn’t work and figure out how to improve it for better results.
8. Check the Trends
If you’re a local business, you may think trends don’t apply, right? Not exactly. Social media trends aren’t just about the latest dance videos. Trends also include algorithm changes, new features, and how people post and behave on the platform.
You probably won’t do well keeping up with the latest dance craze, but you’d do well to keep up with features, posting behavior, and any algorithm changes. All of that helps you learn how to make changes to your social media strategy in the future.
9. Use Location as a Strength
As a local business, it’s good to show your community you’re right there with them. Follow other local businesses and engage with them. Comment on their posts, like their pictures, and let them know you’re supporting other local spaces. This will make you more visible and show your community that you’re a part of it.
Hint: Another way to be local is to set up and optimize a Google Business Profile. You can learn more about that in our Business Resource Center: How to Set Up and Optimize a Google Business Profile.
10. Be Patient and Consistent
Social media success doesn’t look like it used to. There is no overnight fix, and there is no quick way to go viral. Instead, it’s important to keep at it, keep posting, and keep going. You may not get half a million followers, but you will find the right local followers who pay attention to you if you stick with it.
Stick to your content calendar, post when you should be posting, don’t forget to engage with your audience, and engage with other local businesses.
Building a strong social media marketing strategy for your small business takes time, consistency, and the right approach. By setting clear goals, choosing the best platforms, and engaging with your audience, you can turn social media into a powerful tool for growth. Remember, success isn’t about going viral—it’s about building a loyal, local following that trusts your brand. Stay patient, track your progress, and keep refining your strategy. With the right effort, social media can become one of your most valuable business assets. Now, it’s time to take action and start growing your online presence!
