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The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media How to use the power of social media marketing to connect with customers and promote your small business.
1The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
The Beginner’s Guide to Social MediaHow to use the power of social media marketing to connect with customers and promote your small business.
1The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
Table of Contents 02 What is Social Media Marketing?
04 Setting Social Media Goals
06 Selecting the Right Platforms
08 How to Use Facebook
12 How to Use Instagram
15 How to Use Twitter
18 How to Use LinkedIn
21 What to Post on Social Media
24 Engaging with Your Followers
27 Social Media Advertising
2The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
What is Social Media Marketing?
Simple and affordable strategies to build a following and boost sales for your small business.
3The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
What is Social Media Marketing?Social media marketing takes place when a business uses
a digital marketing strategy to engage with customers and
create awareness about their brand. This is accomplished
by posting content on popular online platforms such as
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
It’s good for business Social media is important for the success of your business
because it creates a direct link to your current and potential
customers. With the right strategy in place, it allows you to:
— Broaden your customer reach— Make it easy for people to find your business— Build brand ambassadors— Address and respond to problems— Locate and recruit top talent— Interact with existing and potential customers
If your current experience with social media is limited to
sharing vacation photos or sending birthday wishes, then
it’s time to get your business on board. Social media is an
easy and affordable way to build a community of followers,
communicate directly with your customers, and increase
brand exposure.
What is Social Media Marketing?
68% of all U.S. adults use Facebook Pew Research Center
You’ve Got This! Remember that social media is all about
engaging with your audience. You should have
a two-way conversation with customers about
their interests. Think of it like talking with
friends over a cup of coffee.
Is it personal or business?There’s a good chance you’re already using social media to
interact with friends and family members. If that’s the case,
you’re certainly not alone. A whopping 68% of U.S. adults
use Facebook.
While it’s helpful to be familiar with the various platforms
from a personal standpoint, keep in mind that using social
media for business is different. It’s an opportunity to engage
with current and potential customers and build your
brand online.
For the most part, your personal life and your business life
shouldn’t mix on social media. Take an approach that’s
more professional and easier to manage: Establish separate
company profiles for your business.
4The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
Setting Social Media Goals
The only way to measure social media success is to first decide what you’re trying to achieve.
5The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
Start with a plan Another Manta survey found that small business owners are
evenly split on their willingness to spend money on social
media marketing. But even among those who make the
financial commitment, nearly 60% believe they do not get a
return on their investment.
Turns out, it’s hard to measure a return if you don’t have a
strategy in place.
— What do you hope to achieve? — What do you want social media to do for
your business? — How do you define success?
The answers to these questions will set the stage for
your strategy.
To be successful, your social media efforts must be
strategically planned and feature consistent engagement
with your audience. Ideally, you want people to get so
excited about your brand that they’ll share it with others.
Start your social strategy by updating your business page on EVERY social media site with one click. Manta makes it easy!
Fix My Social Listings
Setting Social Media Goals
Setting Social Media Goals Setting expectations for your social media marketing
strategy is a twofold process:
1. Identify the audience you’re trying to reach.2. Establish some clear business goals.
Think about what you’re trying to accomplish. Most likely,
you want prospective customers to do one or more of
the following:
— Visit your website— Pick up the phone and call your business— Purchase your product or service
Because it can be difficult to measure the return on
your social media efforts, many small business owners
get discouraged or give up. They overlook the long-term
benefits of building an online community of customers.
What do you hope to gain from your social media marketing?The number-one reason small business owners invest
in social media marketing is to build awareness for their
business, according to a Manta poll, with 68% listing it as
a goal. Almost as important, 65% of business owners want
to drive traffic to their company website and 61% want to
generate sales leads on social media. Only 43% of survey
respondents use social media to get customer feedback.
68% of small business owners use social media to build awareness Manta poll
6The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
Selecting the Right Platforms
Meet your customers where they are. Start with the social sites they’re already using.
7The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
Selecting the Right Platforms
Although it may be tempting to establish a presence on
every social channel, you should be selective about where
you spend your time and money. It’s easier to develop an
effective strategy if you focus your efforts on one or
two platforms.
For most small businesses, the obvious first choice is
Facebook, mainly because it has so many adult users —
likely including your customers. Depending on the nature of
your business, you may also want to use Instagram, which is
more visually-oriented and reaches a passionate audience
of young adults. Together, they form a strong approach to
reaching your goals.
The other two most popular social media platforms are
Twitter and LinkedIn. Like the first two, they tend to have
fairly defined audiences. To determine which platform is
84% of small business owners manage their social media accounts themselves Manta poll
How do you know which sites your business should be on? Let Manta help you master social media.
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right for your business, first think about the type of business
you own and who you’re trying to reach.
Finding your match
Some social channels are more suited to certain types of
business than others. Pay attention to the demographics of
the various platforms. You want to be where your customers
are. It also helps to start with a social platform you’re
comfortable with. Get to know the platform and how people
navigate it — before engaging with a larger audience.
8The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
How to Use Facebook
With nearly 2 billion users, Facebook is the most important and most powerful social network.
9The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
How to Use Facebook
Facebook is the most popular social media platform,
boasting the greatest number of users and the most evenly
distributed audience across all ages. No other social media
platform comes close to offering this much exposure.
Although Facebook reaches everyone from teens to baby
boomers, its largest user demographic includes people
between the ages of 25 and 34. That’s good news for your
Number of users
Largest demographic
Best type of content
How often to post
When to post
1.9 billion
Women ages 25-34
Short posts with photos; posts that ask a question
1 to 3 posts daily
Although most traffic occurs in the middle of the week between 1
and 3 p.m., engagement is highest on Thursdays and Fridays.
Just the Facts!
You’ve Got This! Add a profile photo and cover photo that are related to your business. If you’re a
flower shop, for example, you might want to feature a colorful photo of a wedding
bouquet as your cover photo. Your logo will make a great profile photo.
business, since this age group is the prime target for
most marketers.
At one time, Facebook users could reach a large audience
organically, but that is no longer the case. Today, business
owners who want to reach more people need to create a
budget for paid posts and ads.
10The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
22% of small business owners publish a new Facebook post at least once every day Manta poll
Worried about what to post on social media? Don’t stress! Let Manta help manage your social strategy.
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How to set up your Facebook Business Page
Setting up a Facebook page for your business is easy, and it’s free.
Just follow these steps to get started:
1. Go to facebook.com/business. 2. Click “Create a Page.”3. Select the type of business you own from the list of options provided.
4. Choose a business category from the list of options.
5. Follow the prompts in the “About” section to add your business name,
address, phone and a short description of your business. This will
help search engines find you. You should also include the URL for your
company’s website.
6. Follow the prompts to add a profile photo.
7. Answer the questions about your audience so Facebook can make it
easier for potential customers to find your page.
8. Add a call-to-action button that takes prospects to your website or
makes it easy for them to call you.
9. Review your settings by clicking the button located at the top right
corner of your page. This is where you can control everything from page
visibility to banned words and more.
11The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
Top 3 tips for using a Facebook page
— Share a mix of written and visual content that appeals to your audience. Feature relevant tips
and advice, other Facebook posts, and posts from
your blog and other websites. Don’t forget to
also share captivating photos and videos that
relate to your brand, as well as photos of your
team members.
— Engage with other businesses that offer
complementary services. Remember the
flower shop that specializes in beautiful wedding
bouquets? They may want to engage with local
You’ve Got This! Too busy to post updates on Facebook every day? Instead of interrupting your day,
set aside a convenient time to gather photos and create content for many posts in
batches. Then it will be ready when you need it.
wedding venues, the local bakery, and the
stationery shop that prints invitations.
— Experiment with posting times and frequency. There is no magic formula for when and how
often to post on Facebook. It varies based on your
audience and the type of business you own. Do
people engage during their morning cup of coffee?
Are three posts a day too much? You may need to
experiment to find out.
12The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
How to Use Instagram
Popular with young adults, the photo-sharing app boasts 700 million monthly active users.
13The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
How to Use Instagram
Instagram is especially suitable for image-friendly
businesses that cater to a younger audience. Because the
platform is highly visual, it’s a great way to share photos
and videos. And when followers share photos of your
business, you can interact with those as well.
The trouble is, most small business owners have little or no
experience with Instagram, which means the intimidation
factor for using the app is still relatively high. Keep in mind
that Instagram is easy to use — even when it comes to
Number of users
Largest demographic
Best type of content
How often to post
When to post
700 million
Ages 18-29
Photos and videos
At least once a day
Interest peaks during the lunch hour and in the evening.
Just the Facts!
You’ve Got This! If you want Instagram users to pay attention, you need to post stellar photos
and videos. Greater engagement increases the likelihood that your posts will
be seen in your followers’ feed.
advertising and promoting posts. And since relatively few
businesses are currently using the platform, it’s an ideal
time to get on board.
39%of small business owners don’t know how to use Instagram, the top reason they’re not on the platformManta poll
14The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
How to set up an Instagram for Business page
Download the free Instagram app from the iTunes app store
or Google Play. You will need a Facebook business profile
before you can set up your Instagram for Business page.
That’s because Facebook owns Instagram, and the business
accounts and advertising capabilities on the two platforms
are integrated.
The app will walk you through the steps to create a basic
account. Once that’s complete, follow these steps to
upgrade to an Instagram for Business account:
1. Tap the gear icon at the top right corner of your
profile page.
2. From the list of options, tap the “Switch to Business Profile” button.
3. Tap “Continue.” You will then be prompted
to connect your Instagram account to your
Facebook account.
4. The business information on your Facebook page
will be imported to your Instagram account.
5. Tape “Done” to save your new Instagram for
Business profile.
Top 3 tips for using Instagram for Business
— Post engaging visuals. If you sell a product,
start by posting photos of the finished product
or in-progress videos of the product as you’re
making it. Are you a contractor or landscaper?
Before-and-after project photos, along with
photos of satisfied customers, tell the story. If
your business is more event-driven, share photos
and videos that show folks what it’s like to be
there.
— Check out the influencers in your industry. If you’re not sure what to post, watch your
competition and the leaders in your industry.
You can learn plenty just by observing the
frequency and timing of their posts and how
they engage with followers. — Make it easy for prospects to learn more
about your business. Add directions to your
location, along with contact and email buttons,
to your Instagram for Business profile.
15The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
How to Use Twitter
Twitter is the go-to platform for breaking news, politics, and anything happening in real time.
16The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
What is Social Media Marketing?
How to Use Twitter
Twitter, which uses a 140-character, micro-blog format,
is popular with members of the media, politicians,
entertainers, business leaders and people who want to
know what’s going on in the world. While Twitter is a great
place to build relationships with influencers, it can also
be an effective tool for communicating with current and
potential customers.
Number of users
Largest demographic
Best type of content
How often to post
When to post
319 million
Teens
Short messages (the limit is 140 characters) with images
4 to 5 tweets per day
Throughout the day and evening, peaking
between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Just the Facts!
Demographically speaking, a third of American teens use
Twitter, with teen girls living in urban areas forming the
largest audience. Moms with kids under 18 follow close
behind. And since 82% of active Twitter users access the
service via a mobile device, the content you share should be
optimized for mobile viewing.
17The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
How to create a Twitter account
It only takes a few minutes to set up your Twitter account:
1. Go to twitter.com/signup.
2. Enter your name, phone number and password.
3. Click “Sign up for Twitter.”4. You will receive an SMS text message with a code; enter
the verification code in the
box provided.
5. Select a username (Twitter handle); it must be fewer
than 15 characters, and it should be as close to the
name of your business as possible. If your business
name is already taken, simply add your state or city
abbreviation to the end of the name. (victorybagels or
victorybagelsNY)
6. Click “Create my account.”
Once your account is up and running, you can:
— Write your Twitter bio. You have 160 characters to tell
folks what your business is about. Use hashtags in your bio
and a link to your website or blog.
— Upload your Twitter profile picture. Use an image that
represents your business, such as your logo, location or
staff.
— Upload your Twitter banner image. This is another
opportunity to showcase your business, so use an eye-
catching photo that reflects what your business is about.
You’ve Got This! Twitter lists are a great strategy for gaining followers. Simply create a list, give it
a title, and then add people to the list. Users are notified when you add them, so
there’s a good chance they will follow you.
18The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
How to Use LinkedIn
Often seen as the platform for professionals, LinkedIn is great for business-to-business networking.
19The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
How to Use LinkedIn
From consultants to CEOs, professionals of all kinds use
LinkedIn to showcase their work, find employment and stay
current on their industry. A LinkedIn company page allows
you to promote your products and services to current
Number of users
Largest demographic
Best type of content
How often to post
When to post
460 million
Higher-income professionals, typically 35 years and older
News and analysis about your industry
Once a day
Monday through Friday, peaking Tuesday through
Thursday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Just the Facts!
and potential customers. You can also use it to recruit
employees and promote your expertise by sharing updates
about your industry.
20The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
How to set up your LinkedIn company page
1. Go to linkedin.com.2. Click “Companies” and then “Add a
company.”3. Enter your company name and company
email address.4. Sign in using your personal LinkedIn username
and password.
5. Fill out the company page overview information.
6. Update your image and logo.
7. Input a description of your company.
8. Click “Publish” to save the changes.
Once your company page is established, you can start
sharing posts, photos and articles about your industry, or
any content that might interest your existing and potential
customers and colleagues in your field. To grow your
followers, you should commit to publishing some type of
content, such as blog posts about topics that are pertinent
to your industry and followers.
You’ve Got This! If you have employees, encourage them to add your company page to their personal
LinkedIn profile. This makes them a follower of your page, which helps to expand
your reach.
21The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
What to Post on Social Media
Your social media content should always be relevant to the audience you’re trying to reach.
22The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
What to Post on Social Media
Before posting anything on a social site, identify your
audience and their interests. Unlike other marketing
channels, social media isn’t just about talking to customers
and promoting your business — it’s just as important to
listen to customers and respond to them.
Like any discussion, you won’t get very far if your followers
aren’t interested in the conversation. What do your
customers and potential customers care about? What
problems are they attempting to solve? And why would
they purchase a product or service from you? The answers
What is Social Media Marketing?
to these questions can help form the basis for creating and
sharing relevant content on social media sites.
You need content
Some content is more suitable for certain social platforms
than others. If you decide to share the same content on
different platforms, you will need to tweak it accordingly.
Pay attention to which posts perform well and which ones
don’t engage your audience. This will help you determine
what you should post moving forward.
You’ve Got This! If you want to drive customers to your website, write a compelling blog post. Then
share your website link on social media, along with a few words that encourage
followers to click on the link to learn more.
23The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
Is your business info correct on social media sites? Find out with a FREE Marketing Report from Manta.
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49% of small business owners spend more than 3 hours every week on social media marketingManta poll
Here are some ideas to get you started:
— Offers, discounts and giveaways— Before-and-after project photos and videos — Posts about what’s happening in the community— Information about upcoming events— Blog posts from your website— Informative articles from news sites — Behind-the-scenes videos of your team at work— How-to videos and advice
What are hashtags?
Hashtags are words or phrases that are preceded by the
number or pound sign (#). They allow social media users to
categorize and search for posts related to a particular topic,
making it possible for you to connect with new users who
share an interest related to your business. For example,
if you’re a builder or remodeler, you may want to use the
hashtag #KitchenRemodel; if you’re a landscaper, you could
use the hashtag #PatioMakeover. Any users (and potential
customers) searching for those hashtags would then find
your posts.
24The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
Engaging With Your Followers
Successful engagement goes beyond talking to customers. You must be a good listener as well.
25The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
Engaging With Your Followers
While you may be inclined to focus all your efforts on what
to post, you must also learn how to be a good listener.
Start by paying attention to what’s happening on the social
network. What are your customers posting? Are some of
your posts performing better than others? If your followers
aren’t responding, it could mean that your posts aren’t
entertaining or informative, in which case it’s time to try
something else.
Think of social media as an easy way to get free market
research. You can find out what your
customers like and don’t like about your business. You can
also see what your competitors are up to and how they
engage with social followers. If you’re not listening, you’ll
miss out on this valuable source of information.
Do you have time to connect with customers on social media? Let Manta help … so you can get back to business.
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51%of small business owners rely on social media as their top marketing tactic—Manta poll
26The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
— Over-share. No one wants a newsfeed that’s
cluttered with multiple posts about the same
topic.
— Post too frequently. With the possible exception
of Twitter, too much posting could annoy your
audience.
— Post a bad link. When sharing a link, make sure
it works, the source is credible, and the content is
timely and relevant.
— Say anything you’ll regret. If you don’t want
customers to see it, then don’t share it. The
internet is a public forum.
— Argue or talk about controversial subjects. It’s
best to avoid any topic that might offend your
audience.
— Engage with your audience rather than trying to sell. It’s OK to communicate information
about your product or service, but make sure
the majority of your content is informative and
entertaining.
— Check for spelling and grammar errors. Your
credibility depends on it.
— Tag with caution. Ask for permission before you
tag someone in a photo. Some people may view it
as an invasion of their privacy.
— Complete your profiles. A profile that’s missing
key information or a photo sends a message of
unprofessionalism.
— Reply to all comments and messages. If you
want to engage with customers, it’s important to
hold up your end of the conversation.
The Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media Etiquette
When using social media, remember to practice some commonsense rules of etiquette, much like you
would in any conversation.
DO:DON’T:
You’ve Got This! Mistakes happen. When they do, acknowledge the mistake and apologize—but don’t
dwell on the mishap.
27The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
Social Media Advertising
Social media isn’t free, but you can make a big impact with a small advertising budget.
28The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
— Establish a budget You can spend as little or as much as you want. But
determining what to spend depends on the size of
your audience and your goals and objectives. As a
small business owner, a budget of $50 to $100 for
your first campaign is realistic. Some people achieve
results with much less. Start small, learn as you go,
and be prepared to adjust your budget accordingly.
You’ve Got This! When using paid advertising on any social media platform,
be prepared to alter your course as needed. Keep your
budget small until you know what works.
— Pay to play The types of advertising vary based on the social
platform you’re using, but they all share some
common characteristics. Perhaps the defining
characteristic is that you can specify your objectives
and target your audience. In fact, you can even
hyper-target your audience based on demographics,
location and interests. Surprised? You shouldn’t be.
Remember that Facebook has been collecting data
on its users since 2004.
Social Media Advertising
While it’s true that you can set up your social media accounts and post for free, your
organic efforts won’t reach many people. The truth is, it’s nearly impossible to build
a following on any social platform without paying to play. That means you need to
budget for social media advertising and promoted posts.
Today, most people are using social media, so the space is more crowded than ever.
And with more users and businesses sharing content, it’s harder to consume it all. So
why bother? The answer is simple: Your customers and your competitors are on social
media, so you can’t afford to ignore it.
29The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
— Select your objectives Every social platform is set up to walk you through
the steps for initiating your ad campaign. From
promoting your website to getting more followers
for your social page, this user-friendly approach
makes it easy to select your objective.
— Target your audience Think about the customer you want to reach, and
then target your audience based on everything
from geography to gender, lifestyle, education,
relationship status and more. You can also upload
an email list and target the people on the list. And
you can even create a look-alike list of people whose
characteristics are similar to those on your email list
— a great way to identify prospects who are similar
to your current customers.
— Measure your results To measure your results, monitor the performance
of your ads closely, check your metrics daily, and
adhere to a specified timeframe. Identifying what
works and what doesn’t work is important because
it allows you to make the necessary adjustments
moving forward.
What do customers find when they search social media for your business? Find out NOW with a free Marketing Report from Manta.
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38% of small business owners invest in promoted posts or social advertising Manta poll
30The Beginner’s Guide to Social Media
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