Social Media for Small Business – Why Have an Online Presence?

If you’re running a small business, being active on social media isn’t just an option anymore—it’s part of how you grow. Whether you’re trying to reach more customers, build a community, or simply get your name out there, having a presence on social media can make a real difference without draining your budget.

In this guide, we’ll break down why social media matters for small businesses, how to build a small business social media strategy, and how Metricool can help you manage it all in one place.

The Benefits of Social Media for Small Business

Social media puts your business in front of the right people. With over 84% of US adults using social media, your customers are already there. They are scrolling, searching, and discovering new brands every day.

Here’s what makes social media marketing worth it for small businesses:

• Targeted Marketing: You don’t need a middleman. Social platforms let you share your message, respond to questions, and interact with customers in real-time.
• Cost-Effective: Unlike traditional forms of advertising, social media platforms offer a range of free and low-cost tools. You can start building an online presence without spending a dime. And when you’re ready, even a small ad spend can go a long way.
• Amplify Brand Voice: Posting consistently helps shape how people see your business. Whether you’re friendly and casual or more professional, your tone and visuals show what your brand is all about.
• Engage with Customers: Businesses can build trust and rapport with their customers by responding to comments, questions, and messages, leading to increased customer satisfaction and retention.
• Build a Loyal Community: When people tag you in posts, leave comments, or share their experience with your products, they’re helping you build trust—and that’s the kind of marketing money can’t buy.
• Drive Conversions: From clicks to conversions, social media gives you tools to measure performance and get real results like purchases, sign-ups, or store visits.

How to Build a Small Business Social Media Marketing Strategy

Marketing a small business on social media works best when there’s a plan behind it. Without one, it’s easy to fall into the habit of posting whenever you remember or jumping on trends that don’t really match your brand. That kind of scattershot approach might bring short-term likes, but it rarely builds something sustainable.

Instead, your strategy for marketing your small business on social media should act like a roadmap, helping you stay focused and post with purpose. And, most importantly, it should help your audience connect with what you offer.

Here’s how to create a social media marketing strategy for a small business:

1. Define Your Goals

Before you start posting, get clear on what success looks like for your business. Are you trying to get more traffic to your website? Bring in new customers? Build a stronger relationship with the ones you already have?

Your goals should be realistic and tied to the bigger picture of your business. Broad goals like “grow my brand” are fine, but they won’t help you make decisions. You need something more specific, like:

• Grow your Instagram followers by 15% in six months
• Drive 200 clicks per month to your online store from social posts
• Increase online sales by 10% through Facebook and Instagram ads
• Get 50 newsletter sign-ups through TikTok traffic each month

The clearer your goals, the easier it is to track what’s working and what’s not.

2. Identify Your Target Audience 

Posting without knowing who you’re talking to is like writing a letter without an address. You might get lucky, but you’ll probably miss the mark.

Start by figuring out:

• Demographics: How old are they? Where do they live? What do they do for work?
• Psychographics: What are their interests? What problems are they trying to solve? What motivates them to buy?
• Online behavior: What platforms are they on? Do they watch short videos or read long captions? When are they active?

You don’t need to build a complicated buyer persona, but having a simple picture of your ideal customer helps you create content they actually want to see.

3. Analyze Your Competitors 

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Look at other businesses in your space and see what’s already working.

Here’s how to get started:

• Pick 3 to 5 competitors
• Check out their social feeds
• Look for patterns: what kind of posts get the most likes, comments, or shares?
• Notice how they talk to their audience, what type of visuals they use, and how they position their products or services

Ask yourself: what can you learn from them, and what can you do differently? Your goal isn’t to copy. It’s to find ways to stand out by doing something they aren’t.

4. Choose the Right Social Media Platforms 

You don’t need to be on every platform. In fact, spreading yourself too thin can hurt more than it helps. It’s better to show up consistently on one or two platforms than to half-heartedly post on five. The right small business social media strategy will help you decide where to focus your efforts, whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok.

Choose based on where your audience already is and what type of content fits your business:

• Instagram: A solid choice for businesses with strong visuals, like boutiques, coffee shops, or personal brands.
• Facebook: Great for reaching local communities or running targeted ads for events and services.
• TikTok: A good fit if you’re comfortable with video and want to build fast connections through short, creative content.
• Pinterest: Ideal for businesses in fashion, beauty, home decor, food, or anything visual with a how-to angle.
• LinkedIn: Best for B2B businesses, consultants, and service-based professionals who want to connect with decision-makers.

Start where your customers already are, then branch out as your capacity grows.

5. Create a Content Calendar 

To get the most out of your social media, start by building a content calendar that includes a variety of post types. Aim for a mix of educational posts that offer helpful tips, promotional content that highlights your products or services, and entertaining or eye-catching videos that grab your audience’s attention. Try out different content formats like images, videos, articles, reposts, carousels, reels, polls, stories, and live videos to see what resonates best with your followers and keeps your feed feeling fresh.

Add important dates to your calendar, like holidays, product launches, seasonal sales, or company announcements, so you’re always prepared to share content that aligns with what’s happening in your business. At the same time, make room for evergreen content that stays relevant and useful no matter when it’s posted. Planning around themes or specific topics can also help you stay consistent and give your audience a reason to keep coming back. When you stay organized and intentional with your content, it becomes easier to build a strong connection with your followers and grow a community that actually looks forward to hearing from you.

6. Post Regularly & Consistently

You don’t need to post every single day, but you do need to show up regularly. That’s how people start to remember you, trust you, and eventually buy from you.

Figure out what’s realistic. Maybe it’s three times a week. Maybe it’s daily during launch periods and weekly the rest of the time.

Whatever your pace is, stick to it. Whether it’s three times a week or daily during launch periods, consistency is key with marketing your small business on social media.

Tools like Metricool make this easier. You can schedule your posts in advance, see everything in one calendar, and even get suggestions on the best times to post based on your audience’s habits.

7. Engage with Your Community

Building a strong online presence takes more than just posting regularly. It’s about connecting with your audience and making them feel like they’re part of something. One way to do that is by sharing interactive content like polls, quizzes, or contests. These not only make your content more fun but also give your followers a reason to join the conversation. Ask them questions, invite their opinions, and get them involved . People are more likely to stick around when they feel heard.

User-generated content is another great way to bring your community into the spotlight. Sharing photos, videos, or stories from your customers shows that you value them, and it encourages others to get involved too. Partnering with influencers or brands that share your values can also help expand your reach and bring fresh eyes to your content.

Don’t forget to reply to comments, messages, and reviews in a thoughtful and timely way. A personal response. Even something as simple as using someone’s name or referencing their comment directly can go a long way in building trust. For small businesses, these one-on-one interactions can be the difference between someone liking your brand and becoming a loyal customer.

8. Analyze & Refine

Once you’ve been posting consistently and engaging with your audience, the next step is to take a step back and look at how things are going. Use your goals and overall business plan as a guide, and check your data to see what’s working and what could use a tweak.

With your social media strategy goals and overall business objectives in mind, track and analyze key metrics like:

• Reach and impressions
• Engagement rates
• Click-through rates
• Conversions
• Best performing content
• Optimal posting times

Regularly review your analytics to identify patterns and areas where you can improve your social media strategy. 

Ask yourself questions like:

• Which types of content are getting the most engagement?
• When do your posts tend to reach the most people?
• Which hashtags and keywords are helping your posts get discovered?
• What do your best posts have in common?

Use what you learn to make smart adjustments. Test new content formats, try different posting times, or switch up your messaging. The more you track and fine-tune, the clearer your strategy becomes, and the stronger your social media presence will grow over time.

Need help on how to grow your metrics? Check out our video below:

Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses with Metricool

Metricool is the perfect solution to streamline your online efforts and take your small business to new heights. Whether you’re just starting with social media or you’re an experienced marketer, Metricool provides everything you need to manage your social media and online presence in one place.

By connecting your website and social media accounts to Metricool’s easy-to-use dashboard, you can create a strong marketing strategy that works for your business.

Here’s how Metricool is here for your small business: 

• Social Media Accounts: Metricool integrates with all major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitch, YouTube, Google and more. You can manage all your accounts from one platform, making it easier to stay organized and consistent.
• Create and Plan Content: With Metricool’s content creation and planning tools, it’s simple to keep your social media feeds active and engaging. Use the auto-publish feature to schedule posts at the best times, so your audience sees your content when they’re most likely to engage.
• Ad Campaigns: If you’re looking to run paid ads, Metricool makes it easy to manage campaigns across Meta and Google. You can create, track, and adjust your campaigns, all in one place.
• Analytics: Metricool tracks the key metrics that matter, such as engagement, account growth, audience demographics, and competitor data. With these insights, you can make informed decisions to improve your marketing strategy.
• Inbox: Managing messages, comments, and mentions from multiple platforms can get overwhelming. Metricool’s unified inbox brings everything into one organized space, so you can easily respond to your audience and never miss an important interaction.
• SmartLinks: With Metricool’s SmartLinks, you can make the most of your link-in-bio. Create a custom links page that directs traffic to your website or other pages, and track where your audience is clicking for valuable insights.

Metricool is designed to streamline your small business social media marketing efforts and help you stay focused on growing online.

Gretchen Oestreicher , 24 April 2025