Hey small business owner! Are you hoping for orders, but instead hearing crickets? Eeek, I’ve been there! I know it’s so demotivating and makes you question if it even makes sense to keep posting. At least that’s what I was asking myself when I started my small business. Years later, I am OBSESSED with social media marketing and see clearly what I was doing wrong. I wasted wayyy too much time on social media without seeing results for my small business. But that is not going to be you, because today I am here to share with you my actionable TOP 5 checklist for your social media marketing, to make sure that the time you spend on your social media posts is not wasted!

Questions to ask yourself before you publish your next social media post:

1. Are you attracting your ideal customer with this post?

Are you just posting with the hope that someone will eventually buy your product? Or are you strategically targeting your posts to your ideal customer? No judgment here, I’ve been in both situations! And after many of my posts go viral, here is what I learnt: the quality of your followers matters more than quantity. You don’t need thousands of people to see your product, you just need the right people, who actually want to buy it. So if you have been hearing crickets, go back to your last 8 posts and ask yourself: Were these posts made for my ideal customer? (read the next point to understand this better)

2. Is this post for other small business owners or for my customers?

Not every social media trend is the right one for your small business. Ever wonder why all these fun small business trend videos are going viral and have so much engagement? Because other small business owners can relate to them! But unless small business owners are your target audience, this type of content should not be your focus. Yes, it will likely give you some followers (small business owners), but not consistent orders. So, to get your content in front of the eyes of your ideal customer, instead of recreating small business trends, create trends that a regular person (not a small business owner) cares about watching. Read on to understand that better.

3. Why would your ideal customer care about watching this post?

We are bombarded with ADS & things-to-buy 24/7. ON and OFF social media. Here is the truth: People are tired of it and our brains learnt to tune it out, so if you are just sharing your cute products and telling people to “shop-in-bio”, your posts get lost in millions of same advertising kinds of posts on social media. If we want to get the genuine attention of our ideal customers, we have to create content that catches their attention and they care about watching.

FACT: I get most orders from reels/TikToks where I am not even telling people to go shop my products, but simply showing lifestyle content of “how-to-use” my products

Wondering how to do it with your product? Here are 3 simple ideas on how to start creating content that people care about:

• Show your product in use. For example: make an aesthetic reel of your morning routine using an iced coffee cup that you sell.

• Share practical tips around your product. For example: how to store your candles to prevent discoloration or how to keep your scrunchies organized.

• Share the benefits of your products. For example: if you are selling bath bombs, share the health benefits of taking a bath or the benefits of essential oils you are using to make your bath bombs.

4. What is the purpose of this post for your small business?

Each of your posts should have a purpose. Defining what is the purpose of each post before you post it, will help you to market strategically and eliminate posts that don’t bring any results for your small business. If you are currently not getting orders from social media, chances are that you are only creating one type of content and missing out on the other important types of posts for effective social media marketing.

Your content strategy should rotate between these types of posts:

• Content to grow: This is a type of content that brings more people to your account. For example: viral trends.
• Content to engage & build trust. Your audience needs to trust you before they feel comfortable buying from you. This is a type of content where you create personal connection with your audience, show behind the scenes of your small business and share why & how is your small business different than others.
• Content to sell: If done right, this type of content should lead to orders. These are posts focused on your product promotions and upcoming launches.

5. Is this content easy to watch?

Let’s be honest, our attention span on social media isn’t very long. The posts that are easy to watch and understand, usually perform better. When you are creating content for your social media:

• use bright and de-cluttered space to record your content
• if you are speaking, make sure to use captions, so people who are watching your video without sound can still understand what are you saying
• avoid using too much text on your reels – if it seems like too much effort to read it, most people will scroll by
• keep your reels/TikTok short by cutting out all unnecessary parts of the videos where you might lose viewers’ attention
• write engaging caption

Do you need more help with your social media planning for your small business? Download my free social media planning guide and start planning your social media today!

Now, pull out your notepad (or if you are like me, open the notes app on your phone) and write down these 5 questions & go through them next time when you will be creating content for your small business to make sure that each of your posts have a purpose for your business and speak to your ideal customer. PS: don’t forget to follow along on @smallbizbabescommunity for daily small business tips.

Talk soon,

Michaela