Article Written by Katina Jaye Beveridge, ASBAS Advisor, Western Sydney Business Centre

Social media plays an important role in promoting your business, regardless of the size of your business or what industry you are in. But growing your social media takes more than just posting a random update or two. It is a long-term process that is often time-consuming.

If you feel like you’re spending too much time on social media, yet you’re wondering whether your efforts are making any difference, then it’s time to step back and evaluate your strategy. Here are some effective and proven social media hacks that will help small business owners to make the most of your social media without spending countless hours on it.

1. Schedule what you can.

Most marketers would advise you against automating your social media because your social media page will sound like a robot. But automation is only good if you know how to use it. You can schedule posts that are not time-sensitive, such as:

-Service or product promotions

-Q&As

-Messages or quotes evergreen blog articles

-Events (to build up the hype)

Scheduling some posts ensures that you have something posted on a regular basis. However, make sure to do it in moderation. Automation helps you save time, but you don’t have to schedule every update.

2. Optimize your images for all social media platforms.

Resizing your posts to match the requirements of the different social media platforms can be tiring and time-consuming. You can manually edit the photos using Photoshop, or you can use Canva’s resize feature to resize them in one go. Using Facebook’s Meta Business Suite will help with both the scheduling and using the different formats.

3. Create multiple posts from new blog posts.

If you want to drive more traffic to your website, this will do the trick. All you need to do is create multiple posts that focus on different parts of your article. Aside from highlighting your new article, this also saves you time from thinking of new topics for your social media posts. Make sure to schedule the posts at different intervals to maximize their exposure.

4. Use social media micro influencers to get more exposure.

If you’re just starting out on social media, the quickest way to increase your presence is to collaborate will people who are already established in the platform you are using. To do this, you need to look micro-influencers, or those users with a strong following within your target audience. You can connect with these people and work with them to bring more exposure to your business.

5.Using an Omi Channel.

One of the best ways to increase social media marketing ROI is through cross-posting using an Omi channel approach. Don’t limit your social content to just one platform. You can take advantage of the other platforms to promote your content. You can post Instagram photos to Pinterest, while you spotlight blog posts on your Facebook Page. You can embed tweets on your blog posts or screenshots from your social media networks. Once you’ve discovered the power of cross-posting, you’ll be amazed at how versatile your social media content will look like.

Bottom Line

Becoming a social networking ninja doesn’t mean doing all the work and creating everything from scratch. Being creative and smart allows you to maximize your social media marketing while exerting less effort. Social media doesn’t have to be overwhelming; you just need to be strategic in your approach and learn to use what you have