Social Media

Social media is a great way to build a large local following for your business.

It gives you a chance to listen and build relationships with your local community but, perhaps more importantly, it gives your customers the chance to spread the word about your super services!

However, creating effective social media content for local customers is a little more tricky than just updating a Facebook page or pinging out a tweet.

What do your customers want?

All customers who use social media are looking for trustworthy and engaging brands who don’t clog up their newsfeed with junk.

They are also probably looking for quick information about your company -70% of consumers expect a response on social media within 15 minutes of asking you their query!

Don’t let that intimidate you though. Social media is just one more way your customers can get in touch with you – and that’s never a bad thing!

The first question to ask yourself is which social media channels are likely to generate a local following. There’s no point channeling all your efforts into LinkedIn if your customers are on Facebook, after all. You might need to do a little digging to find out which channels your customers use, but once you do you’ll have tapped into a goldmine!

What can we do with your social media channels?

Our six-strong social media team will tailor make a package for your business. You see, we appreciate that each of our clients has different requirements, whether that’s customer reach, platforms, frequency or budget, and want to create a strategy that’s appropriate.

Our aim is to inject some energy into your social media channels and open up a new realm of opportunities. This links closely to our reputation management service, as we want to present the best version of your company to all of your online followers.

Social Media Profiles Set Up

If you don’t have them already, we’ll set up your social media profiles. We’ll optimise them and make the big decisions, like:

• Which channels to go on? (Facebook and Twitter are the most important for local impact)
• Should you use a photo or a logo?
• What’s your handle/ username going to be?

We’ll make sure every profile is complete so local customers can find out everything they need to know in just a few clicks.

We’ll then link your social media profiles to your website so your followers can hop between one and the other, as they please.

Social Media Basics:

At Smart Local, we make sure your channels look open – after all, there’s nothing worse than a social media feed that hasn’t been updated for months on end!

We’ll comment on reviews, check ins and posts to your profiles all to build relationships with your customers.
Then comes the hard part – the social media strategy. We’ll design this to reflect your company brand and message, as well as make the most of your budget.

A large part of this is networking. Don’t worry, we’ll do that too! We’ll start making connections with other local businesses and encourage the local community to give your business a go.

Social Media Management

If you want, we can take over the whole social media process for you, and proactively grow a large local following for your business.

We’ll schedule posts, react to interactions and keep you updated so if someone visits your premises after interacting with your business on social media, you’ll know who they are and what they’re talking about. Think of us as the bridge between the virtual and the physical worlds!

We’ll send you regular progress reports so that you can keep track of how many new followers/ interactions we’ve brought to your social media channels.

Doing it yourself (with training and support)

Once we’ve set you up you can start running with it, if you feel confident enough. If not, we offer top-notch training to help you get going at a steady pace.

We’ll introduce you to tools, tips and tricks gathered through years of digital marketing experience, and teach you the ins and outs of each channel you’re set up on.

At this point, we could be mean and say goodbye. But don’t worry, we won’t abandon you in the social media jungle!

We’re just a phone call away if you need us. Our friendly experts are on hand for guidance and support whenever you need it, especially if you’re trying something new, such as a competition or promotion, and you’re not sure how to go about it.

Do you need to get your social media channels up to scratch? Find out how with a little help from Smart Local!