Basic Social Media Tools for Small Business

Social Media 101
Basic Social Media
Tools
for Small Business
O m a r M a s r y , A I C P | o m a r . m a s r y @ g m a i l . c o m

Basic Social Media for Small Business
P A R T 1 | Mistake s small busine sse s make on soc ial me dia
P A R T 2 | Ex ample s of smart soc ial me dia prac tic e s
P A R T 3 | Conne c ting digital to re al world
P A R T 4 | T ools that work be st for re tail, re staurants, & se rv ic e s
P A R T 5 | Ne x t ste ps - C h e c k list
Agenda

Basic Social Media for Small Business What is Social Media
Think of Social Media as
• A three-way conversation between:
-Your business,
-The customer (or potential customer),
-The public (seeing those customer interactions)
• Also, an opportunity to tell your story:
-What makes your business unique
-What you specialize in
- A great experience you helped create for a customer

Basic Social Media for Small Business What is Social Media

Basic Social Media for Small Business PART 1 | Mistakes small businesses make on social media
By not using social media you may be be missing out on new customers
because your business type or products/services
are not categorized (or categorized incorrectly)
Example: you try looking for a
shoe repair store on a map on
your smartphone, while you are
standing somewhere in the black
circle….

Missing out on new customers because your business type or products/services
you offer are not categorized (or categorized incorrectly)
….even though the shoe repair
store a few feet away from you,
in that black circle, does not
show up. 

….even though the shoe repair
store a few feet away from you, in
that black circle, does not show up.

…but a competitor (who does have
the correct category noted) nearby
shows up instead
Missing out on new customers because your business type or products/services
you offer are not categorized (or categorized incorrectly)

El Patio Restaurant is focused on cuisine from El Savador,
butYelp’s app incorrectly listed the business as Mexican
A well-intentioned customer’s posting on Yelp (without you knowing about it) could
make you miss out on potential new customers, by assigning the wrong (or least best)
categories for your business.
Pro-tip: In many instances you can add multiple categories. So think like a potential
customer…
In this case you would also want to add both ”Salvadoran” and “Latin American” or
“Central American” as restaurant types as well.

Reviews matter. Updating content in response can strengthen your content/source
These reviews on a website with a list of Preschools and Day Care in Oakland
(and the lack of an update in response)
sends the signal that the list is either out of date or incomplete

Avoid feeling overwhelmed trying to setup and engage a bunch of social media accounts
Start small with three to four social media tools at first.
Certain social media works better for different types of business
Example: A property manager, tax preparer, or financial advisor
advisor may find more success using LinkedIn to post insights,
consumer education, and articles of interest showing expertise;
than they would on Pinterest, which tends to skew more toward
fashion and food.

Basic Social Media for Small Business PART 2 | Examples of Smart Social Media Practices
Avoid feeling overwhelmed trying to setup and engage a bunch of social media accounts
Sometimes simple things work great without a lot
of work (or creating a customer website)
Example: A consultant who advises on making
businesses/places more handicapped-accessible using
their Linkedin posts to showcase good and bad
and their expertise.
Their photos and text conveys a signal that they have
passion for both the law/rules AND good
design/experiences

Use Social Media to BreakThrough the Awkward Question Gap
A customer with a preference for an accountant that is
happy to come to the customer’s office, would know up
front that Chika, an Oakland-based accountant, is willing to
travel. All from just a quick review of Chika’s Yelp page, and
without having to make random calls to multiple
accountants to ask if they are willing to travel to a
customer’s office.
PART 2 | Examples of Smart Social Media Practices

Use Google Alerts to Be Notified WhenYour Business is Mentioned Online
At Google.com/Alerts you can type in the
name of your business and get notified,
via e-mail, when your business is mentioned
online.
Advantages:
- Know if incorrect information about your
business is being posted
- Seeing which events/promotions catch on
- Find new groups/suppliers/neighborhoods to
partner with

name of your business and get notified when your
business is mentioned online.
Tip 1: Use “ “ quotation marks around your
business name in the search box for more relevant
results

Basic Social Media for Small Business PART 1 | 3 Examples of Smart Social Media Practices
Tip 2: In the search box, enter “Oakland”with
quotation marks after your business name for
more accurate results

Tip 3: Create a similar alert for your more
“corporate” competitors nearby to see what
“channels” you should take advantage of
“Channels” = websites, blogs, news articles,
events, neighborhood festivals

https://www.bloggingbasics101.com/how-to-set-up-a-google-alert-and-
why-its-a-good-idea/
For step-by-step instructions visit:

Use websites that help you shorten website links on printed flyers/materials
https://www.bloggingbasics101.com/how-to-set-up-a-
google-alert-and-why-its-a-good-idea/
So you can turn this long link:
into:
tinyurl.com/settingupgooglealerts
Popular sites include tinyurl.com & “bit.ly”
This helps save space on flyers or social media posts
and conveys a less cluttered image

Basic Social Media for Small Business PART 3 | Connecting the Digital World to Your Business
Use Photos to ConveyValues/Brands/Services
Use photos of your business to create an
introduction to new or unique products
This photo shows spices sold by the Oakland Spice
Shop and cards, with sample recipes you can make
with those spices.
This can also be a great tool for markets focused on
international/ethnic foods to make
ingredients/goods in plain packaging more
interesting to potential customers

Cross Promote Related Small Business & with non-profits
Promoting a related nearby small business can offer many benefits.
Example of cross-promoting: A dentist and an orthodontist mention each other
on their own respective social media posts
Benefits:
• Creates a more vibrant ecosystem for your main street or neighborhood
• Conveys a more robust sense that your business is part of a solution, not just product/tool/service to benefit their
lifestyle. In other words: “We are not just dentists, but partners in total health.”
• Search engines like Google tend to notice your cross-promoting, as more likely to be a real destination for their users,
which can help you move up in Google search results (“ranking”)
PART 3 | Connecting the Digital World to Your Business

DesignTools
c
The Noun Project offers icons you can
use in your flyers to clearly and simply
convey information, whether online or
printed flyers in your store
TheNounProject.com

DesignTools
c
The NounProject offers icons you can use
in your flyers to clearly and simply
Like quickly conveying the festive nature
of an event…

DesignTools
c
The NounProject offers icons you can use
in your flyers to clearly and simply
…or on printed items for a more
professional look (like the location of a
baby diaper changing area)

Common Social MediaTools Used by Small Businesses
Remember that you do not need to use all of
these tools for your small business

Google Maps (& Yahoo Maps) does not just provide directions.
It also includes customer reviews, hours of operation, and product/service categories
Many other websites and social media tools use this information
If your business has a physical location, this is an important, and fairly easy tool to use

Facebook allows you to create Business Specific Pages which are different from Personal
Pages
A good tool for sharing events, recipes, customer experiences in posts with images
You can purchase targeted ads fairly cheaply and target ads based on demographics
without a lot of expertise

The Reviews subpage on Facebook allows
customers to leave reviews, add photos
and links, and makes it easy for a
customer to SHARE their review on their
own profile for their friends to see

The About subpage includes basic
business information.
It even includes a link to a team
member’s personal facebook page
This sends a great signal that this a homegrown
business (and not a faceless chain store)

The About subpage on Facebook also
provides a clean and easy format for
telling folks what makes your business
unique

Check out these this great tutorial
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketi
ng/how-to-create-facebook-
business-page-ht

Check out these this great tutorial
https://tinyurl.com/14FacebookBusinessTips

Look for nearby
neighborhood groups or
business districts that can
also promote your business

This great example for
Temescal Telegraph Business
District, promotes a variety
of business, uses great
imagery, and even educates
folks by mentioning
ingredients in
Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisine!

That being said, while showing a certain food
dish or place is great, try to show people also
enjoying the place or cuisine
This photo conveys a more relaxing environment than many other
urgent care lobbies.
Ideally, it would also show customers enjoying the area as well

c
Linkedin is focused on professional business networking
This is a great tool for business that provide consulting services to showcase your expertise.
A well-written post (include photos) can easily be shared with one user to their own
network and generate more “organic leads”

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Linkedin examples could include:
Tax preparers or accountants posting long-form articles or snippets of information on tax
advice/changes
Tip: While more of a professional platform, posts with photos/images still get more interest
Tip: Avoid long paragraphs, without breaks, and use bullet point lists in articles

c
Join Linkedin Groups if relevant to your industry
Ask customers to offer recommendations

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Twitter is a forum to share short-messages/posts. A tweet is a single message/post
Twitter can be a great way to share breaking news, events/sales happening soon,
and also tie your business to a larger event or neighborhood.

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An example of a tweet from
@ShopOaklandNow
The @ symbol is used in front of each
Twitter Account

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Twitter use example:
You own a store that sells traditional masks for the Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos – Spanish)
celebrations.
You look up posts by folks noting they are preparing for the celebration in the Fruitvale neighborhood.
You then reply tweet with “Great masks If your friends need some too, then check out our selection at
www.storenamehere.com” and you include a photo of your mask selection

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Many events or trends will get a “#” associated with it by other users that helps you look up for other related
tweets.
So folks tweeting about the recent White House Correspondents Dinner may end their tweets with #WHCD.
By clicking on #WHCD or typing it in the search box you can then find other relevant mentions of the same
subject/event/concept/product/business

c
Look up events/issues that relate to the Fruitvale
neighborhood
Entered #Fruitvale
in the Search box

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Use the search filter to focus on
tweets near you for more relevant
results about Fruitvale –
Oakland…and not Fruitvale - Texas

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Twitter use examples:
Follow and reply to folks on Twitter about your
presence/volunteer-fundraising partnerships
Folks to “follow”: local elected leaders, business
districts, nearby schools, non-profits, bloggers,
newspaper reporters (local food critic) and others

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- Don’t obsess over having a high number of rating stars
- Focus on getting a lot of reviews, responding to many of them
- Don’t respond to each and every review (looks robotic/corporate)
- Break up your photos to include both
the outside of the business, customers
enjoying your place, and photos of your
products. Avoid an endless parade of
only product or food photos.

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Instagram is a photo sharing site
https://tinyurl.com/AMEXInstagramTips
Tips on Instagram for Small Business
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Clicking on a photo brings up the profile
of the poster and hashtags (#) tied to the
experience
c

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Clicking on Selina’s name pulls up her own
Instagram page including a shortened link
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That shortened link takes you to a
Facebook event page for an upcoming
cooking class event
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Checklist
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• Updated Google Maps & Yahoo Maps Listings (hours, relevant business categories, location).
Add business photos of both the storefront, lobby, and customers enjoying products. Tutorial
at https://tinyurl.com/AMEXGoogleMaps
• Create a Google Alert at www.google.com/alerts for your business name and/or address.
Tutorial at: tinyurl.com/settingupgooglealerts
• Claim Your Yelp Page. Respond to reviews, update business information, tell your story and
what you specialize in, insert a mix of good quality photos. Visit:
https://tinyurl.com/AMEXYelp

Checklist
c c
• Create a Facebook Business Page (not a Personal Page). Tutorials at
https://tinyurl.com/14FacebookBusinessTips
• If your business focuses on professional services (accountant, consultant) create a Linkedin
profile. Check out this tutorial: https://tinyurl.com/AMEXLinkedinTips
• If your business features visual content (food, fashion, hair dresser, artist, crafts) consider also
creating an Instagram or Pinterest account) : https://tinyurl.com/AMEXInstagramTips &
https://tinyurl.com/AMEXPinterestTips

Checklist
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• Consider creating a Twitter Account: https://tinyurl.com/AMEXTwitterTips. Use it to search
for local events, mentions of your business or neighborhood, and information from local
government (police captains, council members). Post information on specials/sales. Search for
customers that mention items you focus on and reply to them.
• Take a look at Nextdoor.com. It’s akin to a Facebook…but just for residents in a
neighborhood. https://tinyurl.com/NextdoorSmallBizProgram
• If your location is good for hosting events, take a look at Meetup.com; and see if there are
local groups that you may want to invite to host their meetup events. Example: A maternity
store hosting a new mothers meetup group.

Basic Social Media Tools for Small Business

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