Social media management for small business: Tips and tools

What is the ideal social media posting schedule for small businesses?

Businesses need to actively interact with their target audiences by creating interactive social posts, joining relevant conversations, and providing value. This is why a well-thought-out posting schedule is important. 

Here is the ideal social media posting schedule for small businesses:

• Facebook: 3-7 times/week — Facebook remains the top platform, and its algorithm rewards consistent activity, ensuring your content remains visible to your audience without overwhelming them.
• Instagram: 1-2 times/day — Instagram’s highly visual nature demands frequent updates to stay relevant in users’ feeds and maintain engagement.
• X (formerly Twitter): 3 times/day — Twitter’s fast-paced environment requires regular updates to keep your business visible amidst the constant stream of tweets.
• Pinterest: once/day — Pinterest’s algorithm favors fresh content, and posting once a day ensures your pins have the best chance of reaching your audience.
• LinkedIn: 3-5 times/week — The professional atmosphere on a LinkedIn account calls for regular updates to maintain visibility and engagement with your network.
• YouTube: 2-3 times/week — Consistent uploads on YouTube help build your channel’s authority, keep subscribers engaged, and improve visibility in search results.
• Google Business Profile: once/week — Weekly updates on Google Business Profile help keep your business information accurate and fresh, improving your visibility in search results for local customers.
• TikTok: once/day — Given TikTok’s emphasis on trending content and virality, posting once a day maximizes your chances of reaching a vast audience and capitalizing on trending topics.

Several factors affect the pricing of social media management services, including the scope of services, content complexity, whether you choose a social media marketing agency, a freelancer (agencies usually charge more due to their broader expertise), and the social media manager or agency’s experience and reputation.

Here’s what most small businesses pay for social media management:

• Social media management tool costs: Basic social media tool plans start at about $30 to $99 per month, while advanced features can increase the cost from $100 to over $200 per month.
• Social media freelancers: Hiring a freelancer can be a more affordable option. Prices can range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars per month. Freelancers might charge anywhere from $15 to $50 per hour or offer monthly packages ranging from $200 to $2,000, depending on the professional services included. At the end of the month, you will receive a freelance invoice for the work completed.
• Agencies: A social media marketing company or agency often offers more comprehensive marketing services, including strategy development, content creation, and analytics. They might charge anywhere from $500 to $10,000 per month, depending on the complexity and breadth of the social media services.
• In-house hiring: Some small businesses may opt to hire someone in-house for social media management. In this case, the cost includes the employee’s salary and benefits. The average salary for a social media manager in the United States is around $50,000 to $70,000 per year, but this can vary based on location and experience. Additionally, businesses should consider using an employee cost calculator to accurately estimate the total expenses associated with in-house hiring.
• Additional costs: Depending on the business’s needs, there may be additional costs for targeted advertising budgets, tools or software subscriptions, and content creation like photography or video production.

Understanding these cost drivers helps you devise a social media strategy that not only fits your small business marketing objectives but is also cost-effective and aligns with your budget.

Here’s how small businesses can maximize returns using social media apps:

• Precise targeting: Multiple social media channels have tools that allow you to target your content or ads to specific groups. For example, you can select audiences based on their location, age, interests, or even their online behaviors.
• Leverage UGC (user-generated content): Highlight testimonials, reviews, and success stories from loyal customers to build trust and credibility with new customers, ultimately boosting conversion rates.
• Try influencer marketing: Partner with micro-influencers who resonate with your niche. They can amplify your message affordably and authentically.
• Optimize for social commerce: Use shoppable features to improve customer satisfaction with the shopping process and directly increase your social media sales.
• Offer exclusivity: Reward followers with special deals and content to build customer loyalty and keep your audience engaged.
• Host social media contests and giveaways: Encourage engagement and participation by running contests or giveaways, requiring active users to perform specific actions that lead to conversions, such as sharing, tagging, or signing up.

Social media marketing, particularly for small businesses, requires a personalized strategy that is tailored to your unique requirements.

Here are our best social media tips for small business social media managers:

1. Define your social media goals and audience
2. Choose the right social media platforms for your business
3. Craft a social media strategy that converts
4. Run multiple accounts more easily with social media management tools
5. Keep an eye on social media trends
6. Leverage social commerce across your social media accounts
7. Engage your audience and build a community
8. Track and measure success

1. Define your social media goals and audience

Begin by aligning your social media goals with your general business objectives. Goals can range from boosting engagement and brand awareness to increasing sales conversions and generating revenue.

PRO TIP: Apply the SMART criteria to ensure goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, transform a general desire like “increase brand visibility” into a tangible target such as “achieve a 30% increase in engagement on our posts over the next quarter.”

Then, proceed to define your audience. Identify specific characteristics, interests, pain points, and social media behaviors.

Merge all the data to create detailed customer personas, and use the result to guide the organic content and targeted ads creation process. This ensures that your posts resonate with your target market on a core level. Make sure that your content reflects your company culture as well.

2. Choose the right social media platforms for your business

Choose social media platforms that enable you to achieve your business goals and where your target audience spends the majority of their time.

To determine where your followers are most active and prioritize platforms that offer the most engagement potential for your social media campaigns, conduct thorough market research, use social media analytics, and leverage customer surveys.

Keep in mind that each social media channel serves different purposes; match your goals with the platforms designed to achieve them, and ensure your content aligns with the chosen platforms.

Here are the ideal social channels for small businesses:

• Facebook: Allows businesses to create Facebook pages for business that serve as a mini-website for showcasing services, engaging with customers, and posting updates. You can also do this in Facebook groups.
• Instagram: Ideal for visual storytelling through captivating images and videos, Stories, and Reels.
• X (Twitter): Great for real-time engagement and customer service, hashtag campaigns to increase visibility, and the ability to share quick updates, news, and to participate in trending conversations.
• YouTube: The premier platform for long-form video content, offering businesses an opportunity to create high-performing video content.
• Pinterest: Acts as a discovery platform for high-intent users, with features like shoppable pins and boards that can serve as a catalog of products or ideas, driving high-quality web traffic and keeping users interested.
• LinkedIn: The ‘it’ platform for networking, B2B marketing strategies, and securing thought leadership through articles and posts.
• TikTok: Dominates in short-form video content, providing businesses with the chance to go viral when they create engaging content.
• Google Business Profile: Essential for local SEO, allowing businesses to create a company page and increase their online presence on Google Maps and Google Search.

PRO TIP: Resource availability is very important. Effective social media management demands time for content creation, audience engagement, and social media monitoring. Focus on one or two platforms you can manage successfully, starting small and expanding to multiple social platforms as you grow.

3. Craft a social media strategy that converts

In the current social media landscape, conducting frequent competitive analysis is essential for you to understand their marketing strategy, how they manage multiple social media accounts, what content performs well, and how they engage with their specific audiences. This insight helps to identify opportunities for differentiation and strategies that are proven to engage your target audience.

Here are some things to add to your social media strategy:

• Establish content pillars that help you achieve your goals and plan a diverse content mix.
• Set up a customized posting schedule based on your target audience research.
• Customize your approach for different platforms.

Then, develop a plan that includes a variety of content types (e.g., posts, videos, Stories) tailored to your audience’s preferences and your platforms of choice.

4. Run multiple accounts more easily with social media management tools

For small businesses dipping their toes into social media management, marketing automation is a must for improving your workflow.

Social media management apps offer a powerful way to juggle multiple business social media accounts, schedule posts, interact with your audience, and track performance in a holistic manner.

Begin by determining your requirements from a social media management company. Consider the number of social accounts you’ll manage, the volume of content you’ll publish, and your need for basic analytics or detailed analytics, team collaboration features, and customer engagement tools.

Based on your findings, research and select a social media management software that suits your business goals and budget.

Here are the best social media tools for small businesses to manage content:

• SocialBee is the best social media management tool for small businesses that need an affordable all-in-one solution. It’s an easy-to-use tool that allows you to create content, generate content with AI, schedule and publish posts, reply to messages, and analyze your performance without the need for a social media team.
• NapoleonCat facilitates customer engagement, content publishing, auto-moderation, analytics, and reporting across multiple platforms. This social media management service is particularly useful for companies aiming to increase response rates on social media, organize efficient workflows, and automate and improve customer service and sales processes.
• ​excels as a social media management platform tailored for visual content creators, small businesses, and influencers, particularly those focusing on Instagram and TikTok.
• StoryChief is a comprehensive platform designed to help businesses improve their content creation and distribution processes across multiple accounts. It’s ideal for enhancing SEO, generating leads, and tracking content performance.
• Loomly provides social media marketing tools for visual content calendar management, content creation, and team collaboration. It offers suggestions for post ideas and optimizes posting times, making it suitable for teams looking to improve their social media marketing efficiency and creativity.

Check out this table to see how these platforms compare in terms of key features and functionality: