Hopping on the social media bandwagon
If you’re a small-business owner feeling uncertain about using social media platforms to promote yourself, fear not.
All that’s required is just a little planning and consistency, and a phone to create your content.
Those are some of the suggestions from two marketing specialists at Visit Buffalo Niagara, which has about 400,000 followers across all its platforms promoting the region.
Think about social media differently from other forms of advertising, said Drew Brown, director of media content and strategy.
“It’s really just there to make you relevant and top of mind for people,” Brown said at a recent event hosted by the Buffalo Niagara Partnership. “It’s just a way to immediately get in front of them.”
People are also reading…
Drew Brown and Kate Scaduto of Visit Buffalo Niagara are offering advice to small businesses about using social media to build a following and promote themselves.
Brown and Kate Scaduto, Visit Buffalo Niagara’s marketing and social media manager, said social media posts by small businesses are about connecting with followers in a more casual way.
“It also gives you the potential to have one-on-one interactions with potential customers, which is huge in building loyalty and trust among customers, as well,” Scaduto said. “It gives everyone a direct look into your business’ personality, which is something that has really kind of just gained popularity.”
Here are some of their tips for small businesses to create an effective social media strategy:
Choose the right platform. There are plenty of platforms to post content, but they’re suited to different audiences. Consider which one is most appropriate for your message.
For instance, if you’re a restaurant or have content that’s more visual, Instagram or TikTok might be the best fit. If you’re posting blog content or long-form writing, that might work best on Pinterest or Facebook.
YouTube is a good place for long-form, more polished-looking video, while short-form video works well on Reels or TikTok.
“Consider the ages, the interest and the demographics and what you’re good at when choosing a platform,” Brown said. “Don’t just be on a platform to be on a platform.”
Don’t overthink it. Followers on these platforms aren’t typically looking for highly polished videos. It can be a short video shot on your cellphone.
“You kind of want your followers to view you as a friend, so peel back the curtain a little bit, be a little bit more casual when it comes to your content, too, especially on social media,” Brown said.
Plan ahead. If you’re just starting to use social media for your business – or trying to step up your use of it – create a few posts, save them and then roll them out gradually.
“I feel like too often when people will try to hop on platforms, they just post like one thing, and then like two weeks will go by before they post something else,” Brown said. “It really doesn’t work that way. You have to be diligent. You have to be consistent.”
Visit Buffalo Niagara holds seasonal staff meetings to strategize about its social media content, taking stock of upcoming events and openings, Scaduto said. The organization posted a short video ahead of the Erie County Fair that was widely viewed.
Small businesses may find it useful to meet more often than seasonally, maybe monthly, to discuss their ideas.
It’s also helpful to gather ideas from a company’s staff, instead of relying on just one person to generate all the ideas, Scaduto said.
Try collaborating. This year, Macy’s Place Pizzeria teamed up with Afterglow Books for an adult reading challenge.
“These are two businesses that you maybe wouldn’t link together, but they found their common ground to do something like this,” Scaduto said. The two businesses used the collaborative function on Instagram to promote the challenge to both accounts’ followers.
“They’re dipping into new audiences,” Scaduto said.
Another idea: Partner with local influencers who specialize in areas like food or couples travel. “They’re looking to build their platforms, as well,” Brown said.
Stay connected. Like and comment on your followers’ comments, to promote interaction. You can take the same approach by commenting on other, unrelated accounts. Scaduto dubbed the William Mattar law firm the “king of comments” on social media, for showing up in so many interactions.
I now have multiple reasons to love Josh Allen 😂
— William Mattar (@WilliamMattar) September 16, 2024
“They’re just always in the conversation, even when it doesn’t have to do with something that’s law focused,” she said.
Keep trying. “Everybody will remember your successes, but no one will remember your flops,” Brown said. “We’ve had a ton of flop content at (Visit Buffalo Niagara) because we try to use a trend or an audio or something that’s a little bit late in the game.”
“It’s a lot of fun,” Brown said. “And then build and maintain those relationships.”
Partnership to honor Bieler
The Buffalo Niagara Partnership will present its Industry Leader award to Scott Bieler, president and CEO of West Herr Automotive Group, when the organization holds its economic development summit Sept. 26.
Bieler will be the second recipient of the award. Supermarket executive John Persons received the inaugural award in 2023, for his leadership at Tops Markets in the aftermath of the May 14, 2022, mass shooting.
Want to know more? Three stories to catch you up:
THE LATEST
The massive Amazon distribution center in the Town of Niagara is starting to take shape.
Doug Jemal is looking for $30 million from the state to get the Statler renovation project off the ground.
A huge Josh Allen ad banner went up on the Statler without a permit. Its owner has no regrets.
Spectrum is hiking internet speeds and promising credits for service outages.
An Amherst medical marijuana dispensary is bankrupt and facing eviction.
Construction started on a health care facility in the Kensington-Bailey neighborhood.
Tops Markets’ parent company has launched a pilot program to test out a robot that manages store inventory.
Mayor Byron Brown touted affordable housing in Buffalo as a statewide conference gathered in the Queen City.
Multifamily and senior housing buildings have opened at Pilgrim Village to 230 residents.
The buyer of the Aurubis Buffalo manufacturing plant plans to maintain the size of the site’s workforce.
A Cheektowaga commercial refrigeration installer and a Lockport general contractor are teaming up on a new project to create a cold-storage facility in Niagara County.
Tenants, property managers at 201 Ellicott exchange blame for woes at affordable housing building.
What the Evans Bank acquisition means to Western New York.
A Southtowns home builder is planning an apartment project in North Tonawanda.
KEI Advisors, a local investor relations firm, is being acquired.
Evans Bank agreed to be acquired in a $236 million deal.
ICYMI
Five reads from Buffalo Next:
1. Five challenges facing legal cannabis dispensaries.
2. A look at developer Douglas Jemal’s downtown Buffalo empire.
3. Canadian trade is a big deal for the Buffalo Niagara region – and there are efforts afoot to make it even bigger.
4. Bitwise crashed and burned, but its local executive helped build a similar – but smaller – initiative to train tech workers anyway.
5. Orchard Park officials hope proposed zoning law changes will spur development around the new Buffalo Bills stadium. The new Buffalo Bills stadium will be protected by Florian, an AI-enabled incident command platform from Buffalo tech startup 3AM Innovation.
The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the region’s economic revitalization. Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com or reach Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.
Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com.
The business news you need
Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.
