How to Get More Love for Your Business on Social Media
Lauren Batchelor • September 6, 2024
Social media is becoming more and more frustrating, right? If you have used it to connect with your audience for ten years or so, you undoubtedly have seen crazy changes in your reach. If you’re new to the social media for business scene, reaching 2% of your audience probably feels pretty normal.
But if you’re not reaching your audience, how are they going to know who you are and all the wonderful things your business can bring them?
When it comes to building a loyal following, there are several things you can do. Ultimately, reach is still dependent on the platform’s algorithm, but every social media channel claims to respond to value. To reach more people, you need them to see you as providing valuable content they want to interact with. Here’s how you can start doing that.
Get Your Business in Good Social Media Shape
Before we get into strategy and posting ideas, it’s important to get your social media accounts in good shape. Make sure your profile is complete, up to date, and visually appealing. Use a high-quality profile picture and cover image. If you have a profile you are no longer using, don’t just leave it languishing. Add a few posts to it about where you are posting now. An image post or funny video can help people who find you on one platform, locate you on another.
Use analytics tools to understand where you are now. Identify what types of content resonate most with your audience. Check when they are most active. Use that to influence your posting content and scheduling. As you change your posting, track your progress to see what’s working.
Finally, keep up with the latest social media best practices and algorithm changes. They are always evolving changing.
Now, let’s talk about content.
Start with a Strong Content Strategy
We all know stories about how a video went viral, but for business you need to develop a strong and consistent strategy that revolves around dependable and valuable content. If something goes viral, awesome. But don’t count on it as part of your content strategy any more than you would see buying a lottery ticket every week as a way to fund retirement.
When creating a social media content strategy for business, you want:
- High-Quality Content. The foundation of your social media presence is compelling and valuable content. Post images, videos (this is a must), and text that resonate with your target audience.
- Consistency: Develop a content calendar to help plan and schedule your posts. Post regularly to stay top-of-mind with your audience. Consistency is key to becoming top of mind. Sometimes consistency can even trump value in the short term. For instance, there was an author on TikTok who created some of the most boring videos I have ever seen—speaking in a monotone about the details of everything she did every morning. She posted with the regularity that some people reach for their morning coffee. Darn if she didn’t grow a massive following on consistency alone. Every morning, there she was. And in the same way you might find yourself staring out the window in a daze while you make coffee, I watched her videos.
- Variety: Mix up your content formats to keep things interesting. Try using images, videos, carousels, live streams, stories, and polls. But…keep to your branding so that people will know it’s you immediately.
- Value: Offer educational, entertaining, or inspirational content that provides value to your followers.
Engage
The algorithms base their determination of valuable content on what people are interacting with. That means you must motivate them to go from a passive state of watching (or reading) to an active pursuit of commenting. That’s not always easy, but here are some best practices you can implement:
- Respond to Comments and Messages as soon as possible. Show you value your commenter’s interaction. When appropriate, ask them questions in the comments. This will help continue the conversation. Speaking of…
- Ask Questions and Run Polls: Encourage conversations and participation by asking questions and conducting polls. Stickers are an engaging way to do this on Stories.
- Use Interactive Features: Utilize features like live streams, Stories, and Q&As to connect with your followers in real-time. Facebook, for one, notifies your followers when you go live.
- Community Building: Foster a sense of community by sharing user-generated content. If someone posts a picture of your products or a review, share it and thank them.
Get More Views
Again, the algorithm has a lot to do with how many people see your content. Just because you post does not mean it will be seen. Recently, Instagram seems to be showing more content to non-followers than followers. Here are ways you can build on that:
- Cross-Promotion. Promote your social media accounts on your website, email signature, newsletter, and other marketing materials. Make sure everyone who does business with you (or is researching your business) knows where to find you on social media.
- Hashtags. Use relevant hashtags to help people discover your content. Research popular and trending hashtags in your industry and community. Speaking of trending, it’s okay to try a little…
- Bandwagoning. Jumping on the bandwagon (or posting about something that’s trending or using trending music) is a good way to get new eyes on your content. It may feel a little insincere at first and out of line with your business, but if you do it in a fun way, it can show a lighter side of your personality and help people feel more connected to you.
- Collaborations. Partner with influencers or other businesses in your niche or town to reach a wider audience. Do interviews, videos, social media posting battles, and other collaborations to get attention. Talk to your chamber. They may be able to help introduce you to the perfect business partner. Check out this “sign war,” which made it out of the social media trenches and onto a local TV station.
Building a loyal following takes time and effort. Be patient, consistent, and focused on providing value to your audience, and you'll see your interactions grow over time.
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Christina Metcalf is a writer/ghostwriter who believes in the power of story. She works with small businesses, chambers of commerce, and business professionals who want to make an impression and grow a loyal customer/member base. She loves road trips, hates exclamation points, and is largely disappointed in the ongoing changes to algorithms.
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Medium: @christinametcalf
If you’re constantly putting out fires in your business, you might be treating symptoms instead of fixing systems. Systems thinking helps you connect the dots across hiring, sales, customer service, and operations. It’s not theory. It’s a practical mindset that builds efficiency, resilience, and smarter decision-making. Small business owners who think in systems avoid waste, anticipate problems, and lead with greater clarity. 604 Words ~ 3 min. read Ever fix a leaky pipe only to find another bursts a few days later? Running a business without systems thinking is like that. Every fix creates new problems because nothing in your business operates in isolation. Everything is connected. That is why systems thinking matters. Once used primarily by scientists and large corporations, it is now a strategic advantage for small business owners who want to stop reacting and start leading with clarity and purpose. What Is Systems Thinking? Systems thinking is a problem-solving approach that looks at the full picture, not just individual components. It focuses on how different functions, teams, and processes interact, and how those relationships create patterns over time. For example, if sales are falling, it is easy to blame the sales team. But a systems thinker goes deeper. Is marketing reaching the right audience? Are order delays impacting customer experience? Are internal goals misaligned? This mindset addresses root causes rather than surface issues. It gives leaders insight that leads to sustainable improvements. A Real-World Win Consider a local bakery that saw repeat business begin to dip. The owner initially considered staff retraining but instead decided to map the entire customer journey. She discovered supply chain delays were increasing wait times during peak hours, which frustrated customers. By adjusting vendor relationships and revising inventory practices, she sped up service and brought customers back. This is systems thinking in action. Why Small Businesses Need It Smaller businesses operate with tighter resources and greater exposure to risk. One decision can impact multiple areas at once. That is why systems thinking helps owners lead more effectively. It provides structure for understanding cause and effect throughout the business. Here’s how it supports growth: Efficiency: Uncover root issues in operations rather than solving isolated problems. Smarter decisions: Detect recurring patterns and fix their source, not just the outcome. Foresight: Recognize how changes in one area will impact the entire organization. How to Get Started You do not need a formal system or software to begin. Use these simple steps: Sketch your system. Create a visual map of how departments, people, tools, and customers interact. Identify feedback loops. Look for areas where problems tend to repeat or compound. Ask deeper questions. Move from “What went wrong?” to “What in our structure caused this result?” Review regularly. Set time aside monthly to assess how recent changes are impacting other parts of the business. Free tools like Lucidchart or Miro can help you visualize your system. For more advanced insights, explore Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review . The Bottom Line Systems thinking gives small business leaders the perspective needed to lead with confidence, not just react to chaos. It connects the dots between actions and outcomes, so you can fix what really matters. The most effective business owners think in systems. They see how each decision shapes the whole. That is what helps them grow stronger, faster, and more sustainably. --- The Leavenworth-Lansing Area Chamber of Commerce is a private non-profit organization that aims to support the growth and development of local businesses and our regional economy. We strive to create content that not only educates but also fosters a sense of connection and collaboration among our readers. Join us as we explore topics such as economic development, networking opportunities, upcoming events, and success stories from our vibrant community. Our resources provide insights, advice, and news that are relevant to business owners, entrepreneurs, and community members alike. The Chamber has been granted license to publish this content provided by Chamber Today, a service of ChamberThink Strategies LLC.
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Who isn’t feeling the pain of being stretched too thin these days? If you’ve dabbled with AI, you may have cut the time it takes you to do administrative tasks by as much as 26 minutes a day (at least according to a recent survey in the UK). However, it’s possible to do a lot more than that when you move past administrative tasks and see where else you can do more with less. One of these areas is content. Most businesses are sitting on goldmines of content and don’t even know it. This article will show you five genius ways to get more out of what you already have by repurposing and restructuring the media. 1. Turn Longform Content into Shortform Gold Feed your existing blog posts, eBooks, or newsletters into an AI tool to extract highlights, tips, or quotes for social media posts. Creative twist: Use AI to rewrite the same message in multiple tones—professional, humorous, casual—or tailor it for different platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook. 2. Transform Video or Podcast Transcripts into Written Content AI transcription tools can convert spoken content into text. Use a language model to turn that transcript into blog posts, newsletters, or Q&A articles. Creative twist: Convert a video transcript into a “Top 5 Takeaways” post, a tutorial, or a visually rich infographic with AI-generated headlines. 3. Create Content for Different Audiences from One Source Take a general piece of content (like a blog post) and ask AI to adapt it for different member personas such as new members, loyal/engaged members, or industry partners. Creative twist: Turn one blog post into: · A beginner’s guide on the topic · A technical breakdown · A “pitch” version for partners or press releases 4. Build an Email Series from a Single Piece Take a detailed guide or blog post and ask AI to break it into a 3–5-part email series, complete with subject lines, CTAs, and value-focused messaging. Email series can be very effective in helping your content get noticed. People may not take the time to read a 700-word blog post, but if you email the summary points across several days, they’ll get the gist of the message and will most likely remember it better than reading it all at once. Creative twist: Include AI-generated teaser lines or questions at the end of each email to boost open and click rates. 5. Reimagine Content as Interactive Tools or Experiences Use AI to turn tips, FAQs, or how-to guides into interactive quizzes, calculators, or chatbot scripts that educate and engage users. Example: Turn a skincare routine blog into a “What’s Your Skin Type?” quiz, or a business checklist into a “Startup Readiness Scorecard.” The titles you choose for the materials can make the content a lot more appealing. You can even use reimagined, designed pieces as lead magnets. People often won’t recognize it in another format. Speaking of, upload any written content onto NotebookLM and create a podcast on the topic. You can even tell it which parts of the text you want it to pay attention to or avoid. There are so many things you can do with existing content and marketing collateral you already have. If you can’t think of any creative ideas on how to repurpose those critical pieces, ask AI. Tell it your audience and your goal behind repurposing the content. Then ask it to suggest some ideas to you. You’ll be surprised what it comes up with. ------------- Christina Metcalf is a writer and women’s speaker who believes in the power of story. She works with small businesses, chambers of commerce, and business professionals who want to make an impression and grow a loyal customer/member base. She is the author of The Glinda Principle , rediscovering the magic within. _______________________________________ Facebook: @tellyourstorygetemtalking Instagram: @christinametcalfauthor LinkedIn: @christinagsmith
