In today’s fast-paced business environment, it’s more essential than ever to create and foster an authentic connection with your customers. This is especially important when it comes to small businesses that rely on customer loyalty and word-of-mouth to generate business and develop their brand. Fortunately, social media is an incredibly powerful tool that businesses both large and small can utilize for engagement, storytelling, and more. Although the task of cultivating a social media presence may seem daunting, there are several steps you can take today to begin leveraging your social media accounts to your business’ advantage:

1. Place an Emphasis on Community

Creating a sense of community in the online realm is an effective and simple way to connect with your customers. Whether it’s by reposting content shared by your followers or featuring content that focuses on members of your organization, you can easily cultivate an authentic online presence on platforms like Instagram. Check out Journey Church’s profile for a great example! Twitter is also a great platform for directly connecting with your customers, whether it be through retweets, replies, or a combination of both. Constant Contact does a great job of accomplishing this on their Twitter account!

2. Choose a Theme and Stick to It

If a potential customer is skimming through their recommended accounts, they’ll take notice of a feed that sticks to a theme. For example, if you’re trying to appeal to a mature, predominantly female audience, you might want to post images that are simple and neutral with hints of color. Goldsmith Jewelry Shoppe employs this strategy on their Instagram feed very effectively. WUCF-TV also does a great job of sticking to a theme; their posts are bright and colorful to best appeal to their family-oriented audience.

3. Incorporate Your Business

There are many ways to use social media to generate leads and directly support your business efforts. Promoting targeted posts on Facebook is a great way to make sure that your audience is aware of your business and the services you provide. With Instagram’s ecommerce tools, your followers can shop directly from your profile! Check out The Grove’s profile to see how they seamlessly incorporate this feature into their posts.

While it may seem daunting, don’t be afraid to use social media to boost your business. Taking even one of the steps above can go a long way toward boosting your engagement and improving your connection with your customers! Be sure to follow the Chamber’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for even more inspiration.