It’s been said before that getting information off the internet is like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. I wasn’t the one who said it, but when I go looking for social media marketing advice for small business, the hydrant analogy pretty much nails it. Between Google, Instagram, Linkedin and Facebook, there’s exactly way too much going on. And some of the best stuff is coming from brands and sources that are definitely not establishment. So, how to figure out what’s worth your time and what’s not? My motto: When in Doubt, Geek Out. After reading more social media marketing advice for small business than I ever thought possible, I’ve assembled my top 10 quality criteria:

I confess - the handful of common grammatical errors I *often* see on social media make me cray-cray. Regardless of the overall quality, once I see a mistake, I need to work hard to take the rest of the post seriously. We all make stuff-ups from time to time and social media is a fast turn-around deal so it’s particularly easy to miss small errors. However, it’s worth putting some effort into getting everything right so you look on top of your game. To find out how - read on!

If you’re anything like me, you keep one eye on changes to your social platforms’ algorithms, while scrambling to create content that will work. Making decisions about what, when and why to post can get overwhelming! I find this is especially true when rumours about the latest Instagram changes are doing the rounds.

So - to make things a bit easier for myself I’ve done two things. I created a summary of what was released directly by Instagram developers to Tech Crunch reporters at the beginning of June. Then I made a list of different ways to increase organic engagement given what we know. You can find the list mid-way through the post if you want to skip ahead!

So many new solo-preneurs and small businesses are focused on social media as their main form of outreach. But if your business socials are brand-new (or even if they’re not!) there are other ways to find clients and customers.

It may seem obvious, but you can (and should) use the personal networks you ALREADY have to generate paid leads. Think about it this way. Before you establish your brand, your first clients are likely to be people who already know and trust your abilities. And there’s no reason to be shy - if you don’t tell everyone about your fantastic new business, your contacts are going to miss out on what you have to offer.

When I launched Craft Media just over a month ago, I fought my inner shrinking violet to let all my existing networks know about my new business. Since then ALL my paid leads have come through people I already knew. And this was by design. I’m still building my company’s social profile and planned to survive the first three months at least without any social-generated leads. However – I actually got my first lead via social media late last week, a full two months ahead of schedule! So how did I do it? Believe it or not, this lead actually came from work I did with an existing contact. Read on to get the full story.