Small Business’s Map of Social Media 

Imperial Printers is a small business in Imperial California. Imperial Printers has been in business for over 100 years and is dedicated to providing quality products and services to businesses of the Imperial Valley. Imperial Printers offers custom business cards, flyers, newsletters, banners, letterheads, door hangers, yard signs, magnets, large prints, and many more. Imperial Printers can also look into interacting with their audience by providing useful content such as gathering audience options about design work or which design is better with a polling tool. According to SproutSocial, there are many ways that brands can interact with their audience “80% of customers expect companies to interact with them on social”. This means that some of the ways that customers interact with a brand are liking posts, following your brand’s social profiles, leaving reviews, sharing brand content, reporting issues, and tagging companies in their posts. It is important for a business to engage with all customer interactions as this helps to build customer relationships and loyalty to a brand. 

 Imperial Printers has a Facebook page but their last post was in May of 2021. Some things to note for Imperial Printers is to stay up to date with their posting such as the services and what business they work with the stay relevant in the eyes of customers. If Imperial Printers posted more consistently it can according to Auburn Advertising, “The Importance of Consistency in Social Media Marketing”, when companies are consistent with their posting this increases brand recognizability, and brand voice, and grows your audience with reach and engagement. Another consideration for Imperial Printers is to look into forming an Instagram account to showcase on-site products that were done for businesses and events. Posting social media icons on the Imperial Printers’ website would also be ideal. Imperial Printers can also post content about their services, behind the senses look at the process of making prints, and the history and evolution of print.

 According to Hootsuite, some tips that business owners can do to improve their social media is to first start with a plan. Business owners should decide what goals and objectives the following video by Hootsuite explains how businesses can best-set goals and objectives https://youtu.be/mP9vHgwIkEs  the key is to want to use the SMART framework is that are specific, measurable, attainable, reliable, and time-bound.

 Next is to research the competition using competitive analysis to see how other businesses are using social media and what is working best for them or what your business can do better in terms of social media. Next is to perform a social media audit on your own social media presence to see your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats regarding your social media.

 Then comes deciding which platforms on social media are the right fit for your business based on the audience analysis you want to choose platforms where the majority of your audience or who you want to target is on. Next would be to expand your audience and understand their needs. Once you know who your audience is it is then time to build relationships with your audience by forming social media groups, and commenting on posts that mention your brand. Another good suggestion would be to keep up with trends.

 To stay current with industry news and customer needs. When small businesses keep up with trends they stay relevant and in the know, they are more aware of what is happening in their industry and in their own environment. Small businesses should invest in social listening tools to not only manage content and their posting schedule but also keep up with customer inquiries and messages. Lastly, businesses can also use social listening tools to track and message their social efforts and their return on investment to see if any changes need to be made and to be mindful of their resources such as time and money.

Social listening tools can also help manage a business’s social and online ads. According to Hootsuite, more users are staying online and on social media for longer periods and are more inclined to purchase services and products through online platforms and social media shops. Imperial Printers can use social media ads to increase their brand awareness, promote their services, showcase work for previous clients, and generate more leads.

 Imperial Printers does a lot for local businesses in the area but they can also expand their services beyond their area to other districts and even provide online services to other businesses in different cities with online advertising. Imperial Printers can promote their services to help individuals who want to start their own businesses by providing business cards and banners. Paid ads can help with generating leads such as other businesses and even individuals in the community that needs printing services. As Imperial Printers does a lot of work for other local businesses in the area ads can be put in place to advertise the quality work that Imperial Printers does and the ad can also include a link to their website. 

Newberry, C. (2021, December 4). How to use social media for small businesses: 12 simple tips. Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. Retrieved June 23, 2022, from https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-tips-for-small-business-owners/  

Payne, W. by L. (2020, December 30). The importance of consistency in social media marketing. Auburn Advertising Blog – A Service of Inner Spark Creative. Retrieved June 23, 2022, from https://www.auburnadvertising.com/articles/86-the-importance-of-consistency-in-social-media-marketing  

Gomez, R. (2022, May 27). 8 ways customers interact and engage with your brand on social. Sprout Social. Retrieved June 23, 2022, from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-interaction/  

HubSpot. (2021, March 1). How to set social media marketing goals (step by step). YouTube. Retrieved June 23, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP9vHgwIkEs&ab_channel=HubSpotMarketing