10 Ways to Boost Your Social Media

Our recent postings on kombucha brands’ presence on social media list the top 20 Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. It’s obvious that many of the larger brands have full-time social media managers in their marketing departments to boost their social media presence. However, for the vast majority of the 1,700 brands listed in our Worldwide Directory managing social media is just one of many jobs, along with brewing, bottling, and selling their drinks.

What’s a small company to do?

One solution is to hire someone on the outside to help give you the boost you need. Outsourcing, done correctly, is a great way to get competent people to help without adding a permanent employee. This allows you to focus on your core competencies and delegate the rest.

We spoke to freelancers, consultants, and agencies and asked them to share ideas on how they help small and medium-sized companies with social media. No two people gave the same advice. You’ll find some ideas you can implement today. You might also be curious about what it costs to hire a contractor. In that case, give them a call — they’ll be happy to explain what they do in more detail.

1. Ramp up your posting schedule

Gina is a freelance content creator and global marketer who specializes in social media. With a background in film production, she uses her skills to create compelling branded content for clients.

When I’ve looked at companies as a freelance social media consultant and manager, the first thing I find is that many companies don’t adhere to a strict enough posting schedule. While it may take some time to develop enough content to post every day, or even multiple times a day, it really pays off.

Your followers and particularly most of the kombucha industry’s target demographic of younger health-conscious consumers expect new and exciting content every day. This generation was raised on social media and posting once a week just won’t cut it anymore.

You don’t have to go crazy with content. Post a quick quote designed with your brand guidelines in mind. Call for submissions from customers and use their photos (with their permission). But make sure you’re posting at least once a day on Instagram.

The Facebook audience is generally a bit older, so maybe focus your energies on articles about your brand or blog posts with a mix of photos as well. Facebook stories are gaining popularity and should be used as much as Instagram.

Twitter is where your brand voice and personality can really shine. I always direct my clients to check out Skittles Twitter. They’re funny,  cheeky and interact with followers as though they’re real people, which in this day and age, goes a long way. 

Gina Jurlando, Medford, New York

2. Hire an Agency

Volume99 is a UK-based agency that offers an all-in-one marketing platform that specializes in growing an audience on social media, managing client interactions, and managing marketing campaigns for small and medium-sized businesses.

Now more than ever, kombucha producers are seeking to build an online presence that creates brand awareness and ultimately increase sales. Stay ahead of your competition and tap into the largest online communities including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest & LinkedIn. Volume99 offers complete Social Media Management. From 1-3 daily posts, social media stories, engaging captions, captivating imagery, engaging with other users, replying to comments and answering direct messages with customers. Volume99 uses software that tracks the optimal hashtags to reach your target market, and the optimal times of the day to post content, along with a weekly analytical report.

Volume99 has a proven track record of working with beverage companies, they understand the kombucha niche and operate seven days a week to showcase your brand around the clock. Whether you are beginning your journey into the world of social media or you’re wanting to optimize your existing presence, Volume99 is your all-in-one marketing team.

Book a free consultation today and explore the strategies that Volume99 can implement to take your company to the next level.

3. Build a lead-generation funnel

David Acosta is an El Paso, Texas-based consultant who helps brands generate leads from their social media platforms.

The name of the game for brands that don’t have a big advertising budget is generating customer leads via social media and then transferring contact information outside of social media. Social media should point to a landing page where people are encouraged to enter either their phone number and/or email address. This feeds a lead-generation funnel. You can then continue to market to them at no additional advertising cost.

Launch marketing campaigns that promote offers of discounts, trials of new flavors, or tasting events. These offers should be made within 30 days of the initial contact to keep the lead fresh.

Run ads on Instagram, Facebook, or even YouTube with a Call to Action (CTA) pointing to an outside landing page. For example, on Instagram, a post should encourage people to ‘click on the link in our bio’ or include a link to an external page on a sponsored Story.

To learn more, email David.

4. Don’t overlook LinkedIn

Uptown Creation recommends LinkedIn for B2B connections:

Consider looking beyond the ‘standard’ social media platforms to the advantages that LinkedIn offers for growing your business through B2B networking. As business owners, you can only grow so far building your brand one consumer at a time. Small business owners can use LinkedIn to build a network of decision-makers. While simple searches might uncover the person you need to contact at a local distributor, retail chain, or supplier, investing in Premium services like Sales Navigator makes it much easier to target the right person.

This enables you to host a virtual network that you control and build trust with the people who can help you build your business. The folks at Uptown Creation have the skills you need to build out your business systems, close more deals, and ramp up your online presence.

Contact them for a free demo to see how they can help.

5. Consider paying an influencer

Chelsea Tirone is an entrepreneur who helps brands create influencer marketing programs to increase engagement and sales.  Her advice:

How do you create effective marketing campaigns with a small budget? That’s where influencer marketing comes in. 
At its core, influencer marketing is the exchange of goods or services for collateral (typically images, videos, articles, etc.). Why does influencer marketing work so well for brands? Because consumers trust the influencers they follow. And if you work with influencers who truly stand behind your brand? They do the marketing for you. 

And the best part is – you don’t have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars – there’s a way to create and scale an influencer marketing program with a modest budget. Especially since you use both affiliates and paid creators. 

To learn more about how to start and scale your own influencer marketing program, email Chelsea. 

6. Consider paid advertising

Gawronski Media combines digital experience with an understanding of the Food and Beverage (F&B) industry. They help manage ad buying on a number of different platforms, especially for brands with a “lean” budget.

We work specifically with emerging F&B brands helping drive profitable online sales with lean budgets via paid advertising platforms. This includes platforms such as Social (Facebook and Instagram), Amazon, Google, and Instacart.

By paid advertising, we mean paying for impressions to relevant users searching for your brand, or products within your category to assure the consumer chooses your product over competitors. All campaigns are managed on a Return on Adspend (ROAS) objective, meaning the number of ad dollars spent/the amount of attributed sales.

Leveraging a paid media partner is an absolute must for emerging F&B brands. Given the ever-changing landscape of paid digital, and especially in the world of COVID, a paid media partner will allow your brand to adapt without wasteful adspend or effort. We recommend finding a partner who has experience working with brands in the F&B category. That way, they can merge their understanding of the industry with their digital marketing expertise, delivering a precise, accurate strategy.

We currently work with a handful of F&B clients. A few including LesserEvil Snacks, Eat Fresco, and most noticeably in the kombucha category Mother Kombucha (Aguabucha).

7. Sign up for an audit

Nicole Ialeggio recognizes that there aren’t enough hours in the day to take care of everything that goes into running a business as well as learning about what social strategies might work for your business.

You didn’t get into brewing kombucha in order to spend all your time trying to market it, am I right? Social Media Marketing can be a beast without a strategy. There’s no cookie-cutter approach and it’s okay to ask for help. That’s where I come in. From my experience working with craft breweries, I can tell you that a customized strategy is key in expanding your reach to find your customers and turn those customers into RAVING FANS.

If you’re ready to take the first step sign up for a social media audit for just $297. I also offer VIP intensives where we nail down your strategy in one day, as well as monthly coaching.

I’ll leave you with a pro tip: Did you know that your bio is a way people can search for you? Don’t let it go to waste –put a KEYWORD-RICH description in those bios! More free tips are on my Instagram @nicoleialeggio! Cheers!

8. Focus on Stories

Joanne Strand is a consultant with expertise in using organic (vs. paid) social media strategies.

As a Social Media Manager for multiple companies, one being a probiotic yogurt company, I have seen all of my clients grow immensely in a short period of time. Working with a freelance Social Media Manager is a smart investment because we provide long-term success for your growing business. We will do more than just guarantee an active social media presence, but we will also improve customer service, perfect branding, increase sales, and help improve your existing campaign or even switch objectives if current efforts aren’t doing well.

As a Social Media Manager and Strategist, my expertise lies in building strong and engaged relationships with customers. I use organic strategies for growth by engaging a targeted audience and market content towards the correct people. One of my favorite tools to use on Instagram is the stories tool! I strongly suggest using interactive quizzes and polls to engage your audience and create real-life connections with them. I am dedicated to creating long-term business relationships with my clients, and I’m passionate about growing different businesses. I can help your business grow and thrive and if you’re interested, please feel free to reach out to me at joannestrand17@gmail.com.  

Disclaimer

The content of this article is accurate to the best of our knowledge and is presented for general informational purposes only. The opinions are those of the editor. We have absolutely no affiliate relationship with any of the people and organizations listed. They were chosen solely as a representative sample. Please send corrections or questions to ian@boochnews.com. Comments are welcome, especially feedback outsourcing that worked for you.