Social Media Marketing for Small Business: A Practical Guide

Social media can be a powerful growth engine for small businesses—but only if you approach it strategically. Here’s a practical, no-fluff guide to making social media work for your business.

Choose the Right Platforms

You don’t need to be everywhere. Pick 2-3 platforms where your customers actually spend time:

• Facebook: Best for local businesses, community building, and paid advertising
• Instagram: Best for visual businesses (restaurants, retail, beauty, real estate)
• LinkedIn: Best for B2B, professional services, and thought leadership
• TikTok: Best for reaching younger audiences and viral content potential
• YouTube: Best for educational content and building long-term authority

Content Strategy That Works

The 80/20 Rule

80% value-driven content (tips, education, entertainment, behind-the-scenes) and 20% promotional content (offers, products, CTAs). Nobody follows a business that only talks about itself.

Content Pillars

Define 3-5 content themes you’ll consistently post about. For a restaurant: food photography, chef stories, customer spotlights, local community, seasonal menus. Rotate through these pillars for variety.

Posting Frequency

Consistency matters more than frequency. It’s better to post 3 great pieces per week than 7 mediocre ones. Use scheduling tools to batch content creation and maintain consistency.

Paid Social Advertising

Organic reach continues to decline on most platforms. Budget $500-2,000/month for paid social to amplify your best content, retarget website visitors, and reach new audiences. Start with Facebook/Instagram Ads—they offer the best targeting for local businesses.

Measuring What Matters

Stop obsessing over likes and followers. Track metrics that impact your business: website clicks, lead form submissions, phone calls, and actual sales attributed to social media. Use UTM parameters to track social traffic in Google Analytics.

Get Social Media Help

Brandastic manages social media for businesses across Southern California. Contact us for expert social media management.