Crack the social media code with the hosts of Marketing Happy Hour

The world of digital marketing is constantly evolving. As a small business owner, it can be hard to know where to start and what’s worth your time. What’s the best social media strategy? Is influencer marketing effective? How do you tell a compelling story online?

Brand marketing experts Cassie Tucker and Erica Spitzley started the podcast Marketing Happy Hour to answer these questions and more. Every week, they share their public relations and branding experience with a community of marketing professionals, and now they’re giving small business owners a peek behind the curtain.

Yelp’s Small Business Expert Emily Washcovick sat down with Cassie and Erica to talk about all things small business marketing—from building a social media strategy to leveraging reviews to optimize your business. Get the highlights below, or listen to the conversation on Behind the Review, Yelp & Entrepreneur Media’s weekly podcast.

Cassie: “The biggest [challenge] I see business owners run into is not being able to communicate ‘Why me?’ What is the value they provide versus a competitor? Why should someone do business with them and not the brand down the street? [Start by] listing out your value proposition—the thing that makes you stand out and determines why a consumer should choose you. Then transmit that message across all of [your social media] platforms.

“[The next step is] determining the platforms you’re going to be speaking on, the social media channels you want to hone and grow and build a community and audience on. Think about the different styles of content and the resources you have internally to be able to push that content out. How consistent do you want to be [posting] throughout the week? How are you going to use those platforms uniquely?

“Content, especially for a local business, should be used to build trust with your customers. Allow them to get to know your team, the business owner, and your story. Then put the customer in your story and make them feel like they’re a part of it.”

Emily: There’s no right or wrong when it comes to posting, but some things aren’t worth your time. What tactics should people avoid?

Erica: “One thing to avoid is not considering your audience on online channels as a community, and not seeing those channels as a space to foster that community right from the beginning. I was just reading a consumer behavior study about Gen Z and Millennials, and it mentioned that brands who prioritize authentic, community-driven content on social media are truly standing out to those demographics. It all boils down to serving your consumer well, paying attention to what they want to see from you from the very start and how they’re feeling about your product or service. They’ll reciprocate that love right back to you.

“Consumers today are utilizing social media as a search engine to research their purchases or the places they want to go ahead of time. So many brands on social platforms misinterpret that as consumers wanting to impulse buy [on the platform itself], but the truth is [consumers are] seeing a brand across multiple touchpoints, and it might take a few more touchpoints for them to want to learn more.

“I like to think of it as your first date with a consumer. Would you go on a first date and assume that that the person already knows everything about you and they’re ready for marriage? No, you’re going to take your time to share the things about yourself that will help the other person get to know who you really are. The same goes for social media and your presence on a platform. Every post should really point back to who you are as a brand.”

Emily: Do you have any advice for how businesses can leverage influencer marketing?

Erica: “There are a lot of different ways you can tap into influencer marketing, and user-generated content (UGC) is a big one. UGC is when a creator, or just a customer in general, creates a post about your product and shares their experience with it. It speaks volumes to your consumer when they see content like that because it’s [coming from] a real person. They’re just like you, they’re using the product, and they have their genuine thoughts shared in a video format.

“There’s another avenue out there, [which is] reaching out to people who are already talking about you. If you’re a restaurant, and you have some influencers in your local area who are coming in all the time, see how you can partner with that influencer. Can you invite them to have their own dish on the menu that their followers [could try]? Those kinds of partnerships are another way to inspire community that [doesn’t require] spending thousands of dollars. Partnerships that are individualized, creative, and community-focused are a great place to start.”

Emily: How do you encourage small businesses to think about reviews and feedback?

Cassie: “It’s very, very important to not only pay attention to reviews and feedback, but also to listen and consider if something they are saying could lead to a possible optimization or enhancement in your business. A lot of times, business owners hold what they’ve created very close to themselves, like: ‘This is the way it’s always going to be. I’m never going to change it.’

“I get that. I really do. But as a business owner, you always have to be open to evolving and to updating. If someone says something once, it might be an opportunity for improvement. But if you hear the same message over and over again from consumers, that’s them telling you something about a huge improvement you can make to your business.”

Erica: “Something, too, that’s important to do when it comes to reviews is to ask for more. People are giving you a little tidbit, whether it’s negative or positive. Anytime someone reaches out to talk to us about Marketing Happy Hour or say that they loved a certain episode, I always ask them: ‘Hey, I’d love to learn more about what specifically you loved. Are there any topics that you want to hear from us in the future? Is there anything that we can do to serve you better or to help you along your journey?’

“It’s about knowing who’s reaching out to you, having some great responses that are in your toolbelt that you can pull out and give them, and then also engaging further and taking that conversation offline—just engaging back and forth and hearing more of their thoughts. Like Cassie said, there’s nothing better than the feedback from people who are actually using your product or service. Keep diving in and learning more from them.”

Emily: What advice do you have for entrepreneurs who are juggling day jobs and side hustles, or struggling with work-life balance?

Cassie: “Know what your goals are and make sure everything you’re taking on aligns with that. If you have a new opportunity, take a step back before you agree to it and say: ‘Does this align with my values? Does it align with my schedule? Does it align with my future goals?’ I’ve definitely been in a position where I’ve gotten so excited about different opportunities that I’ve taken on too much, and it leads to burnout.”

Erica: “It comes down to prioritizing. I am a huge proponent of prioritizing rest, so for me that looks like setting boundaries. I am not working past a certain time at night. I am not working on the weekends. I am prioritizing things that make me feel good, like getting up in the morning and going for a walk… Thankfully I have the flexibility to do that, but there are different ways that you can implement things in your routine to prioritize that rest. And I think that is the most important thing ever.”

These lessons come from an episode of Behind the Review, Yelp & Entrepreneur Media’s weekly podcast. Listen below to hear from Emily, Cassie, and Erica, or visit the show homepage to learn about the show and find more episodes.