In the dynamic world of social media marketing, CEOs and marketing strategists are finding innovative ways to captivate and grow their audiences. From addressing audience pain points to targeting ads to specific locations, we’ve compiled sixteen powerful strategies that have propelled small businesses forward. Discover the tactics that have not only gained traction but also fostered meaningful engagement with their target audiences.
- Address Audience Pain Points
- Leverage WhatsApp for Direct Updates
- Engage with Animated Explainer Videos
- Optimize with Lookalike Audiences
- Showcase Customer Success Stories
- Foster a Private Facebook Community
- Boost Engagement with Audience Polls
- Drive Traffic with #TotallyMyStory Contest
- Collaborate for Influencer Giveaways
- Promote Others to Expand Reach
- Grow Audience with Giveaway Campaigns
- Attract Clients with LinkedIn Posts
- Feature Real Customers in Wedding Dresses
- Increase Engagement with Targeted Comments
- Maintain Regular Content Posting
- Target Ads to Specific Locations
Address Audience Pain Points
Writing content that directly addresses our audience’s pain points has been a game-changer for our rates of engagement. A standout campaign making use of this strategy was when we focused on creating practical, informative posts about common challenges that clients would come up against when using services like ours. After detailing the challenge, we would then explain in simple, practical detail how it could be avoided or easily dealt with.
By tailoring our content to solve specific problems and using clear, actionable tips, we saw a notably increased interaction and follower growth. The strategy worked because it positioned us as a helpful resource and built trust with potential clients.
Alex Ugarte
Operations Manager, London Office Space
Leverage WhatsApp for Direct Updates
When we started in 2016, we were just a Facebook group that published information about upcoming sneaker releases to its users. We showed people exactly when new sneakers would be released and which online shops would have the shoes available.
Sneaker fans loved our free service, but there was one big problem: people often saw our messages too late and missed the release.
Users wanted more direct and faster communication. So, we opened a WhatsApp channel and sent the same information directly to their mobile phones.
We made this service public through Facebook Ads campaigns, and the conversion rates in the registration numbers were terrific. This one advertising campaign pushed our user numbers and thus our entire business forward.
Edgar Suppes
CEO, edquadrat GmbH
Engage with Animated Explainer Videos
We created a series of short, animated explainer videos highlighting different use cases of our product, which we shared across all social media platforms. The visually appealing and easily digestible content was perfect for catching attention in busy social feeds, leading to a spike in both engagement and sign-ups. By showcasing the versatility of our tools in a fun way, we were able to reach a broader audience.
The animated explainer videos worked because they distilled complex features into simple, engaging content that was easy to consume and share. The visual storytelling approach made our tools more accessible, appealing to both new users and existing customers looking to explore more features. By making the content fun and informative, we were able to capture attention in a crowded social media landscape.
Alari Aho
CEO and Founder, Toggl Inc
Optimize with Lookalike Audiences
We found success with a targeted Facebook ad campaign that used lookalike audiences to reach potential customers similar to our most loyal clients. We carefully crafted ad creatives that highlighted the unique selling points of our services, and we ran A/B tests to optimize the messaging and visuals. This data-driven approach allowed us to maximize our ad spend by focusing on high-converting audience segments, leading to increased website traffic and conversions.
The effectiveness of this campaign was driven by our ability to leverage data to refine our target audience and ad creatives continuously. By focusing on lookalike audiences, we were able to reach individuals who were more likely to be interested in our services, thus increasing the ROI of our ad spend. The A/B testing ensured that we were always using the most effective messaging and visuals, which resonated well with our audience and drove meaningful results.
Marc Bishop
Director, Wytlabs
Showcase Customer Success Stories
One social media strategy that worked incredibly well for one of our small-business clients was a “Customer Success Spotlight” campaign. The business was a local fitness studio, and the goal was to engage their target audience — people hesitant to start their fitness journey — by building trust through relatable, real-life stories. We wanted to showcase their clients’ experiences and demonstrate the value of the studio’s services in a way that felt personal and approachable.
Here’s how we structured it: we identified several clients who had experienced significant transformations, whether through weight loss, building strength, or boosting confidence. We then conducted mini-interviews where the clients shared their journeys, challenges, and successes. These interviews were recorded and repurposed into short, engaging video clips for Instagram Reels and TikTok. Each video featured the client telling their story in their own words, with footage of them working out, interacting with trainers, and showcasing their progress.
To make it interactive, we paired the videos with “Ask Me Anything” sessions on Instagram Stories, where followers could ask the featured client or fitness trainer questions about the journey, tips for staying motivated, or specific exercises. This part was key — it created an ongoing conversation with the audience and gave them a reason to return to the fitness studio’s page.
We also encouraged the featured clients to share the posts with their social circles, organically extending the campaign’s reach. The studio’s social media following grew significantly, but engagement skyrocketed. Followers began commenting on the posts, sharing their fitness struggles, and expressing their inspiration from the stories. The content resonated on an emotional level.
The success of this campaign came from focusing on authenticity and community. The fitness studio built a stronger connection with its audience by highlighting real client success stories and making them the campaign stars. It wasn’t just about promoting services but building trust through genuine experiences. The short, digestible video content made it easy for viewers to engage, and the interactive elements kept the conversation going. This strategy increased engagement and drove foot traffic to the studio, with many new clients saying they felt encouraged by others’ success and wanted to be part of that journey.
Lisa Benson
Marketing Strategist, DeBella DeBall Designs
Foster a Private Facebook Community
My photography and training business has strong visibility across various social media platforms, but the highest level of engagement comes from my private Facebook community. I’ve cultivated a space where potential and future clients feel supported and inspired. I regularly offer free training, share valuable tips, and provide my time and expertise on a daily basis. Whenever I create and launch a new training course within this community, I receive a highly positive response because my members know and trust the quality of my content.
Nina Mace
Family Photographer, Nina Mace Photography
Boost Engagement with Audience Polls
One social media strategy that worked wonders for my small business was actively seeking audience feedback through polling. We were searching for ways to understand the preferences of our customers and also to engage them further with the brand. It turned out that polls were an easy but effective option.
To illustrate, we carried out several polls on Instagram regarding what kinds of content our followers liked, what topics they wanted to see more of, and which features they would like us to add.
This was well received, as everyone wanted to take part, and engagement rates increased by 30% as the audience felt that their voices were being heard.
Such an approach not only provided us with some usable information but also created a community around it. People began to post our polls and ask their friends to join, so we got to understand how to serve them better by completing the feedback loop on our part.
It’s the straightforwardness and the uncomplicated, transactional nature that made it possible for success.
If you aim at establishing closer relationships with the audience, add a polling feature to your social media strategy. It is a valuable technique to hear your customers and stress their importance.
Soubhik Chakrabarti
CEO, Canada Hustle
Drive Traffic with #TotallyMyStory Contest
Our #TotallyMyStory contest was a social media champion from the beginning! This marketing strategy encourages customers to send us photos of the promotional products they purchased, along with a comment on how they were used. A new winner is chosen each week from the submissions and given a $150 gift card to use at our sites.
Our social media director posts the winning customer’s photo and their comments. This helps us showcase our happy customers and inspires others to use our customized products for their own businesses or special events. Overall, the contest successfully brings current and new customers to our website, which greatly increases traffic and sales.
Shelley Grieshop
Marketing Associate/Writer at Totally Promotional, Totally Promotional
Collaborate for Influencer Giveaways
We partnered with a local influencer who shares a similar target audience and ran a collaborative giveaway. Participants had to follow both accounts, like the post, and tag a friend to enter. The prize was a bundle of our products, along with a personalized shout-out from the influencer.
The collaboration allowed us to tap into the influencer’s loyal following, resulting in a 25% increase in our social media followers and significant engagement on our giveaway post. The giveaway not only boosted our visibility but also introduced our brand to potential customers who were already interested in what we offer.
Slavko Kovacevic
Head of SEO, Health Link SEO
Promote Others to Expand Reach
One strategy that significantly boosted engagement for my website-design plugin business was promoting other creators in the design space. By featuring their work on our social media channels, we not only added value to our audience by showcasing high-quality designs but also built strong relationships with these creators.
This led to them sharing our content with their followers, expanding our reach organically. The key was genuine appreciation — highlighting work that resonated with our brand’s values. This approach turned into a mutually beneficial cycle of promotion and engagement, driving more traffic and interest to our product.
Rasmus Myhrberg
Founder & CEO, Spark Plugin
Grow Audience with Giveaway Campaigns
When I was helping a web design client to grow an audience on Instagram for her e-commerce operation, we employed a simple and effective giveaway strategy on her social channels. The giveaway is positioned to offer a free gift box of products, with the entry rules requiring that users like, follow, and tag friends on the posting. We then would put this giveaway posting on a medium-budget exposure campaign and direct the audience towards the gender, demographics, and interest categories we are aiming for.
This campaign has a double benefit as it collects an audience of users who are interested in the product, are willing to share the business profile with their friends to try and win a free product. When the giveaway ends, there is a very public announcement of the winner and a new giveaway is launched. This perpetual giveaway campaign generates an ever-growing audience of users who not only like and share your content but also tend to convert to customers along the way!
Taking this further, as the audience on these giveaway campaigns grows, from this data we can also create retargeting ads, build lookalike audiences, and remarket new products, events, and promotions to them! This all comes together to build a “tribe” of followers around a brand.
Leah Webber
Projects Manager, Sugar Design Group
Attract Clients with LinkedIn Posts
Developing a posting plan for LinkedIn has been a game-changer in reaching my audience. After reading that only about 1% of LinkedIn’s active users post on the platform each week, I decided to dedicate time each week to share on LinkedIn about my process in building my business, and it has led to signing 70% of my new clients this past year. While other platforms have a lot of noise from people posting content, LinkedIn has an engaged audience looking for content to consume.
Tara Knight
CEO & Founder, Goodknight Agency
Feature Real Customers in Wedding Dresses
One of our most successful social media campaigns was showcasing real brides wearing our wedding dresses. This approach not only brought authenticity to our brand but also created a relatable and emotional connection with our audience. Brides love to see how our dresses look on real people at actual weddings, not just on models. It adds a layer of trust and aspiration.
We encouraged our customers to send in their wedding photos and share their stories, which we then featured on our Instagram and Facebook pages. This user-generated content (UGC) strategy provided genuine testimonials and fostered a sense of community. Practical tip: incentivize participation by offering a small discount or a chance to be featured. This way, you’ll see a spike in engagement and build a gallery of authentic, beautiful content.
Jean Chen
COO & Co-Founder, Mondressy
Increase Engagement with Targeted Comments
We had a new SaaS product for which we started social media marketing. However, despite a lot of effort, such as posting images, videos, polls, etc., we couldn’t gain much traction on LinkedIn.
So, we came up with two strategies:
- Commenting on relevant posts.
- Posting about our prospects and target audience by tagging them.
These two strategies were really game-changers for us. After implementing them, we started getting more engagement and relevant followers as well.
Shubham Ahuja
Digital Marketing Manager, BigOhTech
Maintain Regular Content Posting
Steadily posting good content. We prioritize being a regular presence in our audience’s feeds. We share helpful information about IP law and trademarking, breaking down complex topics into simple, digestible pieces. This content goes out across all our social media platforms — YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more — keeping us top of mind for our audience.
What makes this approach successful is that it’s not just about the content itself but also about how we engage with our audience and other accounts. Social media, to us, is about building relationships and increasing awareness over time. It’s a long-term strategy that helps with brand recognition and loyalty, which ultimately leads to more sales.
The biggest mistake people make is thinking that posting content is all that matters. Engaging with others and fostering those connections is equally important. Social media is a tool for meaningful interactions, not just for pushing ads.
Andrei Mincov
Founder & CEO, Trademark Factory®
Target Ads to Specific Locations
I run a domestic recruitment agency that helps high-net-worth clients find household staff like nannies, housekeepers, and gardeners. One strategy that’s really helped us gain traction is using highly location-specific targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram. Instead of broadly targeting interests like luxury cars or handbags, I narrow the focus to specific areas — sometimes even down to certain streets or villages — where I know my target audience lives.
This approach has been much more effective in reaching the right audience and attracting clients who are likely to need our services. It’s all about getting your message in front of the right people, and this hyper-local targeting has made a big difference for our small business.
Chloe Rodwell
Director, Abode Staff
