I often ask my clients to identify other similar businesses across the country that they 
would like to be like in terms of their social media. From that information, we can draw inspiration on posts content, style, and overall strategy to help build their presence. However, many times, my clients are comparing themselves to major brands or influencers and creating unrealistic expectations.
When it comes to drawing inspiration, it is just that, inspiration. It is not a copy and paste situation, and there are many things to take into consideration. For example:
- What is the size of the company you are comparing yourself to?
- What are the demographics they are targeting?
- What part of the country are they in, and is it similar to where you are?
- How much money do you think they are spending on their social media?
To compare your small business to major brands is not an effective strategy to grow your social media. While many times contests can take brands “to the next level” on social media, they are not a magic wand. Running a contest will very likely not get your business thousands of followers. You also have to consider YOUR audience. How many posts can they handle from you a day? What type of content do they want to see from you? It is likely that the type and amount of content you need to be producing is very different than that of big brands.
So, when it comes to finding inspiration from other businesses via social media, make sure it is a business that is actually similar to yours. Be sure to pay attention to the way your audience is responding to your efforts. And do what makes sense for your market and target demographic.
