Small businesses, especially ones that operate locally or regionally, need to be on social media. I don’t think anyone disputes this anymore; it is so true that it has become axiomatic. The problem comes from businesses not knowing what to do once they’re on social media. We’ve published guides here and you can find hundreds (heck, probably thousands) of others all over the web. Still, even when you’re doing everything right, it can be hard to gain that initial inertia. Getting to 100 likes is eminently achievable, but getting from 100 to 500 (or god forbid 1,000) can seem utterly insurmountable. Today, I want to share with you one simple technique to jump start your social media that many businesses ignore.

The tip? Use your employees. Most small businesses have anywhere from a handful to fifty employees depending on the industry. These employees should be incentivized to share your brand. Think about how you got your first 100 likes (followers, +1s, yadda yadda yadda), you probably got them by asking people on your personal social media account to friend your new business page. If your employees do the same thing, you’ll experience easy growth.

This may seem obvious to some, but it’s not done often enough. Understand that I’m not advocating for you to FORCE your employees to share the business page on their personal page, that’s unethical and they have a right to their privacy if they desire. Honestly, you should start by asking nicely. If you’re a good boss (you are, right? RIGHT?) then they most likely won’t have any issue sharing the page. If they won’t do it for the asking, don’t push too hard. They have a right to keep business and pleasure separate.

The ones that do share it though, will likely drastically improve your audience. This is amazingly powerful for small businesses that operate locally or regionally. You likely employ people from the area, and their friends are likely also from the area. That means every new like is a real person who is in your targeted zone for marketing. It’s not a lot to ask your employees, especially if you already have a good relationship, so give it a shot. The results may surprise you.