Easy steps to build a social media strategy for your small business in Asia

When it comes to promoting their business, many small business owners start from brainstorming a strong social media strategy. After all, these platforms are free for most users, and has the potential to reach customers globally.

In today’s digital-first world, you need more than a great product or service. Successful small businesses understand the importance of visibility, engagement, and trust. In Asia, social media offers a powerful, affordable way to reach local and global audiences. But here’s the challenge - simply posting on Instagram or Facebook doesn’t equal results.

Here lies the importance of having a strong social media strategy - a game plan for turning followers into customers and likes into long-term loyalty. Whether you're running a home-based business in the Philippines, a startup in Singapore, or a boutique in Bangkok, the right strategy helps you stand out in a crowded market.

In this article, you’ll learn step-by-step how to create an engaging and results-driven social media strategy tailored to small businesses across Asia. We’ll walk you through setting clear goals, choosing the right platforms, crafting compelling content, and measuring success.

Why social media strategy matters for small businesses in Asia

Asia is one of the most mobile-connected and socially active regions globally. In Southeast Asia alone, social media penetration exceeds 72%. Platforms like Facebook are widely used in the Philippines, TikTok dominates in Indonesia, and LINE plays a strong role in Thailand. For small businesses, this means a tremendous opportunity to tap into local and regional markets.

However, without a strong social media strategy, many small business owners find themselves posting randomly and wondering why growth stalls. On top of that, this could mean wasting time on unsuitable platforms, leading to burnout and wasted resources. For a small business with limited resources and bandwidth, this could be detrimental.

A clearly defined social media strategy can be the difference between thriving online or getting lost in the noise. With a strategy in place, you:

• Boost brand visibility across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and LinkedIn
• Build meaningful engagement with your target audience
• Convert followers into loyal customers
• Save time by planning content in advance
• Track success and adjust efforts based on data

Did you know? A Sprout Social report found that businesses with a defined strategy see up to 3x more engagement than those without one.

Why is social media strategy important? 

Social media can be very overwhelming, to say the least. With its ever-changing, ever-evolving nature, learning how to put together and implement an effective and engaging social media strategy for your business is integral, simply because everyone is online.

Apart from choosing the most effective social media channels and thinking of a results-driven content strategy that’s in line with your overall marketing plan, social media serves as a catalyst between brands and the online community. It’s a place where relationships are built, loyalty is fostered, and of course, where conversions are made.

Editor's note: A sound social media strategy can boost your Search Engine Optimisation(SEO) score. They both aim to reach audiences organically and build strong brand awareness through high quality content. Help people find your content online with GoDaddy's SEO Tools.

Step 1: Set meaningful goals that are relevant to your business

Before you open your design app or start planning Instagram posts, ask yourself: What do I want to achieve with social media?

Defining clear business goals is the foundation of any successful social media strategy. Without it, you're just creating content without direction. Going back to your business plan, it’s important to figure out what goals make sense for your business plan and what you want to get out of your social media efforts.

An exercise that always proves effective in distilling the goals of your business plan or marketing plan is setting S.M.A.R.T. goals. It stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This framework helps ensure your social media efforts directly contribute to your overall business objectives.

Here’s what SMART goals might look like:

• Specific: “Increase my Facebook page followers by 500 people in Malaysia”
• Measurable: “Get at least 100 website visits from social media per week”
• Achievable: “Launch one TikTok video every week for three months”
• Relevant: “Drive Instagram traffic to my Shopee store to increase product sales”
• Time-bound: “Grow Instagram engagement by 30 percent in 60 days”

Setting SMART goals helps you focus on outcomes that matter.

Aligning goals and metrics with business objectives

When it comes to goals and metrics, many businesses make the mistake of focusing on vanity metrics such as number of followers, but there is more to mere social media following as it’s often difficult to prove their real value. Every goal should link back to a larger business objective. If your aim is to increase sales in the Philippines, then your social media content should highlight your products, offer promotions, and include strong calls to action.

Here’s how social media goals align with real-world business objectives:

Tip: If you’re in the food and beverage industry in Indonesia, consider a goal like "Post daily food stories on Instagram to increase foot traffic to the café during lunch hours.

Step 2. Know your target audience and competitors deeply

In order to create an engaging and effective social media strategy, you must know exactly who you're speaking to. The more you understand your audience, the better your content will resonate and convert. In Asia’s culturally diverse market, tailoring content to regional preferences is essential.

Being able to cater your social media content to your target audiences is a critical part of your overall marketing plan.

For starters, look into creating buyer personas for your business. A buyer persona is a detailed profile of your ideal customer. It includes demographic data (age, gender, location), behaviors (buying habits, interests), and pain points. Here are some examples:

• Persona 1: Siti, 29, Kuala Lumpur-based café hopper, scrolls Instagram for brunch spots, influenced by food photos and TikTok trends
• Persona 2: Adeel, 40, Karachi entrepreneur, follows LinkedIn pages for business tips and uses Facebook Groups to find local services

To build your personas, you can choose to interview existing customers, check audience insights on platforms like Meta Business Suite or analyze competitor followers. Some aspects to include are location, age, average income, interests and job industry. Gathering your own data through research is highly important. You’ll start to notice patterns that help you create content they actually care about.

Here are a few tools to help you dig deeper:

• Facebook Audience Insights: Understand age, gender, location, and interest data
• Google Trends: Compare platform popularity by country or keyword
• AnswerThePublic: Discover common questions and topics your audience searches for
• Meta Business Suite (free): Great for local small business content ideas

Local audience insights

Different countries in Asia have distinct digital behaviors. What works in one market may flop in another. Here's a quick comparison:

Your marketing plan might require different social media platforms for different messages. There is no one-size-fits-all content formula for all social media platforms as each one serves a different purpose and audience behavior. Hence, understanding these regional social media preferences lets you localize your strategy for higher engagement.

Keeping an eye out for competitors

Don’t forget to check out what your competitors are doing online.Conducting a competitive analysis provides you with insights and understanding of what’s expected of your industry. This information will also help you set social media targets of your own and spot opportunities.

Look at 3 to 5 competitors or similar businesses in your region. Observe the following:

• What platforms are they active on?
• What types of posts do they share?
• How often do they post?
• Which posts get the most engagement?

Take notes on visual style, hashtag use, tone of voice and call-to-actions.

Tools such as Sprout, Phlanx, Hootsuite, and Social Blade are examples of websites that can help draw out this data for you.

One key step that most brands forget to do is social media listening. Apart from doing this for your own brand, having an idea of what other people are saying about your competitors is prime intel that will help you shape your social media strategy, marketing plan, and business plan better.

Step 3: Choose the right social media platforms

One of the biggest mistakes small business owners make is trying to be on every platform at once. Not every platform is right for your brand or your audience. Choosing the right ones will save you time, energy, and resources while increasing engagement and results.

Let’s look at what’s trending in key Asian markets and what type of content thrives on each:

Fun Fact: In Thailand, LINE is used not just for messaging, but also for running flash sales and sending discount codes to loyal customers.

Your earlier buyer persona research should guide your platform choices. Here’s how:

• If you’re targeting Gen Z in Indonesia, focus on TikTok and Instagram Reels
• For moms and millennials in the Philippines, Facebook is a strong bet
• If your audience is corporate professionals in Singapore, LinkedIn should be a priority.

Rather than posting the same content everywhere, adapt your content format and tone for each platform.

As a small business owner, your time is limited. It's better to be strong on two platforms than mediocre on five. Here’s a suggested approach:

• Pick 1 primary platform where you post consistently (e.g. Instagram)
• Choose 1 support platform to cross-promote (e.g. Facebook or TikTok)
• Claim handles on other platforms for brand consistency, even if inactive

Each platform attracts different age groups, behaviors, and engagement patterns. Choosing the right ones lets you focus your efforts where your audience already spends time.

Step 4: Audit your current social media presence

Before you dive into creating new content or switching platforms, take a moment to assess what you’re already doing. A social media audit gives you a clear picture of your brand’s strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. It helps you identify what’s working, what’s not and where to improve.

Use this checklist to evaluate your existing profiles:

1. Profile Information: Is your bio complete? Does it reflect your brand clearly?
2. Visual Branding: Are your profile pictures, colors, and themes consistent across platforms?
3. Followers: Is your audience growing steadily? Are they real, local, and relevant to your business?
4. Content Types: What kind of content are you posting?Which types get the most engagement?
5. Engagement Rate: Look at likes, comments, shares, saves. Are people interacting with your posts or just scrolling past?

5. Plan and create consistent and engaging content

Now that you’ve gotten acquainted with your target audience, researched your competitors, distilled your brand’s voice and identity based on your marketing plan, and set your social media goals, it’s time to get creative!

Your audience doesn’t want to be sold to all the time. They want to connect, learn, laugh, and feel inspired. Planning your content in advance ensures that every post serves a purpose, strengthens your brand identity, and keeps your audience coming back.

Content pillars are key topics your business consistently talks about on social media. They guide what you post, help maintain consistency, and reflect your brand’s values.

Example content pillars for a fashion boutique in Malaysia:

1. Product Features: New arrivals, styling tips
2. Behind the Scenes: Design process, fabric sourcing
3. Customer Spotlights: Photos from real customers
4. Educational Content: Styling hacks, “How to wear…”
5. Promotions & Events: Sales, launches, pop-ups

By rotating between these pillars, you stay balanced and avoid sounding repetitive.

Find the right brand voice and use storytelling for brand growth

While visual execution is crucial for social media content, good copywriting opens up conversations with your audience. One way to find your brand’s voice is to create a persona for it and place yourself in that person’s shoes.

People remember stories more than facts. Use storytelling to humanize your brand and build emotional connections.

• Share your founder journey: Why did you start your business?
• Highlight customer stories: How did your product help them?
• Document the process: Show packaging, delivery day, sourcing

Storytelling builds trust, and trust leads to conversions.

Stick to a content theme

Your social media page gives identity to your brand online, and one of the toughest challenges when it comes to preparing an engaging social media strategy is dishing out content daily. Having a consistent theme makes it easier to plan and schedule out your content and select complementary visuals.

Mix post formats for maximum engagement

Social platforms prioritize variety. Don’t just stick to static images. Experiment with:

• Reels or TikTok videos for quick tips, how-tos, or behind-the-scenes
• Carousels for step-by-step tutorials or before-and-after posts
• Stories or Live sessions to connect in real-time
• Infographics to explain complex ideas simply
• Memes or relatable content to entertain (especially effective in Thai and Indonesian markets)

Not sure how to get started with creating social media content? With GoDaddy's Digital Marketing Suite, you can access ideas and inspiration for your social media posts.

Step 6: Create a content calendar

If content pillars are your “what,” then your content calendar is your “when.” It helps you schedule posts ahead of time, maintain consistency, and reduce the stress of last-minute posting. Whether you're managing your Instagram from Jakarta or juggling a Facebook page in Lahore, a calendar is your best friend.

Curate your page’s content

Depending on the platform, here are some content types to consider, such as:

1. Evergreen content (content that will always remain on your page)
2. Time-sensitive content (disappearing videos such as Instagram Stories, TikTok, and Snapchat)
3. Video content (YouTube)

How often should you post?

There’s no one-size-fits-all rule, but here’s a recommended starting point for small businesses:

Focus on quality over quantity. A single post that connects emotionally and includes a clear call-to-action is better than daily posts with no engagement.

Balance promotional and valuable content

Not every post should push a product. Follow the 80/20 rule:

• 80% of your content should entertain, educate, or inspire
• 20% of your content should promote your business

This keeps your feed fresh, non-salesy, and highly shareable.

Create a content schedule: sample weekly content calendar

Just as how every business plan and marketing plan has a timeline, a schedule is also required for social media. Here’s a basic structure to help you visualize your weekly plan:

Use tools like GoDaddy Digital Marketing Suite, Later, Buffer, or Meta Business Suite to schedule your social media posts in advance for ease.

Step 7: Use hashtags and keywords strategically

You could create the most beautiful, value-packed content, but if no one sees it, it won’t grow your business. That’s where hashtags and keywords come in. When used correctly, they increase your content's visibility, reach new audiences, and drive more traffic to your profiles and website.

Hashtags help categorize your content and connect it with users interested in similar topics. The key is to use relevant, targeted hashtags, not the most popular or generic ones.

Types of hashtags to include:

1. Industry-specific: #SmallBusinessAsia, #HomeBakeryPH, #FashionStartupMY
2. Location-based: #JakartaFoodie, #KualaLumpurMoms, #BangkokStartup
3. Branded: Your business name or campaign hashtag (e.g. #KohSkinGlow)
4. Trending or campaign-based: Only when relevant, like #SMESaturday or #ShopLocal

Best Practices:

• Instagram: 8–15 relevant hashtags per post
• TikTok: Use 3–6 per post, prioritize local and niche tags
• Facebook & LinkedIn: 3–5 hashtags max
• Test and rotate to avoid shadowbanning or repetition

Integrating SEO-friendly keywords in your captions and bios

Your social media bios, captions, and alt text are searchable too, so include keywords that people are actually looking for.

Where to use keywords:

• Bio: “Handcrafted soap in Singapore | Eco-friendly skincare | Ships worldwide”
• Captions: “This week’s best-seller is our lavender face bar 🌿. Perfect for dry skin and sensitive types.”
• Alt Text: Use when uploading images on Instagram and Facebook for accessibility and SEO.

Tools to find keywords:

• Ubersuggest: Great for beginners
• AnswerThePublic: Understand what people ask
• Google Trends: See search interest by region

Step 8: Engage, don’t just post

Imagine walking into a room, shouting about your product, and then leaving without responding to anyone. That’s what it feels like when businesses post on social media but don’t engage.

Social media is a conversation, not a billboard. If you want loyal customers - not just passive followers - you must interact consistently and authentically.

Here are simple ways to keep your followers involved:

• Reply to comments and DMs within 24 hours
• Like and comment on your followers’ posts (especially if they tag your brand)
• Ask questions in captions to invite interaction
• Run polls, quizzes, or “This or That” stories
• Use native features like Q&A boxes, reactions, stickers, and votes on Stories

Leveraging user-generated content (UGC)

UGC is content created by your customers that showcases your product or service. It builds social proof and creates a ripple effect of organic marketing.

How to encourage UGC:

• Create a branded hashtag and ask customers to use it
• Offer a small reward (discount, repost, feature)
• Feature customer photos and reviews in your Stories or Feed
• Celebrate milestones like “Customer of the Week” or “Top Commenter”

Reply in a timely manner

In social media, the conversation always goes two-ways. Timely responses to messages and comments boost your brand’s credibility and affinity, which leads customer satisfaction because they know someone is on the other end of the line.

Step 9: Track, measure, review & optimize

As with any plan, it helps to measure the effectiveness of your social media posts through metrics. Taking stock of your efforts allows you to improve your social media strategy by finding out what’s working and what’s not.

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Whether you're running a home-based business in Cebu, a cosmetics brand in Kuala Lumpur, or an online bookstore in Karachi, tracking your social media performance is essential to growth.

Data reveals what your audience enjoys, which platforms drive conversions, and how to fine-tune your content for better results.

Key metrics to track for success

Different platforms offer different analytics, but these core metrics matter most:

Pro tip: Engagement rate is more important than likes. A smaller, active audience is far more valuable than a large but silent one.

Finding inspiration everywhere: learn from success stories

Find inspiration everywhere you go. Trends are constantly changing and as most businesses are shifting to online and social media sectors, the Internet is bursting with ideas and creative campaigns.

You can start by doing research on award-winning social media campaigns, as well as draw inspiration from brands you personally love — they don’t even have to be related to your industry. See how they do things; observe how they run their social media accounts.

Don’t forget to stay updated as well with the various and ever-changing social media updates in order to keep your social media accounts always relevant and engaging. Sometimes the best way to learn is to see how others like you are succeeding. These small businesses across Asia have grown their brands using smart, focused, and engaging social media strategies. The results?

What makes a good social media strategy?

When looking for examples of what an effective social media strategy looks like, what should you search for then?

The importance of a succinct and engaging social media strategy allows you to tackle your business plan’s goals with a sense of purpose. Not only will it allow you to meet your targets, but it will also enable you to know your audience better, measure your actions, and optimize your results.

Now, something to note—the keyword here is engaging.

Social media is made up of many layers, and one hook to get your audience talking about you is the level of engagement you have. This means creating content that circulates around audience-specific interests, communication plans, promotions, and visuals, to generate likes, shares, and comments. It’s a common measurement for social media effectiveness, which could definitely impact your marketing and business plan

Conclusion 

Social media moves so quickly, we must act fast. Demographic shifts and periods of change are to be expected with the constant evolution of, and increase in, social media networks. 

Social media is also agile, which is why you need to adapt a flexible mindset as well. It has now become a huge part of every marketing plan because that’s where you can get direct conversations and foster relationships with your target audience, without having to be physically there.

Don’t be afraid to keep making changes and adjusting your goals to adapt to the landscape.

If you are working with a team for your social media strategy, ensure that everyone is on the same page in terms of what your goals are. The important yet challenging principle to note is to keep everything consistent. Striving for the same goals and working together can definitely optimize the effectiveness and engagement of your social media pages.

Edior's Note: This article was first published in Aug 2022, and updated on 21 Aug 2025.

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