Social Media Marketing for Small Business
The benefits of social media marketing for small businesses are vast. Building a solid online presence helps show that a business is available and ready for clients and customers, helps with brand awareness, and will tell a company what tactics are working or not. It’s a great testing ground for content and messaging to help businesses narrow down what people want and how they want to get it.
How does social media marketing affect small businesses?
If a business chooses not to be on social media, it could miss out on engaging with people interested in their product and ready to buy. Building relationships is a vital part of business growth, and social media is the place to do that. If your people rely heavily on a specific social platform for information and discovery of new businesses like Facebook, and you’re not on it, you’re missing out.
How can Social Media Marketing Help Small Businesses?
Building an online community takes time but having a community of people who love your brand can help amplify your messaging and spread awareness about what you offer. It’s a tremendous help to rely on your followers to showcase your products, spread the news about your offerings through word-of-mouth, and help you build a positive reputation. Once you have built a strong community, you can incorporate user-generated content into your online strategy. User-generated content is content produced by your followers or community. Look for content you’ve been tagged or mentioned in. Showing that others enjoy your product or service is a big win for your brand!
How Businesses use Social Media for Marketing
Businesses use social media to build communities and talk about their mission and values, strengthen their messaging, communicate when they’re open or having a sale, and engage with others. The possibilities are endless with social media marketing because you can hone in on what works for you and on which platform. Contests are also a big draw for customers on social media, and businesses benefit from connecting with other local companies to offer prizes for shares, comments, and follows.
What is the Best Social Media Strategy for a Small Business?
The best social media strategy for a small business is to get started. Start posting a couple of times a week to popular platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Invite your friends and family to follow and like your pages, follow other local businesses and start adding to online conversations. It’s essential to get your name out there and show that you’re active. You’re not going to see a ton of engagement and followers overnight, but with time and consistency and a clear message of what you offer, you’ll see great results.
Social media is intended to reach a broad audience, and you can if you have a solid foundation and understand things like:
- Who your target profile is
- What your primary offering is
- What your brand’s tone is
- Why people would want to buy from you
- How to funnel people to purchase from you
If you understand those key aspects of your business or brand, then when you do launch an online strategy, you’ll see results quicker. Don’t assume that people will automatically know who you are once you start an online profile. As a new business trying to grow and get noticed, cultivating strong relationships will be what helps your business carve out its space in the online world.
Start small with one of two platforms, and once you have a strong presence and understanding of how your followers interact with your brand, you can shift to other platforms that make sense for you. And, if you’re looking for social media marketing tools to get you in a good flow, we talk about some of our favorites in our post What Are The Best Social Media Marketing Tools For 2022?
If you need help developing a strong foundation and social media strategy, we’re always a message away at hello@sociablemedia.co.