August 15, 2020
As a small business, saving money is important in every aspect. That’s why it’s so difficult for smaller entities to budget for digital marketing. It’s hard for them to see the value when it doesn’t come right away.
However, there are over 3 billion people on the planet that possess a social media account. It is, by far, the best place to grow your business. Having a social media marketing (SMM) strategy in place is critical to a small organization’s success. After all, how could you ignore the busiest sites on the web?
Here are some quick reasons why every business, big and small, needs social media marketing right now:
A large majority of consumers use social media when they have questions about a brand. That’s why having a social media account is great for customer service. It lessens the amount of time a user has to call your company for a concern or quick question. They can simply visit your social pages and send a message or post a comment.
Social media directs more traffic to your website. These platforms are essentially just an external link for people to connect with your brand. Users are guided to your social page through ad campaigns and posts. This then diverts the traffic to the final page, which is typically a website or landing page. The more clicks, the more revenue.
Having a social media account is like a free advertisement on the internet. Being on social media means a brand also pops up more in search engines. Your name is out there twice as much. This gives a small business a competitive edge to match bigger companies.
Before social media came along, a small business had to build its brand by word of mouth. It was a relatively slow and expensive process. Then came social media. These are essentially free platforms where millions of people congregate in small digital spaces. The opportunities suddenly became limitless and it truly leveled the playing field for small vs. large companies selling the same stuff.
A successful business has a social media strategy in place that helps to grow brand awareness. This can be done with a variety of SMM tasks like:
Engaging with customers through social media establishes trust. It’s also a way to reach audiences you may have never thought about through lookalike segmentation.
Don’t even think about printed newspaper or magazine ads anymore. They get lost in the paper shuffle. Through social media, running an ad for your business is easier than ever. Facebook in particular gives you the freedom to post a video, photo, or other digital messages that can target certain demographics in a specific area.
Social media is one of the most effective outlets for digital marketing because of the level of freedom you have. It’s also a more relaxed environment for buyers. People come to social media platforms to relax, laugh, learn, etc. They are more open to receiving data that has to do with a brand product or service.
You can put as little or as much time as you want into developing social media strategies for your business. There is a happy medium. Spending too much time when you don’t have a big budget could hurt other areas of your business. On the contrary, not spending enough may keep you in the dark against the competition.
Your best bet is to watch where your audience lives online and follow suit. Pay attention and watch how people engage. Then craft a message that keeps them coming back for more.
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