Marketing on social media is no longer an option for small businesses….it’s a requirement. Social media marketing is also the right thing to do.
4 Key Reasons to use Social Media Marketing:
- Social Media is cost-effective
- Increased brand visibility
- Inexpensive engagement with your customers
- Conversion of social media “followers” into customers
Many small business customers I speak to say “But I already have a Facebook page for my business”. If you have a Facebook page for your business, that’s great. You’re headed in the right direction.
Just having a Facebook page won’t be enough to maximize your reach unless you use the platform properly. You’ve got to keep up with the latest social media trends and apply them to your small business.
ORGANIC OR PAID TRAFFIC?
Along with many other social media strategists, I am a huge proponent of building and persistently improving “organic traffic”.
Organic traffic is the opposite of paid traffic, which defines the visits generated by paid ads. Visitors who are considered organic find your website after using a search engine like Google or Bing, so they are not “referred” by any other website.
Many small businesses starting to market on social media wanting to to take their social media strategies to the next level also pay for advertisements. Technological advances now make it much easier to set up ads to target a specific demographic. This helps a small business target precisely the type of customer they want to target.
WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK IS BEST FOR MY BUSINESS?
All the major social networks offer advertising options. The question is which networks are right for your business.
To answer this question, you need a social media strategy to help you determine who you want to target, where to best find them and then how to best implement that strategy.
When thinking about which social networks to use for advertising, look at which ones perform well organically. Networks where your content naturally strikes a chord with potential customers are an obvious choice for your first social ad campaigns.
When choosing a network to place your online ad, it’s also helpful to know which networks are most popular with your target audience.
Research shows that by the year 2020, social media advertisements will surpass newspaper ad spending.
GIVE CUSTOMERS VALUE AND THEY WILL FOLLOW YOU
In order to have a successful social media marketing strategy for your small business, you need to have lots of followers. Otherwise, nobody is going to see your content.
Once you’re able to grow your social following, it will be easier for you to convert your followers into customers.
That’s because consumers are more likely to buy from brands they follow on social media.
Most important they want to buy from credible brands they can trust. Social media is a great tool to engage and capture these customers.
You have probably heard the phrase “Content is King”. You need to make sure your content is worth following. Getting more followers will ultimately increase your chances of driving more traffic to your website and if converted, increased sales.
Promotional content is important, but you must also provide value to potential customers with your content. Promoting sales and discounts should be part of the mix, but not the whole mix. Post too many promotions and people will surely “unfollow” you and your brand will suffer.
For the small business that grew up on Yellow Page and print ads in local papers, the world of social media advertising can be overwhelming. Even today’s new, online-based businesses find the online marketplace confusing.
However, by putting together a social media strategy and having that strategy implemented economically, social media advertising may just be the most cost effective way to grow your business in 2020.
