People use social media on a daily basis. This makes it a very suitable marketing platform for all kinds of business, and recently, social media marketing is becoming an increasingly popular method embraced by small businesses. This is mostly because it’s an inexpensive but efficient promotion tool. There is a variety of social media platforms, most of which are cost-free, easy to navigate, and have millions of users. According to BIA/Kelsey, 77.6% of small businesses use social media for marketing.
There are lots of ways small businesses can benefit from social media marketing, so let’s discuss some of them.
#1 Brand awareness
Social media marketing gives small businesses the opportunity to show off their products and services to the right audience, at any time. People can access their favorite brand’s page 24/7, since there’s no opening and closing time on social media. It’s important for the companies to choose and use the right social media networks, where their buyer personas are most likely to be active users. They need to design and publish relevant and shareable content on a regular basis, and occasionally engage with customers. This way they can create the right image of their brand over time, and consequently increase brand awareness.
#2 Website traffic
Social media marketing helps small businesses drive more clicks to their websites, by social media engagement. To attract visitors, they need to optimize their content for each social media network. They can accomplish this by publishing easily shareable content, using great visuals, attaching external links to their posts, and creating ads. Another effective method is connecting with customers by creating surveys, asking questions, and engaging in conversations. SEO plays a very important role too. A company’s social media account affects their SEO score as well, affecting their website traffic in turn.
#3 Relationship with customers
Unlike big businesses, small businesses tend to have a smaller audience on social media, so they can easily improve the relationships with their established or potential new customers. By dedicating a portion of their time to interact with their customers, companies can connect with them on a deeper level, and show them they care about them. They can have an effective two-way communication, answering their questions, talking about their interests and concerns, and so on. Having a good relationship with customers is not only beneficial, but essential for the success of any business, because without its customers any business would cease to exist.
#4 Cost-effectiveness
Traditional marketing is expensive, but social media marketing can be done for free or at a low cost. Small businesses can benefit from this, especially if they’re on a tight budget. By focusing on distributing a great content and buzz marketing, they can have a great social media presence and promote their brands without investing any money. Paid ads, on the other hand, can help them reach wider and better targeted audience. Fortunately, paid advertising on social media can be done for a relatively low cost as well. In each scenario, social media marketing is a very cost-effective option.
Having these benefits in mind, small businesses should consider incorporating more social media marketing in their strategies.
