Small businesses are fighting in one of the most competitive online marketplaces known to man. Marketing budgets are tight, and you may be competing with larger businesses already well established in your industry and niche. There are, however, a few social media marketing assets you can invest in to get the ROI you want for your small business needs.
According to social media marketing 2018 statistics compiled by HubSpot, ROI and generating quality leads is an issue.
Social media marketing benefits do exist when done right:
- Get Target Market Focused
- Compile Social Consumer Data
- Social Media Marketing is Scalable and Affordable
- Engage with Consumers in a Meaningful Way
Engagement is especially important because the number of likes and follows have taken a backseat to making stronger connections with customers via social networks. Boosting engagement is also easier done than said, leveraging social media platforms to hunt down more meaningful contacts. This can add value to your business in an affordable way.
After all, the name of the game is to decrease spend while increasing those conversions. How do you stay ahead of the game? The following outlines why getting more social is critical for your small business success. Let’s dive in!
Undeniable Social Media Facts Business Owners Simply Can’t Ignore
To highlight the need for social media marketing, 22 percent of the world’s population is on Facebook. That’s a lot of people! This makes a pretty strong case for social media marketing. In fact, Facebook has 79 percent of all social users in America.
Facebook’s trending social network, Instagram, is also changing how small businesses connect and interact with their target audiences since 51 percent of Instagram users check their Instagram accounts daily. And it pays off to diversify your businesses social portfolio.
For instance, Pinterest serves up more than 25 percent of all retail traffic. Want a leg up on your competitors? Well, there is certainly no better way to engage with your target audience than on social media
Get Focused Using Social Media Marketing
Raising awareness for your small business is vital to success. Leveraging social media can do this quite easily. You can even localize your products and services on social media channels, like Facebook, which allows you to serve ads by city, state, and country.
Age, location, personal interests, and other key demographics can also be utilized using the power of social media.
Taking a more focused approach to reach your audience is important, and social media can make it happen.
Gain Valuable Audience Insights with Social Data
Social media marketing not only raises brand awareness for your small business, but it also serves up a number of valuable insights you can use to your advantage. This will help you maximize your marketing budget by serving ads only to the audience groups that are more likely to click-through.
This social data will give you the opportunity to see what is getting the most engagement and traffic to your small business website or product and services pages.
This also allows you to monitor your marketing campaigns more efficiently and effectively.
This data can also serve as a way to churn your potential customers down your buying funnel toward conversions (sales). For instance, someone who has engaged with your social posts more than once is a great candidate to convert with a timely offer or discount.
Social Media Marketing is Downright Affordable
Many small businesses are on a budget crunch, but social media marketing is often free. If you do leverage ads on social media, you can set a low price and scale as needed. You can also put more marketing dollars behind posts that get great engagement and CTR.
You can also integrate social media marketing into your other marketing campaigns, like email marketing and influencer marketing. This will increase those touch points needed to make more sales and increase your ROI. It truly is all about multi-channel marketing these days, so take advantage of social as one specific channel.
Engage in a Meaningful Way with Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing also allows small businesses to interact with their target audience in a meaningful way. A personalized touch can go a long way. In fact, online consumers want ads that speak to their emotions in a personal way.
Social media makes it very easy to connect with your audience and offer support, discounts, and general assistance. One of the most vital parts of making your small business successful is to simply be available.
Platforms like Hootsuite or Buffer can help you schedule social media posts in advance, as well as alert you to new messages. This allows you to act fast and engage with your customers in a meaningful way.
Make Your Small Business Social
Ready to make your small business more social? Developing a social media marketing campaign that works will increase online visibility, brand awareness, customer engagement, sales, and brand loyalty. Getting started can be challenging for small business owners, simply due to the time it takes for you to simply run your business.
However, there are solutions to help you leverage social media marketing effectively for maximum campaign success. Do you have social marketing tips for small business owners? We want to hear from you.
About the Author: Andrew Rayment is the founder and co-creator of the social media platform Dopel.io. Dopel connects users with like-minded “Dopels” through predictive analytics and personalized ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’ rankings. The Dopel app breaks the mold with its interactive chat rooms, gaming, TV, movie and book recommendations. Dopel’s exclusive partner benefits help advertisers amplify their reach by allowing influencers actively endorse the brands they believe in.