If you run a small business, chances are you are continually working to connect with new customers. You’re probably also searching for the most cost-effective marketing solutions that fit your limited budget. You are also seeking methods that take into account your limited staff size (especially if it is just you!) and other common challenges of small businesses. If your small business is not currently engaged in social media for marketing, you should be thinking about it. It may fell like a daunting task to begin and understand everything that is involved. To help with some inspiration to get going, here are seven reasons you should be marketing with social media.
Even in today’s social media climate, we tend to still get the question of why (followed by how) should a business market through social media. Here are the reasons we feel are so important for businesses to understand regarding their engagement and effort on social media platforms.
Why Market Through Social Media for Businesses
1. The Customers You are Looking for are on Social Media
No matter what type of marketing you engage in, your business wants the most potential customers are. According to HootSuite, 3.48 billion people now use social media with an additional 366 million people joining in the past year. Dig deeper into the research and look at the statistics for your specific customer base. When you do this, you will find that social media use continues to increase across all demographics. Marketing with social media is a way to leverage this growing audience to reach more customers and increase profits.
2. So Are Your Competitors
If you haven’t begun marketing with social media, you will likely find that your competitors are already at it. If not, they probably will be soon. There are two critical points to consider here. One, they are getting their message in front of your potential new customers. Two, they are also getting their message in front of your current customers. This is your chance to jump into that conversation and let potential customers and existing customers hear from you. With the right strategy, your message and brand can stand out even on channels where your competitors are already present.
3. Social Media is Cost Effective
Small businesses often struggle with marketing because of cost. Many advertising channels are simply out of reach and remain the exclusive domain of regional and national brands. And now, even the most well-funded businesses realize that the more expensive media channels are simply not as cost-effective as social media.
Marketing with social media has one of the lowest costs of entry of nearly any type of marketing. There is no cost to sign up for and participate on social media channels. Even when taking advantage of paid promotional opportunities on the platforms, the CPM (cost per thousand impressions) is exponentially lower than traditional media.
Your Time on Social Media
The most significant cost of marketing on social media is time. There are labor costs (possibly including your own) in creating and publishing content, engaging with followers, and building an audience. However, the investment in time can quickly provide a substantial return.
Fortunately, we understand time and budgets, that’s why the eJenn Solutions team has come up with some easy social media management packages! Over the years, we’ve see what works and incorporated it into our packages so you get the experience, time and consistent posting done for you! That makes your entry level into social media that much easier and cost effective!
4. Social Media is an Essential Part of an Inbound Strategy
The last few years have witnessed a shift in marketing strategy from outbound to inbound. In simple terms, outbound marketing meant going out to find people to sell to, whereas inbound marketing is about helping people find you. The key to an inbound marketing strategy is helping people find your website. Marketing on social media is one of the most effective ways to get more traffic to your site. Every social media post is an opportunity to draw new people to your website. This is especially true if you are producing and posting high-quality content that will make people want to learn more about your business.
5. Social Media Helps You Learn About Your Customers
One of the first things you will learn about marketing on social media is that it is not a one-way street. Unlike traditional advertising channels where you are simply broadcasting your message and hoping it will stick, social media is an interactive medium that allows you to learn about your customers as they learn about you. By observing how people interact with your content, you can learn about what draws the most interest. Social listening allows you to hear about your customers’ challenges, needs, and desires. Through analytics, you can gain insight into customer behavior and measure conversion rates from your posts all the way to website visits and sales.
6. A Social Presence Can Help with SEO
If you already have an overall marketing strategy, you are likely thinking about SEO (Search Engine Optimization.) You want to be sure that potential customers can find you on the web when they are searching for specific keywords that match what you offer. A presence on social media can actually improve your search engine rankings and help more people find you online. Search engine algorithms are complex and always changing, but a strong social media presence has been shown to add authority to your page and potentially move you up in the search results.
Check out this video from Google from 2014 which was the official answer back then … however, we’re seeing great branding results in SEO and Google.
In other words, when a link to your content gains traction on social media, it tends to gain more general prominence: pageviews, backlinks, brand authority, etc. This, in turn, helps the page earn more visibility in the eyes of Google.
7. Social Media Can Build Brand Identity and Recognition
Unless your small business offers an entirely unique product or service, chances are you are competing with others for the same customers. What makes your brand stand out? Marketing with social media allows you to define your business and brand, to give it an identity and help it stand out. If you want your identity to be one of authority, sharing content that demonstrates your expertise in the field can lead others to identify you as the one to trust.
Social media also offers you the opportunity to create and share content that shows your fun side! Whether you present yourself on social media as authoritative, playful, or something else, you may give people a reason to follow you, share your content, and remember you when they need your product or service.
Get Started With Marketing Through Social Media
These are just some of the reasons your small business should be marketing with social media. Savvy small businesses are finding new reasons all the time. Social media continues to grow and change, and the opportunities for small businesses are limitless. Don’t miss out on the chance to take your small business to the next level with social media.
We are big fans of Google My Business pages for our clients! If you want to do the very minimum for social media, make sure your business is on Google My Business. Don’t know what that is, how it works or how to optimize it for best results? Read our Google My Business info you need to know by clicking here!
Have more questions about our social media packages? We offer a free 15 min. session to answer questions and look at your current social media marketing! Easily schedule your time here: eJenn Solutions free session
