How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Small Business
Small business marketing shares much in common with marketing for large and mid-sized businesses. The primary difference is that it’s scaled downward, and is often more targeted to a localized audience. That holds true for social media marketing, as well. Every small business can (and often should) employ a small-scale social media marketing strategy. For most small businesses, the biggest hurdle is going to be getting started.
Your small business can easily develop and employ a social media marketing strategy that makes sense for your business’s size and industry.
Why Should a Small Business Market on Social Media?
There’s a laundry list of reasons why you should make social media marketing a priority in your marketing funnel. But the simple answer is this: Go where your customers are, instead of waiting for them to come to you.
According to the Pew Research Center, 72% of US residents used at least one social media platform as of Q1 2019. As you might expect, different age groups have different usage stats for social media. Among those 18-29, 90% use social media, while only 40% of those aged 65+ use any platforms at all. Surprisingly, social media usage is high for the second-oldest demographic (50-64), where 69% have at least one social media account.
Essentially, marketing on social media platforms is a matter of actively going after your customers instead of passively waiting for them to discover you. Social media is just that—social. You can use social media platforms to more quickly interact with potential customers and past patrons. Social media can also serve as a fast communication method between yourself and your customers.
Perhaps more importantly, you’re more likely to make a sale if you’re advertising your products or services over social media. An impressive 76% of social media users later purchased a product they saw advertised on a brand’s social media post.
3 Starting Tips for Small Business Social Media Marketing
Most of us are already uniquely familiar with social media. Once you start marketing your business on social media, however, you’ll find that there are layers to these sites that you may not have realized existed. Here are 3 essential tips that small business owners should know about social media marketing.
1. What social media platforms can I use?
Your small business can market on almost any social media platform. The best strategy is to pick platforms that make the most sense for your business. To note, some of the most used social media platforms in the US include:
Facebook (2.23 billion monthly active users (MAUs))
YouTube (1.9 billion MAUs)
Instagram (1 billion MAUs)
Tumblr (642 million monthly unique visitors (MUVs))
Twitter (335 million MAUs)
Reddit (330 million MAUs)
LinkedIn (294 million MAUs)
Snapchat (255 million MAUs)
Pinterest (250 million MAUs)
Medium (60 million MAUs)
There are more, of course. And importantly, your small business likely won’t have the budget to try to advertise across every possible platform, nor would you want to. Each platform is more or less popular among varying demographics.
Before you pick a platform to market your business, make sure you have a full understanding of the demographics your business serves or most appeals to. For example, if your leading demographic is women between the ages of 18-35, you may want to focus your social media strategy on Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, or even Twitter. Meanwhile, if you have an older audience, aged 45+, Facebook may be a better marketing platform.
Additionally, make sure you understand the culture of the social media platform you intend to use. While some platforms, like Facebook, have not defined group culture, other platforms (especially Reddit) have developed their own subculture and cultural norms. Attempting to market your business in a way that is against the presiding culture of that platform can result in woefully ineffective marketing.
Not sure who’s visiting your website? Make sure you get your website registered with Google Search Console so you can access your website’s analytics.
If you need help with this step, contact Madison Ave Media to get expert assistance setting up your website with Google’s website metrics and ad services.
2. How Do I Market on Social Media?
There are multiple paths to follow when marketing on social media, but you’ll find 2 basic avenues for this:
Building an audience organically through shareable content
Using paid advertising (also known as “promoted” or “boosted” posts)
For many small businesses, it’s easier to start with paid advertising, targeted to specific demographics most interested in your business. Some social media sites offer advertising tools to help you develop and publish your paid ads. For example, you can use Facebook Ads to make individual sponsored ads, or “Boost” posts you’ve already made and target them to different demographics.
Advertising is perhaps the easiest route but does come at a cost. Pricing varies on most platforms, with the price increasing if you market to a larger and more particular demographic.
Organic, shareable content can be a lower-cost route for some small businesses. You can use hand-crafted, shareable content, such as videos, images, and linked blog posts, to help get likes on your page. There are numerous strategies you can employ to make that happen, as well, which is why many businesses employ social media marketing specialists who have a strong understanding of how social media works.
3. How Do I Manage Social Media Feedback?
Before starting your social media marketing strategy, understand that you leave your business open to both good and bad public feedback. Ultimately, you can’t control what individuals using social media choose to say in response to your posts. Although some platforms allow you to delete comments from your posts and even ban users from making further comments, it’s important to navigate social media carefully.
In early 2018, Starbucks learned first hand why it’s necessary to cautious with how you market your products and services on social media. When the company introduced its Blonde Espresso roast to the market, it received flak for being “tone deaf” in not just its marketing, but the implications of the product name. Thankfully for Starbucks, the media storm was small scale, but for a smaller company, unclear or inappropriate messaging can result in serious negative consequences on social media.
When done well, social media marketing can boost your business’s profile among your core audience. When executed poorly, however, social media can do significant damage to your brand.
How to Start Marketing Your Small Business on Social Media
There’s no single path to success when using social media marketing, but there are a few “musts” you’ll need to checkmark if you want to get a proper start.
Assess your key demographics
Research and choose a few social media platforms that match your dominant (or desired) demographics
Develop a social media marketing content focus (which can include unique content, linked blog posts, and sponsored ads)
Create business pages on your select social media platforms
Develop a posting schedule
Create your content ahead of time and schedule your posts for times when most users will see them
Social media marketing can a game changer or your business and a potential minefield. But it doesn’t have to be. Madison Ave Media can help you get your social media marketing off the ground and completely on the right track. Contact Madison Ave Media today to discuss how we can help you craft an effective social media strategy for your small business.