In the wake of COVID-19, it is no surprise that many small businesses have spent the past year trying to recover from major disruptions in revenue, employee retention, and daily operations. If you are a small business owner, you may be searching for ways to bring in more revenue for your business in the COVID-19 era. Now, more than ever, is the time to evaluate your business’ social media use to generate new growth for your business. You may be wondering if your business is visible on all the platforms relevant to your customers? Maybe, you don’t know which ones those are, or you are afraid to take the leap into the unknown world of social media in a pandemic world. In this blog we will talk about why you should be engaging your small business in social media—and why it’s never been more important than now.
How to Generate New Business (and Keep Your Loyal Customers!)
According to Forbes, holiday sales for 2020 were better than projected with an increase of 49% in sales. This was all due to the increase of businesses utilizing virtual shopping through their social media platforms. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that consumers will not stop shopping even if they are prevented from going to traditional brick and mortar stores. People are not browsing windows as much as they used to. In fact, people spend around seven hours a day on the internet. Compared to the amount of time people normally spend in stores, this is an incredible opportunity to market your product/business to a wide array of people at all hours of the day. The more you post and interact with your current audience, the more visible you will be to new customers all over the world. This is even more reason for you to aim to stay on top of your social media accounts.
- Stay Part of the Conversation
Social media is a fantastic, and easy, way to engage with your customers. According to the latest Pew Research study, a whopping 81% of U.S. adults visit YouTube, 69% are actively on Facebook, and 40% are on Instagram. That’s a lot of new customers to reach, and a lot of new business potential!
Social media is a chance to engage with your audience in a meaningful way and allows you to have fun with your brand’s voice. Consumers love to see that there are real people behind a business, and in the pandemic world, consumers are being encouraged to shop small to keep the community’s economy flowing. Being responsive to questions and concerns on your social media platforms helps to generate trust and favorability for your brand, and makes your audience feel valued and appreciated. It sounds simple but being active on social media allows you to know what kind of information and products your customers want to have at their fingertips and brings your brand to life. This is a major way a small business can gain a competitive edge over a large corporation, as they are able to create meaningful connections with their customers at home.
- Look, Listen, and Learn!
If you already have a social media presence, do you know how to stay up to date with your metrics to optimize your platforms? As they say, the proof is in the pudding: the numbers can be very telling for your small business and can illustrate areas of improvement you didn’t know you weren’t utilizing. If most of your audience is 45+ years old, and you’re trying to figure out how to engage young adults between 18-29 to bring in new customers, then maybe you should consider investing some time posting on social media platforms such as TikTok. Social listening is a key component of social media marketing that ensures your business stays relevant within current demographics and helps to point out potential demographics you can market to. By analyzing your social media data, you will also be able to gauge sentiment around your brand. Here, you can see first-hand what people are saying about your business, and how can you help guide the conversation to being positive.
- Save Money on Advertising
On a tight advertising budget? Forget about billboards and print advertisements—social media ads and boosted posts are the way to go! This is a more affordable alternative, and by targeting these ads to your desired demographics, you can be sure that your messaging is seen by specific sets of people, and not just random cars passing a billboard on a freeway. Social media ads allow you to tailor your messaging and laser focus to audiences by location, age, language, and other online behaviors (retargeting website visitors or cart-abandoners, for example). Whether your boost budget is $5 or $5,000, there are so many great opportunities to grow your business and increase visibility through social media advertising and post boosting.
- It’s Not Just for B2C
Think social media is only important if you’re trying to gain new customers? Think again! If your goals involve networking or lead generation, a platform like LinkedIn is great to utilize regularly. With an estimated half of U.S. adults with bachelor’s degrees (or higher) using LinkedIn, this makes it an incredible platform to post job openings and gather the most qualified applicants. LinkedIn’s platform is also used for networking and business articles—so you can post links to your own business news articles and blogs to draw in people searching for your expertise or product. Think of it like a professional networking mixer—only you don’t have to leave your desk to do it (though if you want to have a drink in a tiny paper cup and eat hors d’oeuvres, we won’t blame you). Each platform has its own personality, just like your customers and clients, so do your research and find out what combination will work for you.
- Everyone Else is Doing it…Really
Social media is a daily part of our existence, whether it makes us grumble or not. An estimated 91.9% of businesses with 100 or more employees are using social media for marketing purposes. It makes sense as a small business to take advantage of these platforms, as nearly everyone in today’s climate uses social media to learn more about a business and its products. There are so many ways brands are staying relevant by regularly posting content, utilizing hashtags, running viral contests, and participating in social campaigns—and when your small business is ready to jump into social media, there’s countless ways to be sure your brand gets in front of customers and leads.
Conclusion: Go Forth and Conquer…but Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help!
As a small business in today’s market, it’s never been more important to use the proper social media channels to help boost (and maintain) your day-to-day digital presence. Consistency is key, content is king, and having your business active on social media will help you stay on the top of your customers’ minds—and can be crucial in gaining new business. If you find yourself overwhelmed by all the different platforms, content calendars, ads and boosts—not to worry we can help! At Social Spice Media, we can develop your small business social media presence and help maximize the efficiency of your budget to fit all your digital marketing needs. Whether you need content, help with analytics, or a total brand refresh, give us a call at (805) 482 – 8312, or send an email at info@socialspicemedia.com. We’d love to help you get started!
