Blog post by: Evan Mathu, Baer Performance Marketing Intern
Businesses are most likely to succeed when prospective customers can easily connect with them and learn about their services. Promotion and marketing are crucial to success, and small businesses are no exception to this rule. However, these businesses typically have smaller marketing budgets and fewer dedicated marketing specialists, which raises the question: “How can small business marketing stand out among such fierce competition?” More and more often, the answer is social media.
With almost 80 percent of people in the US having at least one social media account, networking with potential customers has never been more lucrative. Businesses can directly message customers about comments or complaints, hold contests and giveaways, and cultivate their image by posting engaging content. As customers look for products and businesses to patronize, one of their first interactions with a business may very well be on social media.
Nearly 77 percent of small businesses use social media to handle customer service and marketing, and it’s no wonder why; 90 percent of those that did say their business had increased exposure, and 75 percent said they generated more traffic on their website through social media. Many consider social media and other digital marketing to be a great equalizer, allowing smaller budgets to go further. The vast majority of businesses surveyed say they plan to increase their social media marketing expenditures in the coming year.
Businesses must be mindful of their accounts’ activity, though. On the polished stage of social media, followers and explorers are constantly looking for high-quality and well-maintained accounts, and leaving a good impression on new consumers is paramount. Pages that post professional and attractive content can easily draw in users and find new leads. On the other hand, poorly managed accounts that fail to display quality content are just as likely to repel prospective customers. Social media marketing is a valuable asset, and with its vast reach, it must be treated with the utmost care.
Especially in today’s digital world, small businesses must stay on the cutting edge of technology to stay competitive. Social media, when used effectively, can be one of the strongest and most important tools that a business can have in their marketing repertoire.
Your business’s image is important, and social media can be daunting. We’d love to use our knowledge and experience to help you make the most out of your online marketing. Contact us or find us on social media @bearpm to take the first step into creating or polishing your business’s social media strategy!
Sources
Clark, Emily. “2020 Small Business Marketing Statistics.” 2020 Small Business Marketing Statistics | Visual Objects, 18 Feb. 2020, visualobjects.com/digital-marketing/small-business-statistics-2020.
Herhold, Kristen. Small Business Advertising Spending in 2019. The Manifest, 24 Apr. 2019, themanifest.com/advertising/small-business-advertising-spending-2019.
Score. “77 Percent of U.S. Small Businesses Use Social Media for Sales, Marketing and
Customer Service.” PR Newswire: News Distribution, Targeting and Monitoring, 30 Aug. 2018, www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/77-percent-of-us-small-businesses-use-social-media-for-sales-marketing-and-customer-service
