It can seem like there are potential monsters everywhere on social media, and I don’t mean trolls who just want to start an argument in the comment section. In the marketing world, social media is vital to a business’s success, especially small and local businesses. There are all kinds of barriers or monsters that can prevent small businesses from succeeding in the social media marketing world, and we want to teach you how to slay those marketing monsters and grow your business!
For the next few weeks our #MediaMondays will be focused on teaching small businesses how to identify and defeat some of the most common marketing monsters. Is there a specific marketing monster you’d like us to address? Drop a comment or send us an email at madi@msgpr.com.
Before we dive in to the various monsters, let’s answer the question: Why does social media marketing even matter for small businesses? We’ve got three primary reasons:
Reach and Exposure
In 2021, Pew Research Center (https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/) reported that 72% of adults in the US use some social media platform. That’s well over 200 million social media users in the US alone. To say that’s a lot of potential customers is an understatement. As a small business you’re probably not looking to bring in 200 million new customers, but 200 probably sounds pretty good. Social media has changed the marketing game. Potential customers are now easier to reach and interact with than ever before. Even if you’re a hyper-local business, you still have neighbors who need to know your brand and products, and chances are, they’re on social media – are you?
Brand Awareness
Brand awareness is how aware customers and potential customers are of your brand, and not just that it exists, but the core components of your brand’s personality, products, and identity. Social media enables businesses to showcase their personalities and break down the wall of formality. As a business, your personality lets people see you as more than a product, and those informal, personable interactions demonstrate authenticity and trustworthiness – meaning users are more likely to think of your brand favorably and potential customers are more likely to make a purchase.
Customer Engagement and Retention
Social media also offers a new potential in customer service. It allows direct interaction, not a one-way marketing campaign, but a platform for response and feedback that allows you, as the business, to analyze and learn all about your customers, their needs, and their interests. Observing how users engage with your brand and its products on social media can help you better know and provide for your customers enabling you to develop content that is relevant to your potential and returning customers. Relevant and timely content can help retain previous customers as well as build brand rapport with potential customers.
So now that you know how vital social media marketing is for small businesses, come along with us over the new few weeks as we teach you how to slay the marketing monsters that are preventing you from succeeding on social media.
