Social Media Marketing For Small Business

By Author: Vinod Mohite
Total Articles: 4
Comment this article

Social media marketing has evolved and developed to a large extent in the past few years and has been used by almost all big businesses. Big brands enjoy the benefits of this platform to great levels. But that does not mean small business need not make use of it. Small business can also make the most out of this giant platform, to evolve, develop and capture the market share. In fact, not having a social media presence often makes people question the legitimacy of the business.

Big businesses usually already have a strong online presence; hence do not have to take much effort in excelling at social media marketing. Small businesses however have to start from scratch, right from creating a social media identity, to target audience, to investing in paid campaigns, measuring results and tracking activities. Investment is a valuable decision and expertise is very important, as small businesses cannot afford huge losses.

A small business can start by focusing on a narrow area, i.e., choosing a particular social media platform like Facebook or LinkedIn. This will help them concentrate on one effort and make the best ...
... use of it. Alongside, the business can start a blog, to share their products and ideas, and know the consumer's demands and needs. The social media platform that most small businesses jump on to is Facebook, and that is fine because of the billion daily active users. But one must be strategic with Facebook when it comes to paid and organic content and targeting and engaging your customers. Small businesses often commit the mistake of not choosing the correct social media platform.

Taking the example of an LED manufacturer, who wishes to target end-users or wholesalers, his marketing approach would differ and the social media platforms used would be different. If he targets wholesalers or retailers, he must focus on LinkedIn marketing, but if he targets end-users, Facebook marketing would be much more cost-effective to reach a mass audience.

Content is key when it comes to attracting the attention of the consumers, and hence good quality content on blogs and social media sites is necessary to sustain consumer interest. A customer needs to be bombarded with your advertisements and content, in order to know you, remember your product and ultimately develop an interest to try it. So small businesses must keep in mind that consumers take time and good results may take months. They can then keep track of the visibility of their ads, customer engagement, and consumer behaviour after seeing the ad, etc. to know where more effort needs to be taken.

Instagram is another blooming social media platform, very popular among the youth, and the fastest growing. Brands have started rushing to Instagram that provides a visual showcase of products to the audience. But fully knowing Instagram demographics is necessary for one to make better use of the features like hashtags.

Choosing quality over quantity is one of the most fundamental rules to successful social media marketing. When quantity increases, quality usually drops. There is no point in having a presence on all social media platforms and making the best use of none. Focus on going where your audience is delivered them value.

Tools like scheduling, platform integration, monitoring and measuring engagement can assist in better measuring the results obtained by social media marketing efforts. One must monitor and respond to all social media conversations about your business, and responding directly to your audience allows you to humanize your business.

Entertaining and humorous content is more successful than promotional content. Whatever you upload on social media must be built to engage people first, market later.

Most businesses think that it is too late for them to invest in social media marketing and that it won’t yield many results. It is time they realize that it is never too late and that they must start right now, for a better future response. Be patient! It is not only a process of marketing but also a learning tool that tells you what is right and wrong for your business.

Social media marketing can help you to demonstrate your brands' unique personality. Social media can act as a face-to-face conversation in today’s digital world. Small businesses can always take insights from big businesses in their field of work, to improve and develop their marketing efforts.

Keeping all these aspects in mind, a business marketer would make appropriate choices related to the type of social media platforms to be exploited. This task can at times be confusing and time-consuming. Making the right choices is also significant to avoid wastage of resources and uncertain losses. It is hence advisable to hire a professional social media marketing or SEO company, that can perform social media marketing for your brand. This would not only provide expertise and cost-effective solutions but would also allow you to focus on other aspects of your business while experts deal with your social media platforms.

Digital Marketing Consultant @ Mohite Digital Services