The benefits of using social media outweigh the negatives, but it’s not for everyone. If you’re a small business owner struggling to stay on top of your marketing efforts, and need some direction on the best way to use social media for your small business, check out our post covering this topic here: https://bit.ly/SocialMediaForSmallBusinesses.
1) It can help build brand awareness
If you operate a business that is primarily focused on creating and selling products/services and services, then promoting through social media has several benefits including building up a well-known brand name among customers to provide them with more credibility when making purchasing decisions. Branding allows your business to be seen as an expert in its field while leveraging other channels such as direct mail. This allows consumers to make better purchasing decisions, especially if they are able to see that another party is already working hard to establish itself within that market segment. In general, businesses should focus their social media advertising for these types of brands.
2) More likely to convert leads with video marketing
Video is a highly effective communication tool among audiences as it involves storytelling which makes it easier for customers/leads to become engaged and take action. Video content is appealing to younger generations (digital natives), who prefer watching video over reading print or listening to audio alone which results in immediate engagement due to visuals. Also, since most people spend most of their time reading social media content they’re already familiar with your company’s brand and will therefore be less wary about engaging with the message because they already know what your target audience wants. These types of videos also provide information in a fun, interactive style which appeals to viewers who don’t want to take any extra steps in becoming involved with your business.
3) Increased ROI with Google AdWords
If you have a website with product descriptions and/or images you will already have your own page ranking in Google search results, so why waste all your money trying to get those clicks? Try posting a link to your new YouTube Channel where videos will be posted with a call to actions for potential followers to engage with your posts. The more quality content you produce, the higher your chance of getting more visitors coming to your site and potentially converting them into actual customers.
4) Get more conversions with Facebook Ads
Facebook ads are a great option when trying to grow your brand presence. They can reach users who aren’t interested in searching for specific topics or products/services by tagging them during their daily news feed or even posting on groups that you create yourself. You can run multiple ads at once to increase your chances of success. Once you get traffic to your Facebook ad campaign, you can adjust your ad copy and send reminders for users to click through. Additionally, you can use targeted Facebook ads for individual users within specific platforms and geographic areas to increase exposure over time.
5) Increase reach with Pinterest
Pinterest ads are a great method to promote your business and bring in more interest from users looking for recipes or ideas around current trends. You can do this through pinning a photo onto each Pin that includes an educational video or blog post that relates back to what you want your audience to learn, along with an affiliate link. Create themed pins for trending products to attract attention. Another tactic would be to create boards and let your followers share their interests through comments, tags, favorites, etc. Each board gives them a place to express themselves and grow relationships with others interested in similar products and services. Lastly, Pinterest can be used in conjunction with other relevant online communities such as Reddit, Twitter, and LinkedIn to reach and interact with like-minded individuals who may have no idea about your brand.
6) Utilize email Marketing
Email marketing has been proven as a very effective way to promote your company’s offerings by reaching out to customers who were attracted via one of your e-mail newsletters. However, it’s important to note that emails aren’t always delivered in the order they were sent. Sometimes subscribers will receive their e-mail messages later than expected which can lead to lost sales or worse, a lack of customer follow up leading to negative brand mentions. As a result, companies should track how many contacts received email campaigns so you know how much time they gave away to make sure nothing was wasted and that they weren’t accidentally going out of their way to just spam your inbox. Be cautious of your customers’ experience with certain forms, however, and ask about different messaging methods to keep your customers happy throughout the process.
7) Track Keywords Customers Spend On
Keyword research is a big part of every successful digital marketing strategy for small businesses. But how do you go about doing your keyword research effectively? Well, there are two main ways that go about conducting any type of keyword research: manual and automated. First, start by knowing your competitors’ keywords, which helps you understand exactly how strong their keywords are within their niche, and whether they have any additional competitors targeting that same keyword. Next, conduct your own keyword research by checking out your own articles, reviews, events, videos, podcasts, etc., to find the terms and phrases that are popular in your industry. After you’ve done this, analyze your competitor websites to determine what topics/topics get shared the most frequently as well as what types of titles get placed on each site. Once again, you’ll want to pay close attention to how long people stick around after seeing your product/service as well. Finally, combine your data with the numbers produced from competitive analysis to create a cohesive plan on how to rank more effectively your chosen keywords. With your keyword research complete, you can begin preparing your next list to compete with the ones they already have. Of course, having a solid strategy in place is key to winning and driving sales this year!
