Social media seems to be the sparkling darling of SMB’s. Why is that? There is the promise of being able to connect with and sell to your audience without the annoying cost of paid advertising. At least, this is what has been said since marketing professionals really embraced social marketing nearly 10 years ago.
However, what once was a great dream with a few exceptional stories has left many businesses feeling discouraged that Social Media just doesn’t work. The lack of success for some does not represent a lack of opportunity. Just check out these stats:
1.4 Billion….Active monthly users on Facebook. This includes 208 million in North America alone.
347 Million is how many professionals registered on LinkedIn each month, which includes 111 million in the United States.
288 Million is the number of Twitter of monthly active users on Twitter, which includes 63 million the United States.
50.5 Million unique visitors to Pinterest from the United States, and that number continues to grow significantly.
These stats demonstrate how much opportunity there is to reach your target market…If you understand how. Keep reading for more.
What Is Often Misunderstood About Social Media
When it comes to marketing, Social Media is often looked at as a very simple to deploy marketing channel. Don’t get me wrong; the complexity of Social Media is much less than some other available channels. However, gone are the days of simply posting to your accounts, and watching magic happen. You may get lucky, and get a little business, but your growth will not be sustainable with this strategy.
Rather, like other forms of marketing, Social Media should be approached with a plan that first understands your market and then understands how to reach that market through your selected social channels. This will require some learning beyond simply how to make a post.
What It Takes To Be Successful
There most certainly are success stories around Social Media. However, to achieve this success you will want orient around a few things:
- It’s Not Free – This is one of the biggest changes to Social Media in the last few years. If you really want to get your company and your work visible, then you need to budget to some funds to invest in promotion. This will allow you to target a very specific audience, ensuring your growing fan base is filled those who are likely to purchase from you. Further, it ensures you are not dependent on the changing whims of the social networks and where they place brand posts among the feed of your followers.
- It Takes Consistency And Time – You really need to commit to being consistent in your social media efforts for no less than 6 months. If you are active only when you have time, or only for a week or two, you will never realize the results you are aiming to achieve. Commit to your Social Marketing at a pace you can sustain, and keep it up for 6-12 months and see what happens.
- It Takes Visual Appeal – Social Media has really focused on the visual aspect of the senses. Pictures and videos are exceptionally important. What is amazing about social is the most successful posts are not professionally produced pictures and videos. That means if you have a modern smart phone, you can have the quality people are looking for, and keep your production costs low.
Learn More About Making Social Work For Your Business
Marketing an SMB is not rocket science, but it is something that takes some investment to learn. Make a small investment in your time and contact our solutions team today to learn more about achieving your goals this year!
