Steep gains are on the horizon for small businesses looking to integrate social media into their branding & digital marketing strategy. Here’s why!

According to GlobalWebIndex (GWI) reports, In 2020, 47 percent of internet users between the ages of 16 and 64 spent more time on social media than they did in 2019. We can tell you for sure that these internet users were not Tiktoking. Reconcile this stat with the rise of e-commerce purchases nowadays, and you won’t need a crystal ball to show you the increasing relevance of social media for small businesses.

Small business owners likely wear more hats than a ‘Doctor Seuss’ character, and the lure to sidestep social media marketing could seem valid in the face of other beaconing deliverables. If we were you, we’ll sort through the internet land waste, seeking gems on how social media for marketing is not just the absolute no-brainer in the now but also in the future. 

What is Social Media & Brand Marketing? 

Over half of the world’s population use social media networks, so, we’ll save the introduction for later. But with its broad reach spanning every aspect of contemporary life, it’s no surprise that it has now become a place for you to discover new customers and advertise your brand and services. More so when it’s a digital marketplace with a potential audience of approximately three billion people. 

As a small business with an underwhelming marketing budget, all you need is a Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter account to reach a large audience with your content. This is why small businesses use social media marketing to generate leads and build up their brand identity to reach and resonate with a larger audience.

Next, let’s look at what a social media marketing strategy can do for small businesses and how it can improve business outcomes. 

Why should you use social media for your business?

There’s no telling the influence of social media on human interaction. Human interactions fuel businesses. And there you have it! 

Consumers interact with brands via social media.  Small businesses may interact with their audience in many ways, thanks to the sea of social media platforms we have today. From increased traffic to brand visibility that yields hot leads and raving fans, social media marketing helps your business grow. 

A good social media presence enables small businesses to form new connections, save marketing expenses, and increase sales. Another significant advantage of social media marketing is that it offers market intelligence that small businesses can utilize to improve their brand. 

When a business encounters issues, social media allows them to interact with customers who can help them figure out why they’re having those issues. Social media also helps small businesses become more human by enabling them to react to customer complaints, comments, and criticism that strengthen existing bonds. 

How to create a successful social media campaign

Beyond the basics, for instance, using multiple social media platforms, maintaining consistency of brand and tone to avoid mix-ups, and of course, kick-ass content creation, here’re a few handy tips that you should be looking at:

— Get who your target audience is down to a tee 

Also, research what platform they prefer, then go with it. While you may also attempt to attract individuals from a generation, age isn’t the only demographic to consider. Other demographics may include:

• Gender 
• Location
• Job’s title
• Interests 

If you don’t know who you’re attempting to reach, then identify your audience early on!

— Make Sure Your Call-to-action (CTA) Is Clear: 

Perhaps you want people to participate in your campaign by clicking a link, sharing a post, or creating their material. Whatever the situation, it’s critical that the audience understands what to do. Your social media campaign must contain a clear, unmistakable call to action. 

— Visuals! Visuals! Visuals!

Well, Obviously!! In this content-saturated age, no one’s going to read through your content if it’s not pleasing to the eye.

Even if you have the most compelling message in the world, if it isn’t appealing to the eye, people will go on to the next puppy video on their feed. A well-crafted campaign may also help customers move through your sales funnel.

— Quality Content Creation, Schedule Posts

Especially now that you already know your target demographic, what tone to use, which social media site your campaign will run on, and what you want viewers to do at this stage. You’re all set to start creating content and scheduling it.

The platform will determine the frequency with which you publish. You may accomplish this by using social media monitoring software/analytics to measure how many views, shares, and clicks each of your posts receives. 

You can discover how often you should publish and what kinds of content receive the greatest interaction by doing so. You can also curate a social media calendar to keep tabs on your posting activity.

— Keep track of relevant metrics and tweak for success!

Once your campaign is online, you must monitor it regularly to see how well it’s doing. 

You may match particular metrics to your campaign’s unique objectives. If you aim to increase interaction, you can track it via likes, shares, and comments on relevant sites. If the objective of your campaign is to increase website traffic, you may use web analytics tools or UTM codes to track how much traffic the campaign is producing (and where it’s coming from).

There’re a plethora of software solutions that may assist you in tracking whatever stats you want.

— Empathy-filled Customer Service

Customer service is a huge part of brand loyalty, and most individuals between the ages of 18 and 54 think social media is a good place to get help. 

Here’s the kicker: most of your consumers anticipate assistance through social media and are nearly equally inclined to applaud or criticize your answer. So, make it a positive experience for them!

Superior social media customer service comes down to three factors: quickness, tone, and results. People want prompt answers from compassionate people who’re driven by customer success.

. . . Just Show Up With Meaningful, Engaging Stuff — Be. Your. Authentic. Self.🙂

Keeping it a buck with your brand visitors is the secret sauce you need to forge meaningful, deeper connections with them. 

Being unfiltered (of course in a non-offensive way) may seem an uphill task. Still, it all boils down to being genuine — post material that is honest and insightful to stay loyal and true to your brand (and yourself.) 

It doesn’t have to be perfectly groomed to be shared, but it should reflect your brand’s persona and accurately represent what you stand for. As humans first before small business owners, ‘social media IS our business at the end of the day.’ 

If you want to schedule a no-obligation branding audit with us, so our branding experts can help you troubleshoot (and level up) your branding, click here and here for more business insights.