Generating business through social media for small business owners
As a small business owner, you should be focused on one thing, and one thing only: generating business. There are many other practices that factor into this, such as creating a great product, streamlining your processes and crafting your marketing strategy, but all lead to the ultimate goal of convincing customers to purchase your goods or services.
But as a time-poor entrepreneur, it’s crucial to identify which initiatives are generating business in the quickest, easiest, and lowest-cost manner. For many small businesses, the solution is social media.
Why social media?
Creating a social media marketing campaign can be done in an instant. You are most likely already familiar with the main channels and know the nuances of each. Creating a business profile is very similar to creating a personal profile, and costs absolutely nothing.
Even when spending money on paid social media advertising, the costs remain extremely low. What’s more, your spend is also used efficiently, as you can target your content to your exact audience and optimize to your best performing creative.
You are also able to take advantage of social media’s unparalleled tracking and reporting capabilities. By installing pixels on your website, you can retarget visitors and serve them personalized content based on their browsing behavior. For example, you could target people who abandoned their cart with urgency messaging or a coupon to encourage them to complete their purchase.
By utilizing reporting during and after your campaign you can also tell how your content is performing against different objectives. Free analytics dashboards included in each platform will show you which content is delivering the best outcomes, or which target audience is converting the most. This can help to inform decisions not only in your social media strategy, but potentially for your business as a whole.
Where to begin
Starting a social media marketing strategy can be overwhelming if you have never used the medium before. Use the below guideline to help create your strategy.
- Choose your platform
You don’t need to be active on every social media channel to see success, so don’t make the mistake of spreading yourself too thin. Think about your business goals and objectives, and pick a platform to suit this. Play to your strengths, for example if your business operates in the B2B space then start with LinkedIn. For food-based businesses, Pinterest is a good idea.
- Build out your profile
Depending on the platform you have chosen, there are different options available for displaying business information. Use every field that is relevant to educate your followers about your company, including your website address, phone number, opening hours etc. This includes any opportunities for images or video, where you could overlay text about your latest sale or an upcoming product launch.
- Create a funnel
Utilize different messaging at different stages to push customers through their path to purchase. Start by building awareness with a broad target audience to grow your following. Then follow up with educational content about your business and the goods or services you provide. Finally, use retargeting to follow up with website visitors and offer them an incentive to make a purchase.
While social media is a highly effective tool for generating business, it also requires a clear strategy to perform well. If you need help getting started, or want to speak to an expert, click here to get in touch!
