Small businesses have it hard. Without the budget or brand awareness of a large company, advertising is a lot more difficult. What many small business owners don’t know, however, is that both of these problems can be addressed with a strong social media presence. Platforms like Twitter and Instagram are not just reserved for big brands—they’re actually the best tool around to build up your own brand. Here’s why:
Low Cost/High Reward
It costs $0.00 to create social media accounts for your business. You have the whole world at your fingertips, and can reach whoever you want with little to no money out of pocket! It requires effort and strategic planning, but with the proper dedication, the payoff can be enormous.
Easily Reach Your Target Audience
Through hashtags, follower strategies, and location tagging, you can ensure your content is being seen by the people you want to see it. Additionally, many social media platforms offer targeted ads at all price points, meaning you can set the audience of your boosted posts based off of factors like age, gender, location, interests, and work. Facebook and Instagram make the process especially simple.
Getting to know Clientele
The social media sphere is a great space to get to know your audience in a multitude of ways. You can see how people react to the content you post and work to position your content based off of their reactions. Additionally, you may be able to identify a different audience; perhaps the people you thought would care the most about your product aren’t the ones you originally thought!
Develop Personality
Social Media is a great place to find your footing when it comes to voice and personality of your brand. Based off your audience and their reactions to your content (see above), you can gain more insight as to how to market your business and tell its story. What kind of tone and voice does your audience respond to? By consistently using social media and interacting with people in the space, you’ll be able to develop both an authentic and relatable brand voice.
Analytics and Insights
Many social media platforms offer free analytics and insights into different metrics and measurements on your accounts. Platforms like Facebook Business Manager are free of charge and very helpful while trying to learn about your audience and determine what types of posts will perform the best. Instagram also has a helpful (and free) platform!
What are you waiting for? It’s time to stop letting your social accounts collect dust. Your brand can only grow if you put the work in to build and maintain your profiles. If your company isn’t even on social yet, then you’d better get started!