The internet has become the best tool to reach an audience today. According to Statista, internet users spend 3 hours daily on average on the internet for communication, entertainment, and other purposes. This has encouraged small business owners to connect with their target audience digitally. To drive conversations and achieve desired results, small businesses need a lot of consistency, and for this, social media has proved to be a game-changer for small businesses.
Social Media includes platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, Pinterest, Tiktok, and others which are used to spread information and socialize with a large group of people.
Social media has grown phenomenally in recent years, and it is now estimated that around 2.5 billion people use social media, with that number growing all the time. These are the reasons why small businesses prefer social media, and its usage is growing tremendously:
- To create a connection with customers: Social media provides small businesses with a way to connect with their customers and to build relationships. This can help businesses to better understand what their customers want and need, and it can also help businesses to develop loyalty among customers.
- To build brand awareness: Social media can help small businesses to build brand awareness. By creating a strong presence on social media, businesses can reach a large number of people who may not have otherwise been aware of the company or its products or services.
- To reach new customers: Social media can also help small businesses to reach new customers. By advertising on social media, businesses can target specific customers who are likely to be interested in what they have to offer.
- To improve customer service: Social media can also be used to improve customer service. By responding to customers’ questions and concerns online, businesses can provide better customer service and build customer trust.
- To create a community around the business. Social media can also help businesses to create a community around their brand. This can help businesses build a loyal following of customers interested in what the business has to offer.
These are some common benefits of using social media by small businesses. However, among various social media platforms, which is the one prioritized by the small businesses these days. We have talked to various experts and small business owners to know what they think about it and we got mixed responses.
Let’s have a look at what social media marketing platforms are widely used by small business owners around the world:
Instagram is a social media app that lets users share photos and videos from their lives with friends and followers. It is owned by Facebook and as of June 2018, had over one billion active users. It is used by businesses across the world to share photos and videos of their products or services, to engage with target audiences, to promote special offers, and to reach a wider audience. A lot of businesses love Instagram Marketing and share their experiences about it.
Darren Litt, the Co-Founder of Hiya Health shares:
Instagram continues to be the social media channel that delivers the best results for us. Because Instagram is visually-driven content, it works perfectly for influencer marketing which is a core component of our social media marketing. We play up the features of our product design by posting flattering pictures on Instagram and encouraging our customers to post their own pictures too. In 2022, we will continue with the social media strategy that worked so well for us – kids proudly posing with their yellow bottles, tips for a healthy lifestyle, educational content, and photos of food that inspire healthy eating.
Isla Sibanda, an entrepreneur and a Cybersecurity specialist at Privacy Australia expresses that:
A practice that has become quite common for small businesses to promote their content online is using the accounts of influencers, particularly on Instagram. This helps reach millions of people at one time and enhances the engagement from clients exponentially. Businesses conduct in-depth research of the market which includes seeing which accounts are followed by their customers, what kind of posts they like and share. This helps them determine which platform would be most successful in reaching them and capturing their attention.
We have also seen many Instagram ads while scrolling up the posts, reels, and stories on the platform that inspires us to navigate through them. The Instagram user base has increased over the last few years which clearly shows the importance of the medium for small business owners.
James Green, Owner of Build A Head Big Heads shares
For our products, we’ve found that Instagram is the best social media platform to use for marketing. Since Instagram is focused on quality pictures, instead of written posts, our marketing strategy is to leverage our customers’ success stories by showcasing the pictures they’ve submitted. It’s a great endorsement of our products, makes managing our social media marketing quite easy, and it helps convince new customers to buy our products.
By reading the experiences of various small business owners, it seems like Instagram is great for Instagram. It is great for businesses who want to showcase graphics, with short descriptions of their products and services.
- Pro Tip: Creating a winning profile will help you attract customers. Show your product in a creative way, collaborate, and mention others. Expand your reach by hashtags. Consider doing an Instagram Marketing course that helps you learn incredible instagram marketing strategies.
Facebook is a social networking website where users can post comments, photos, and videos about themselves. They can also join groups with other users with similar interests. Facebook for business is for businesses where a Facebook Page is created for your business. It’s a place where people can learn more about your business and connect with you.
People are more likely to connect with and engage with businesses that have interesting and high-quality content. So, businesses on Facebook focus more on reaching more people who may be interested in your business. You can target your ads to specific demographics, interests, and even locations. Although Gen Z may not use it as much now, the majority of millennials and older generations are still on Facebook. That is why it is still a popular and favorite platform for many small business owners. To learn more, you can take up a Facebook business manager course online and LDA in Entertainment Industry course to enhance your knowledge. Let’s have a look at what experts have to say about this:
Ryan Reed-Baum, Founder and SEO of TruLog Siding says
Although Facebook was not the first social media network, it is the most prominent today. With over 2 billion active users, Facebook allows businesses to reach out to over 25% of the world’s population. While it’s unlikely that your company will be targeting all of these people, it’s comforting to know that there is such a vast pool of people to choose from, especially with Facebook’s powerful ad program and pinpoint targeting capabilities. Any small business that uses Facebook to generate leads should also use Facebook advertisements
Kyle Kroeger, Founder of Black Bear Media LLC compares different social media platforms,
Although we must establish that there exists a wide array social media platforms and the fact that all of them have their place and are utilized considerably by most small businesses, it is quite evident that Facebook tends to take the cake universally, Facebook is reported to be a host to roughly 80 percent of small businesses who make use of digital marketing, whereas next on the list is Instagram with only half as many engagements, amounting to 40 percent of total firms. Other platforms include Tiktok, Twitter, Youtube, Snapchat, etc, but with the exception of a few of them, most are budding platforms. Sponsored advertisements are the most sought-after after means of promotional strategies on social media
For my small business, our top prioritized social media platform is Facebook. The reason we prioritize Facebook is because it is the most popular platform used amongst our audience demographic – homeowners. Most homeowners consist of the Baby Boomer and Gen X age ranges, and those generations are more likely to use Facebook than any other platform, like TikTok or Instagram. We use our social media to display our successful work, offer education on our industry, and directly connect with our audience
The responses clearly show that with most of the social media traffic, Facebook is the best social media platform to advertise a small business. But again, it depends on the nature of the business, audience, and many other factors.
Alex Thompson, Founder and Director of Festoon House believes that no matter Facebook and Instagram are so popular but for his business, Youtube works as a charm. He says
Youtube has been the platform of choice for our small business in 2022. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are still valuable, but we view Youtube as being better for our products. We believe that we can offer better high-quality content on Youtube as potential customers are more likely to search for What are festoon lights and How to hang string lights than liking a picture we pushed on Instagram. This way we can demonstrate the product and satisfy their query more than any beautiful picture could.
Pro Tip: Learn Facebook Marketing with this free Facebook Marketing course. With this in-depth course on Facebook Business Manager, you can start with the domain and use it for the promotion of your business.
LinkedIn Marketing
LinkedIn is a social media platform used for business and professional networking. It can be used for marketing purposes to connect with potential customers, clients, and partners. LinkedIn can also be used to build relationships with people in your industry, share your company’s story, and market your products and services.
LinkedIn is the social networking powerhouse for small businesses. Although it is the most professional social network available, it has gotten increasingly informal over time. LinkedIn’s early users were primarily focused on recruiting and professional networking, but it has now evolved into a wonderful platform for fostering customer interaction. LinkedIn can help you locate possible vendors, consumers, and business partners, allowing you to extend both your professional and social networks. LinkedIn can even help you get business funding. LinkedIn also allows you to produce extensive blog entries and essays, something most other platforms do not. This is a fantastic approach to establishing a name for oneself in your field.
In my experience, influencers and key people need to be on LinkedIn so that they can be found. It adds credibility and transparency when you know the people you are meeting or working with. LinkedIn has become more than an online resume or rolodex, it is the foundation for building trusted relationships in the digital economy. If your customers do not use Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to find you then you do not need to make them a priority. To sell large volumes of a consumer product I think those strategies would be more effective to build awareness but for many professional service businesses like mine, LinkedIn matters the most so that has always been and continues to be my priority
Adam Rossi, CEO of TotalShield prefers LinkedIn for his business. He says,
LinkedIn is definitely a social media platform that my company prioritizes. Because our main customer base includes other companies and organizations, LinkedIn allows us to demonstrate our expertise and usefulness to professionals, specifically. We are able to build a network of potential customers and build our brand effectively.
The responses from experts suggest that there is no one rule that fits all. Just like that, no single social media platform is the best option for all businesses. Looking at the responses, we can feel that LinkedIn is for people who are looking to build B2B connections, professional networking, and are online influencers.
Pro Tip: Discover the best way to market your brand through Linkedin and run a successful Linkedin campaign by completing this free LinkedIn marketing course. Learn how to make a LinkedIn profile, an impressive one, to build stronger connections over the platform.
Twitter Marketing
Twitter is a microblogging platform that can be used for marketing purposes. When used correctly, Twitter can be a powerful tool for businesses to connect with customers and promote their products or services. Some tips for using Twitter for marketing include: Creating a profile that accurately represents your business, Uploading a profile picture and header image that represent your business, Tweeting regularly about your business and its products or services, Using hashtags to reach a wider audience, and Monitoring your Twitter analytics to track how well your tweets are performing. You can also take up a Spark Twitter Streaming course to learn more about the same. Let’s read what Twitter lovers have to say about it.
One of the most popular social media platforms is Twitter. It is both serious and interesting, which is a perfect combination for businesses. A lot of the relevant people across all industries are active on Twitter and it’s much easier to reach them this way. Plus, the general public loves tweeting and scrolling through feeds in the search of new information. Small businesses have an opportunity to establish credibility and improve recognition very quickly, without spending a lot of money in the process. This is why Twitter remains one of the most popular social media networks even today
Ryan Reed-Baum, Founder and SEO of TruLog Siding feel great about using Twitter if you have a strong social media team. He says,
Twitter is a fantastic tool for connecting with other industry influencers and companies. Retweets from news sites, celebrities, or partner firms might help you obtain more clicks. People will not be hesitant to express their thoughts, but if your product or service is good, this will boost engagement
YouTube Marketing
There is no question that video is a powerful marketing tool. But creating videos that effectively promote your business can be a challenge. YouTube is a video streaming platform that helps you share content with the help of which you can promote yourself, your products, and services.
Pro Tip: Explore tips for creating videos and posting videos on YouTube that achieve your marketing goals, whether you’re looking to drive awareness, engagement, or conversions. For this, go through this free Youtube Marketing course that solidifies your insights on YouTube marketing and its benefits for your business.
Like any other type of content, your video marketing efforts will be more successful if you take the time to plan out what you want to say and how you want to say it.
Start by thinking about the goals you want your video to achieve. Do you want to drive awareness of your brand or product? Increase engagement on your social media channels? Generate leads or sales? Once you have a goal in mind, you can start brainstorming ideas for videos that will help you achieve it.
Pro Tip: Make sure your video is relevant to your audience. Before you start filming, take some time to think about who your target audience is. What are their interests? What problems do they need help solving? What solutions are you offering?
Your video should be relevant to your target audience, and it should offer them something of value.
Pro Tip: Once your video is released, it’s important to track the results and see how it’s performing. Use tools like Google Analytics to track how many people are watching your video, where they’re coming from, and what actions they’re taking after watching it. If you want to learn more about video marketing, check out our video marketing course.
A lot of CEOs and founders appraise Youtube for its video-oriented marketing format. Let’s read what they have to say about using Youtube for small business marketing:
Videos outperform static photos in terms of performance. They are participatory and effectively convey the message. Furthermore, YouTube has 2.3 billion active users, which implies that someone from your target demographic is watching you on the platform. Making the most of YouTube is no longer a choice; rather, it is a need.
Youtube video tutorials are a convenient way to know everything under the sun. Youtube offers a lot of information about certain things. From simple hacks to the complicated repair of gadgets. People want to subscribe to this platform because of its availability and the videos it offers. This is a perfect site to market products and make a tutorial of their function or Use
YouTube is the best social media platform, prioritized by small businesses in 2022. This is because it is a robust video-sharing platform as it has billions of users with millions active daily. Companies can upload, share, comment on the videos, and urge watchers to subscribe to their channels. If you have great content, you will automatically get higher subscribers as YouTube is a top-notch platform for maximizing engagement with an audience. Also, the businesses can post informative and educational content, which informs your audience and promotes your business. Small businesses work with others in their industry to get associated with people. For example, working with micro-infuencers and sharing their content helps them become a more significant part of the broader community
Pro Tip: Learn Video Editing basics to form interesting content videos and to associate more with your target audience.
Wrapping up
By looking at various responses from experts, CEOs, founders, and people working on leading positions with different companies, it can be concluded that no social media platform is best for every business. It depends on business to the business, target audience, budgets, type of products and services, and more factors. In my view, the companies targeting millennials and older generations should opt for Facebook and the companies who want to glorify their product features more through pictures should opt for Instagram. YouTube is specifically for the companies that want to showcase their product features through a video and LinkedIn is designed for businesses wanting to establish strong professional connections.
Whatever is the goal of business promotions, one should try every social media marketing medium and analyze what works best for them. This is how the best for the business can be determined.
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