How Small Businesses Can Leverage The Power Of Social Media Marketing

One of the smartest ways for small businesses to advertise is through social media marketing. It allows them to do so much with such little resources. But how exactly can small businesses use the power of social media marketing?
Let’s find out!

1. Budget-Friendly Marketing

The beauty of social media marketing is that it works for anyone, no matter the size of your business. This is because social media has something to offer for every budget.
Don’t have the budget to pay for ads on social media yet? That’s okay! You can always produce content and advertise it on social media platforms. Creating an account is free. Building a community and garnering followers can be done just by producing quality content—no need to pay for anything.
Your business grew and can now afford to advertise online? Great! There are tons of options to advertise on these platforms.
These platforms also offer customized options for advertising. You can control the budget and the target audience. This offers more effective and targeted advertising. There’s no need to waste money advertising to customers who are outside your target audience.

2. Partnerships with Influencers

As a small business, you might be having second doubts about partnering up with influencers. You might be thinking that they’re currently too expensive for your business right now. But thankfully, micro-influencers are here to save the day!
Micro-influencers are individuals who have around 10,000 – 50,000 followers on social media. Despite the relatively low number of followers, these influencers are known to have high engagement with their audience. Working with a micro-influencer who is highly relevant to your business can increase brand awareness significantly.
Statistics show that micro-influencers on social media have better engagement compared to mega influencers.
On Instagram, they have an average engagement rate of 3.86% compared to the 1.21% for mega-influencers. While on YouTube, they have around 1.64% compared to mega-influencers, who have a rate of 0.37%. As for TikTok, micro-influencers have an engagement rate of 18% compared to the 5% of mega-influencers.

To be able to reach out to these micro-influencers effectively, you’ll have to convince them that your business is worth advertising.
Sending a customized portfolio will help them visualize what kind of business relationship you can have. This portfolio should contain who you are as a business and what you stand for. Of course, it should also contain a description of your products and how your business is relevant to the influencer.
Send the portfolio inside a branded folder envelope. This will help influencers know that the package is from you. It establishes a sense of professionalism to see that the package they’ll be receiving is consistent with your corporate identity.
Aside from that, it also establishes trust. They’ll know that the kit is legitimate because it comes with your logo and other brand identity elements.

3. Contests, Giveaways, and Promotions

Who doesn’t get excited with contests, giveaways, and promotions? This strategy can be very effective in social media because it’s easy to share information, therefore making word-of-mouth travel fast.
Catching the attention of users everywhere is a great way to increase brand awareness. In hosting a contest a giveaway, for example, you can ask users to share the post for an entry in the contest. You can also ask them to comment why they want to win and tag a few of their friends.
These efforts will snowball into getting lots and lots of exposure. Your business gets discovered by thousands of users, and some of these are bound to get interested.
As for the prizes, it would be a great opportunity to personalize the packaging of the winner to make them feel special. It will be a total social media-worthy experience if you put a lot of effort into the packaging. To top it all off, add a personalized letter in a custom portfolio folder thanking them for being a part of this event.

4. Participate in Social Issues

Social media became the center of communication and expression throughout the years. Along with this, it also became the center of discussion on multiple social issues. This is where people speak up for the oppressed, the unseen, and the unheard. It’s the tool that people use to propagate movements against discrimination and injustices.
Out of all these issues, choose one that resonates with your small business. Being involved in these issues will help you build relationships with your audience. Doing so is hitting two birds with one stone. You get to help make the world a better place, and you get to increase your brand awareness.
People are excited to support a small business that doesn’t shy away from involving its brand in social issues, much less controversial ones. If they know that their purchase helps out in solving issues, they’re more likely to buy and share it with their friends.

5. Increase Brand Recognition

As a small business, raising brand awareness is one of your top priorities. It would be hard to maintain the business if people didn’t know who you are. They wouldn’t be able to make purchases and support your brand if they don’t know you exist.
Just like with bigger businesses, people feel more comfortable buying products from businesses that they know. This is because in getting to know your business, your customers get to know if your:

• Processes are ethical
• Products are cruelty-free
• Ingredients are safe
• Ingredients are organic
• Products are high-quality
  

It’s understandable that your business may not have all of the things stated above. But the most important thing is, to be honest with your customers regarding your processes.
In increasing brand recognition, you also get to create relationships with your customers. It’ll ultimately help your small business grow into something bigger.