Being competitive in the marketplace is important. Small businesses don’t have the marketing budgets big brands have. Their marketing dollars need to be stretched and spent wisely. While big brands have some advantages, small businesses have unique advantages too.
Small Business is the New Black
Owning a small business is on-trend. Looking at the marketplace, it’s more common than ever to sell goods and services from pop-up shops, Etsy stores, inside a little shop downtown, and more. Being an entrepreneur, start-up, or mom-n-pop shop is back in fashion. As more and more people are shopping online, there is an opportunity for virtual small businesses to thrive.
What used to be commonplace marketing is changing. People are no longer sitting in front of prime-time television watching ads between breaks in their favourite shows. People are reading fewer magazines and newspapers and other publications are coming from the cloud. People can pay a premium not to see ads, which makes traditional advertising risky. Advertising is shifting and social media is capturing the market.
Social Media and Small Business is a Perfect Match
Social media is the great equalizer. Social media platforms are generally free to own and it’s possible to cultivate huge audiences with very little effort. That makes them a perfect fit for small businesses with smaller marketing budgets. Essentially, whether you are McDonald’s, or sell small-batch artisan honey you can have the same impact through social media.
Sure, you can invest in targeted ads and increase your reach, but quite often all you really need is high-quality, consistent content to reach your target audience. With social media, there are no limits to how you can market to your audience and draw the right people to your business.
There’s a Platform for Everyone
There are well over 100 social media platforms out there and more coming every year. You can’t and shouldn’t try them all. What you can do is determine which platform your target audience uses most and start there. Develop content that appeals to your audience and watch your following… and your sales, go up.
The average social media user has eight social media accounts. That means you can use one or two relevant types of social media and likely be seen by millions of people. Never before has it been so easy to be seen.
Social media is a perfect place for small businesses to create the know, like, and trust factor necessary to build customer loyalty and brand recognition. Use the perfect platform for your business and watch your popularity soar.
Call me for help to raise your online profile, tell your story, and generate business leads through video.
Greg Belanger
403-703-7944
