Basics of social media marketing for your small business.
Social media marketing. It’s a constantly changing world, with new updates, new features, even new networks, rolling out faster than a Twitter stream about Kim Kardashian’s latest revealing selfie. We could write a book on this topic. In fact, we did. You can download it for free here. But for now, let’s just cover a few basics about social media marketing for all of you who are wondering how it could help your business.
Social media is not free.
Yes, it’s free to set up your basic accounts on most services. Yes, it’s free to post, comment and interact with people. But effective social media marketing requires a substantial investment—either in time from you and your staff, or in money for a professional social media marketing company. If you decide to go the DIY route, just consider your return on the investment of your time. We’ve been working with small businesses for years, and the one thing we’ve seen over and over is that small business owners undervalue their time (and the time of their key staff members). Think of it this way: What makes you money? Is it seeing patients, consulting with clients or creating new products? Or is it trying to learn the intricacies of multiple social media networks and keeping up with the river of new information each produces? The answer to that question leads us into our next point …
Everyone can do social media. Not everyone can do social media marketing.
Social media is about connecting with friends and family. It’s a conversation, taken to the virtual world with neat interactive features. Social media marketing is about promoting a business using today’s most popular and cost-effective media. If you’re not a marketing professional in the traditional sense, then you’re likely not a marketing professional in a social media sense. We’re not trying to discourage you from being active on social media on behalf of your business. Quite the contrary. Small business owners that form a personal connection through social media enjoy much, much better results. However, on a strategic level, you might benefit from some professional guihttps://campfiredigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/themanifest-logo.jpgce, even if you’re dead set on implementing the plan yourself.
You don’t need to be on every social network.
Don’t even try to cover all the social sites. Not unless you’re Apple or Microsoft or Oracle or some other massive conglomerate that can afford an entire department of people to create content and monitor accounts for feedback from customers. Instead, do some research on your clients/customers, figure out when they hang their hats (digitally speaking), and focus on those networks. SMO Pros recommends finding your voice on three to four key social networks and engaging there. You can always expand if you see fit.
Social media is now.
Social media marketing isn’t the marketing media of the future. It’s the marketing media of today. It’s already here, and has been for a while. Consider this: Better than 75% of Internet users are on social media, and the average Web user spends more than three hours a day on social media. Three hours a day. That’s more than most people watch TV or listen to the radio. In fact, adults aged 18-34 are more likely to see video content on YouTube than on TV. Social media leaders Facebook have more than 1.2 billion active users worldwide. Google+ has more than 350 million active users, while Twitter and LinkedIn top 250 million each. Basically, people are online, and when they’re online, they’re often on social media. As a business in today’s marketplace, you can’t afford to ignore that.
Want more insights about social media marketing for your small- or medium-sized business? Check out our free e-book.