Small businesses are only small in name but not in importance, as the United States’ small business sector is responsible for 54% of the country’s annual sales. Small businesses also account for 55% of all jobs, according to findings by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Most of these businesses generally adopt a startup model, growing over time with careful investments. This growth model can be restrictive budget-wise, so small businesses often have limited options when it comes to marketing strategies.
The good news is, small businesses can take advantage of smart content marketing to add to their existing promotions package. Here’s how two specific components – content and social media– can work together to effectively gain a following and subsequently, increased sales.
Promote Through Value
It’s your marketing campaign, sure, but executing it on social media needs some re-orientation on your end in terms of attracting customers. Repetitive posts about your product/service will quickly tire \your audience, so mix it up with some genuinely helpful information or advice. Try for a 20% promotional – 80% educational ratio in your social media content to let your audience know you’re there to help them, instead of just making blatant sales pitches.
Stay Relevant by ‘Riding’ News and Trends
Building a social media presence can take time for it to gain traction, so focus your efforts first on building local brand awareness. That is, be conspicuous in your neighborhood, expanding outwards to the city, and so on.
Look up hashtags that the competition uses during local events, and incorporate them into your posts. Follow up on news events in your vicinity, participate in discussions through comments, like/react to trending posts and share these, to further expand your network. The more people see that you’re well-attuned to the hottest happenings, the better they’ll respond to your promotional efforts.
Visualize Your Content
This doesn’t mean peppering your page with generic images – we’re talking about infographics, which you can use to convey your message in a creative, eye-catching way. Infographics also serve to make your ideas more accessible, allowing your audience to learn more about you in an approachable and entertaining manner. Plus, vibrant visuals are always shareable material on social media.
Pulling off all these in one slick campaign can be tricky, but luckily, we at Sievers Creative are exceptionally skilled at social media management. Contact us if you’re ready to take your small business to the big leagues.
