How Small Businesses Can Benefit From Social Media Campaigns

A social media campaign can create big returns for a small business. Check out how you can use the power of social media to generate more business.

The consumer marketplace is a competitive arena for the small business owner. Reaching and maintaining a beneficial position in the market can be challenging. And when your business dollar is reliant on a steady stream of customers a good marketing strategy is essential. What can the small business owner do to boost his sales opportunities? When you're the main man in a small business it is not always easy to find the time for marketing. This is where a social media campaign can help to drive business, acquire new customers, and generate revenue. The astute business owner leverages social media to increase his market reach and source new customers.

So how can this system work for you?

What is a Social Media Campaign?

A social media campaign entails using the power of the internet to get your message out to the world, whether it be a local or global market. Also referred to as digital marketing, social media marketing can attract and engage your customer. A good social media campaign has the potential to create excellent returns. There are numerous platforms for creating a social media campaign. These include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The intention is to target your audience through tailored campaigns which will catch their attention and drive them to your business gateway.

Most people now have access to a computer or a smartphone. Advertising and marketing delivered via the internet are directed at the users of these electronic devices and are often snappy, to the point, and eye catching.

First Create A Web Presence

A small business generally focuses their web presence on their company website. Consumers expect businesses to have a website, and they need the content to be clear and easy to follow. An internet surfer has a short attention span and they will not linger if they can't find what they want. A successful website contains the key elements of design, content, service or product information, and contact information. The contemporary consumer expects these factors to be easy to find and easy to navigate. Information should be at hand in just a couple of clicks.

According to the Nielson Norman Group, the average internet user only spends 59 seconds on a website before navigating away. You have less than a minute to engage your customer. Use that minute wisely with a well thought out and easy to follow website design. Once you have created your web presence you have a platform to which you can link your online marketing efforts. Your social media campaign will direct your potential customers to your website where they can find more information. You have now established the presence of your business in the online world.

The next part of the strategy is to create your campaign.

Quality Counts On The Web

A professionally written and correctly positioned social media campaign can bring you increased business and expand your brand. A quality article, or series of articles, can dramatically improve your profitability and bottom line. An investment made in social media marketing can offer an excellent ROI. If you do decide to use this medium for your social media campaign, ensure you have well-written content. You will do your business more harm than good if you release a poorly spelled or grammatically incorrect advertisement or article. Automated spell-checkers are not always 100% accurate.

The key rule of thumb here is: If in doubt, don't. You already have your area of expertise, which is why you own your own business. If you are not confident that you can create a professional and enticing advertisement for your small business, employ the services of a professional team.

Using A Social Media Campaign to Increase Business

But how exactly can the internet help you to increase your business, generate revenue, and improve your profits? Think of the internet as a portal that leads you directly to your customer. You, the small business owner with your range of products and services, is on one side of the portal. Your paying customer is on the other side. The internet allows a connection between you and your client. You can use the web, and digital marketing or a social media campaign, to bridge the gap. Your message can then be delivered directly to your targeted audience.

Email Campaigns

Chances are you have a list of email addresses of past and current clients in your business database. Reaching your customers by email is an ideal way to promote a new product, advise of an upcoming sale, or deliver information about your business. Make sure you don't inundate your customers with emails. This is the surest way to be relegated to the Spam folder. Keep your correspondence regular but not to the point of annoying.

Offer your customers something with each email contact. This could be in the form of information, a discount, a two-for-one offer, or news of an exciting new product. Keep them interested.

Facebook Ad Campaigns

Statistics show that at last count Facebook had over 1.94 billion active users. That is a lot of potential customers by anyone's measure. A Facebook ad campaign allows you to tap into this market. Facebook allows the ad creator the usage of several tools and analytics to help monitor and enhance their ad campaign. These can be tricky to navigate if you're not technologically savvy. However, if you understand how they work they can be of great benefit for traffic monitoring and ad positioning.

For the small business owner, a Facebook ad campaign can be a relatively quick and easy way to get a foot in the door of digital marketing.

Update Or Regularly Change The Look Of Your Website

Have you ever clicked on to a website and been immediately put off by the look or general "feel" of the site? Perhaps there are too many words, too many glaring colors, or maybe it's just too hard to find anything. Perhaps you can't even put your finger on exactly what it is that is not working for you. Have someone else review your business website for you, preferably someone who does not know your business well. Do they understand what you are selling? Can they find the information that they need?

Sometimes only a small change is required, such as a change of font or different color choice. Or perhaps you may want to offer specials on your home page and change these at regular intervals to make your site more attractive to potential customers. The internet user is a fickle beast. It is important to capture their attention in order to make that sale. A subtle change can make all the difference.

Social Media Strategies To Capture Your Customer's Attention

Offer Discounts

A tried and true method of attracting customers via social media is to offer a discount on products or services. By using digital marketing to ensure that the offer is seen you have more opportunity to reach a wider audience. By offering a small discount of 2% or 3% you can generate extra income if the offer is taken up by a wide group of people. You may be reducing the amount of money you receive for each sale, but if you are doubling your amount of sales the money comes back to you.

Use Visuals

We've already discussed the fact that the average internet user only spends 59 seconds on a web page. If you try and cram too many words into their vision during that tiny minute of opportunity you risk losing a potential customer. Illustrations, photographs, and pictures capture the eye. If you can attract a potential customer's attention with your visual digital marketing and have them click through to your website you have a greater chance of converting them to a paying customer.

Your visuals do not need to be complex or highly detailed. A thumbnail photograph, along with a price or an intriguing phrase, can be enough to encourage your prospective client to click through to your company web page.

Ask A Question And Provide The Answer

If you can catch someone's attention with a question they want to have answered, and then provide them with the answer, you're half-way to a sale. This method of customer acquisition works well in the physical world of sales and marketing. It also works well for a social media campaign. This technique can drive traffic to your website. The higher the amount of traffic to visit your website, the more chances you have of converting the viewer to a buyer.

Digital Media For Local Small Business Owners

The small business owner often acquires his customers from his local area. Many of the service trades cater to the local market. So how can social media marketing help to increase your local customer base? LinkNow Media offers a local traffic solution plan, the Emerging marketing solution. This plan concentrates the business owner's online media strategy on potential customers in his area. The package reviews your website, provides quarterly site maintenance and performs onsite SEO checks.

If your website is optimized for local customers your chances of increased business through online sources is significantly raised. Contact LinkNow Media today to talk with the team about your social media and digital marketing requirements.