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Cost Effective Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses
Social media marketing for small businesses is critical to their growth and success. Social networking has become increasingly popular, as a result, companies have growing opportunities to reach new customers. The positive effects of social media marketing for small businesses are becoming more apparent. However, it’s a pay-to-play world. Does your company have access to the right financing options to capitalize?
Starting Your Social Media Campaign
The first steps in establishing a successful social media marketing campaign should include research and goal-setting. Your social campaign must have realistic and well-defined goals. As well as a focused plan to reach them. That means figuring out which social networks your current and prospective customers use. And then implementing a digital marketing strategy to engage them and build a following.
Social media is a numbers game. You might already know the most popular social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. People interact with content on these different platforms in many ways. Users may:
• Follow or subscribe to an account.
• “Like”, rate, and/or comment on posted content.
• Comment, interact and share content with other users.
Most social media interactions can be counted and tracked in detail by the manager of the social account. These metrics help measure the effectiveness of your social media marketing strategy. However, as explained by digital marketing firm Hootsuite, they can also serve as a distraction without a solid plan.
When using social media for promotional reasons, our natural inclination is to garner as many followers, likes, and comments as possible. There’s nothing wrong with that. But as a business, it’s not a very worthwhile goal. Instead, businesses should focus their marketing initiatives on maximizing engagement with their target audience and industry. Or, they can focus on campaigns and content that convert more people into customers, rather than blindly chasing followers.
Expand Social Reach Through Targeted Investment
Social media marketing for small businesses could essentially be free. However, excelling at social media marketing usually requires spending money on ad campaigns to help boost your reach. Additionally, it also requires a significant investment of time. Business owners may not have the bandwidth, which means you might need to hire an expert to help you. Getting funding through business marketing loans can help make room in your budget for social efforts that provide a return on their investment. Funds allocated for social media initiatives may be applied in a few different ways:
Hiring a Social Media Specialist
You can use loans for marketing campaigns to hire a social media specialist. Or outsource to a social media management team. A social media specialist stays on top of social media trends and can help develop marketing strategies and advertising plans. By contracting out your social campaign or hiring a new staff member dedicated to social media management, business managers can keep their focus on their daily operations.
Hiring a Photographer or Videographer
Furthermore, it might be worthwhile to dedicate part of your social media budget to hiring a photographer or videographer. Someone who can produce high-quality photos or videos for your accounts. High-quality media images can help set you apart from your competitors’ social feeds. They also help to convey a professional representation of your business. Manufacturing companies, for example, might benefit from showcasing their products on social media to attract attention.
Promote Your Social Media Content
Another option for social spending might involve paid promotions. For a set fee, most social media service platforms allow businesses to promote their content. This helps them reach their content marketing objectives. Or, you could pay social influencers within your select industry to promote your brand on their social sites. These are users with a large following among your target audience.
Successful social media marketing and management for small businesses requires smarter financing. QuickBridge provides pinpoint funding for marketing efforts or any other business need. Contact us to learn more about what fast, efficient financing can do for your company.
