"Small businesses ranked: Their biggest opportunity to build brand awareness."
Why Use Social Media For Your Business?
That guy on the left is the famous bank-robber William Sutton.
According to Wikipedia, "William Francis Sutton Jr. (June 30, 1901 – November 2, 1980) was an American bank robber.[1] During his forty-year robbery career he stole an estimated $2 million, and he eventually spent more than half of his adult life in prison and escaped three times.
When asked why he robbed banks, Sutton simply replied,
“Because that's where the money is."
Social Media Use Is Critical Because That's Where The People Are!
As you look over the graphic on the right, please note that - although 70% of Facebook users say they visit the site every day, 49% of users say they visit the site "several" times a day.
I've known people in a workforce who kept Facebook "live" on their desktop all day and refreshed it every 15-20 minutes (the lunatic fringe?).
Even almost 60% of Instagram users admit that they're on that platform every day!
The best way to use any of these social platforms is as "feeder" sites; you want to hook 'em on the friendship site and lure them over to your own website or mailing list.
Ultimately, you need to entice social media consumers over to one of your own properties and control. The odds are very, very high that these third-party platforms will find a way to screw you.
"If you’re not taking advantage of social within your digital marketing strategy, you’re missing out on a fast, inexpensive, and effective way to reach almost half the world’s population."
These Are The Keys That Make Social Media Marketing So Effective (And Daunting)
Success with social media is simple, but not necessarily easy.
The bedrock of social media is content and lots of it. You have to feed the machine and its raving fans. (Your raving fans!)
The "lots of content" principle has to be beefed up with a variety of content: inform, entertain, surprise, delight, and, yes, promote - maybe just a little. These fans are your friends, not your suckers.
The third pillar for social media success is unbending and unrelenting consistency. Posting once or even twice a day is mandatory.
While the success from these efforts can be great, obviously, so is the commitment level required. This may be why most small business owners just outsource the work.