How social media can help small businesses
Introduction
Ever since its advent, social media has helped billions of people connect with each other and communicate their messages to a global audience. Its uses include, but are not limited to, status updates, sharing photos and videos, private messaging, and holding events. The pandemic gave rise to an online quiz community, and an online dueling community so Yu-Gi-Oh players could play even when tournament venues were not hosting events at maximum capacity. However, social media also helps small businesses and individuals to advertise and sell their products. By leveraging social media platforms’ far reach and diverse content, small businesses no longer have to rely solely on word of mouth to stay open.
Popular Social Media Platforms
1. Facebook: boasting 3 billion users as of 2023, Mark Zuckerberg’s creation was initially intended for college students to contact each other, but ever since its launch in 2004, it has become popular among schoolchildren and adults alike. Many years ago, it introduced a feature called Marketplace, which allows users to buy and sell items to and from other users. Facebook also allows businesses and content creators to make dedicated pages to sell products and communicate updates. New Orleans’ Ghost Bar uses a Facebook page in place of a website, and even individuals can use Facebook groups or the Marketplace to buy and sell items.
2. YouTube: At 2.5 billion users strong, YouTube is the second-most popular social media platform by number of users, behind Facebook. Initially intended for sharing videos, it expanded into mobile apps, network television, and interoperability with other platforms. It hosts many different kinds of content, including but not limited to, music videos, movie trailers, advertisements, and web series. Though most content is created by individuals, businesses can also host YouTube channels to promote their products or services.
3. Instagram: Instagram, which Facebook bought in 2012, was mainly intended for photo sharing, has since grown to allow users to message each other directly and shop without leaving the app. Many of the companies that operate popular trading card games use social media platforms to advertise new products, and even some users such as jrbjobber, a popular Yu-Gi-Oh player, auctions off Yu-Gi-Oh cards on his Instagram page. Instagram also has a cart feature which allows users to buy products directly from vendors through the app and some of them may be covered through Instagram’s Purchase Protection policies.
4. TikTok: TikTok, which was launched in China in 2017 and globally in 2018, is a short-form video sharing service. Similar to Facebook and Instagram, TikTok has a shop feature specifically for creators. The feature is called TikTok Shop Affiliate, and content creators can use it to share products with their followers and earn a commission on every sale generated. However, this feature can only be used by individuals who are at least 18 years old and who have over 5,000 followers. It also offers TikTok Shop, which enables brands and sellers to showcase and sell products directly on TikTok. According to TikTok Marketing Science Global Retail Path to Purchase, 70% of TikTok users discover new brands and products on it.
Benefits of Social Media Platforms
1. Brand Awareness: Arguably the most important way social media helps small businesses is that it promotes brand awareness. According to an article from business.com, SCORE (a volunteer organization that helps small businesses) 77% of small businesses use it to promote brand awareness and increase revenue. Additionally, 55% of users first discover new businesses on social media. According to www.sociallybuzz.com, 43% of consumers increased their social media usage to learn about new products during COVID. Popular influencers may also promote small businesses on their profiles, so for a commission, small businesses can use influencers to get their messages out there without having to meet the requirements to become influencers themselves. Social media provides small businesses a cost-effective way to reach millions of people quickly.
2. Low-Cost: Additionally, these platforms are mostly free to use, so small businesses can save on advertising costs and reduce the footprint resulting from print ads. This frees up money for businesses to invest in their products and ensure quality products and service. More importantly, the promotions themselves could be less expensive to produce since they may take less time to film and businesses will not have to purchase air time. Moreover, these advertisements are not subject to FCC restrictions the way TV and radio advertisements are, so users of all ages can view promotions for the products that interest them at any time of day (though they may still be subject to the restrictions imposed by the platforms themselves).
3. A Personal Experience: Social media platforms also allow users to contact businesses directly. Unlike traditional advertisements, which feature one-way promotion of a product or service, social media platforms allow users to interact with posts through likes and comments, providing a more personal and immersive experience. Social media also allowed businesses to advertise during the pandemic, when people were unable to film advertisements or go to stores. Most importantly, when users like a post, their friends/followers will see it and may interact positively with those posts themselves, creating a larger audience for small businesses.
4. Brand Loyalty: Social media platforms allow users to like or follow only the pages they want. This assures small businesses that those following their online presence may be less interested in that of their competitors’. Brand loyalty may also make others interested in a certain business: if someone’s close friends invest in a product, they may follow suit. This could also ensure a sufficiently large customer base to keep a business operational.
Best and Worst Social Media Platforms for Small Businesses
Despite the plethora of options and uses for social media platforms, not all may be optimal for small businesses. For example, Facebook is still the most popular social media platform, so small businesses using less-popular platforms may struggle to promote their products and services. In the specific case of YouTube, some ads can be skipped in order to get to the main content, so YouTube ads could disengage consumers. Therefore, small businesses need to be prudent in choosing the best social media platform to advertise. Facebook and Instagram may be the best options for small businesses due to their customizability and their functionality: Pinterest only allows image sharing and is mainly dedicated to sharing recipes, which may not suit businesses outside of food service. TikTok only allows video sharing, which may be overkill for those who do not want or need to create video advertisements. X (formerly Twitter) only allows 280 characters, which may not be enough for small businesses to create meaningful advertisements (Twitter Blue, a subscription service, allows subscribers a 10,000-character limit).
Conclusion
Social media’s many uses are not limited to any one individual or objective, and small businesses are no exception. As the landscape of content creation and consumption habits changes, small and large businesses alike must adapt to the ever-changing trends. Social media will take businesses a long way forward in the 21st century, and with the plethora of options available, there is no shortage of ways to leverage social media to expand their reach and bolster their profits. However, in this day and age, using social media is not a choice for small businesses, but rather a necessity.
