Social Media and the Future of Small Business Marketing

Embrace the future of small business marketing by engaging with social media. Here are three things to know for any business

One of the most important factors for small businesses today is knowing how to use social media to target the proper audiences. But as we look to the rest of the 2020s and to the future, we will need to use social media for small business marketing in new ways. If you don’t already have the proper systems in place for your small business marketing today, you might struggle in the future. Get ahead today with these tips.

How to Use Real-Time Marketing

Real-time marketing might sound like some foreign and futuristic concept, but small businesses can use it on their own as well. Explained by Rebecca Riserbato on HubSpot, real-time marketing is based upon reacting to current events and ongoing issues in the world instead of just scheduling and forgetting content.

Scheduling content is an important part of any social media marketing strategy, but it is only half of the battle. Responding to current events and to clientele through social media platforms is a major part of content marketing. All businesses large and small (including us) need to think of social media as a dialog, not as broadcast.

This usually requires some more hands-on marketing approaches, as well as in-depth social listening. Whenever you see a corporate social media account responding to an ongoing meme format or events happening that day, you’re seeing real-time marketing in action.

Develop a Stable Branding for Your Small Business

Consistency is key when it comes to small business marketing for the present and the future. Stay in true to your Brand messaging is essential for any business, large or small.  Authenticity is important on social media. Drifting from your brand message will out of character. For example, a more comedic and aloof message wouldn’t make sense coming from a charity, but a somber remembrance won’t befit, say, Taco Bell.

WordStream’s descriptions of social media marketing are a bit dated, but it does hit an important point about branding:

“While each platform has its own unique environment and voice, your business’s core identity, whether it's friendly, fun, or trustworthy, should stay consistent”

Social Media Analytics Show What Your Small Business Marketing Looks Like Today and in the Future

It’s safe to say that social media analytics isn’t a sexy concept, but when it comes to social media solutions it is needed. If you’re handling the social media marketing of your small business alone, you will need to know how to understand the analytics of each platform. Depending on the platform you use, some of the measurements to know include followers, likes, impressions, click-throughs, and more. But the numbers that matter on Facebook might not be the same as the numbers that matter on Twitter.

We could talk deeply about the needs of each social media metric, but we’ll save that for a future post. For now, you might want to check out Business News Daily writer Saige Driver’s article on the topic.

Top 3 Things to Know

Here are our three tips to keep in mind when using social media for the future of your small business marketing:

• Real-time social media communication can help build your audience.

• While different platforms have different relationships, it is critical to have a consistent brand.

• Using social media analytics can be make-or-break for the success of your small business marketing.

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