Rethinking Social Media Strategy for Small Businesses

When a small business comes to me for help with social media, my first question to them is always, “Why is your focus on social media?”

This isn’t because I doubt the power of social media. It’s because as a marketer, it is crucial to understand the motivations behind what my client is asking for. Is it because everyone else is doing it? Or do you have a specific goal in mind?

Social media has become a ‘must conquer’ for most small businesses. It’s often seen as the ultimate tool for reaching out to potential customers.

While a presence on social media can enhance visibility, investing all your time and resources into social media platforms may not always be the most effective strategy; especially if it’s not giving you the results you hoped for.

The first step in evaluating whether social media is right for your business is understanding your target audience. Where do they spend their time online?

For some audiences, traditional methods of marketing are being overlooked. For instance, if your primary audience is women aged 45 plus, they might not be as active on social platforms like Instagram or TikTok. Therefore, focusing your efforts on social media might mean missing out on connecting with your target audience through more suitable channels.

Another aspect to consider is the return on investment (ROI) of your social media efforts. Are the time and money spent on creating content and engaging with followers resulting in sales and service sign-ups?

If your first thoughts on this are something along the lines of: ‘

But I’m not spending any money, social media is free!’…

I want you to think of the money as your hourly rate multiplied by the time you spend trying to ‘master’ social media.

For example, if you charge clients £40 per 60-minute massage and you spend 4 hours per week working on your socials, that’s £160 of potential time to work with clients. That’s around £690 per month!

If after a considerable period, social media isn’t driving the expected traffic, leads, or sales, it might be time to reassess your strategy.

Diversity is key in marketing. While social media can be a solid part of your strategy, it shouldn’t be the only avenue you explore. Other digital marketing tactics, such as search engine optimisation (SEO), email marketing, and content marketing, can also provide substantial benefits. As well as traditional marketing approaches such as print advertising, leaflet drops, networking and more. Each of these options attracts different segments of your audience and works together to create a comprehensive marketing strategy.

If you took a month to step away from your socials, how much time (money) would that give you to focus on other marketing efforts?

From our example above, one month off (or a month of minimal effort) would easily pay for:

• Leaflet design, print and distribution
• Print advertisement
• Substantial SEO work on your website
• Time out for networking
• One month of Google advertising

The list is endless, and you could see results far quicker than you’re seeing right now.

The age-old saying, it’s about quality, not quantity is especially true for social media marketing. Rather than spreading yourself too thinly trying to maintain an active presence on every platform, focus on just one or two social media platforms that offer the most value to your business. This approach allows you to craft more meaningful and engaging content that speaks to your audience, rather than generic posts that get lost in the minefield of the algorithm.

While social media can be a powerful tool for small businesses, it’s important to approach it with a strategic mindset. Understanding your audience, measuring your time spent, and assessing your marketing efforts are essential steps in figuring out if social media is the right fit for your business.

Remember, the goal of any marketing effort is to connect with your audience as effectively and efficiently as possible. Sometimes, this might mean looking beyond social media and exploring other avenues to reach your target market.