Why Small Business Owners Don’t take Advantage?

Social Media Marketing

The buzz about the benefits of social media for small businesses has been around for a while. A simple search for “social media marketing for small business owners” + “success stories” on any search engine will yield numerous results.

Beyond the buzz, research has been carried out to determine whether indeed social media is positively impactful to small businesses, and the findings have been confirmatory. However, many small business owners are still hesitant to adopt social media marketing in their businesses.

Here are the top 5 reasons why small business owners are reluctant to take advantage of social media.

Here are the top 5 reasons why small business owners are reluctant to take advantage of social media

1

Costs

Some small business owners are wary that having an effective social media presence may come with additional expenses, such as hiring a professional to manage the platforms, paying for content creation, and paying for ads.

However, you can manage the costs by running the platforms yourself and only outsourcing when it is absolutely necessary. As for ads, start with small budget campaigns, monitor the analytics, and adjust as needed.

2

Lack of information

Some small business owners do not quite understand the different social media platforms and how social media management and marketing work. Therefore, for them, social media is simply not an option they can pursue because of the lack of know-how.

Seeing the impact of social media marketing across the globe, it is not recommended for small business owners to ignore it. Take time to educate yourself about the various social media platforms, how they work, and how you can effectively use them to grow your business.

3

Risk of a bad reputation

Indeed, there have been cases where negative reviews have ruined the reputation of a business. However, if you look at the bigger picture, there are more businesses that have greatly benefited from adopting social media. The key to reputation management when using social media is to handle customer concerns and complaints promptly and professionally.

4

Time intensive

Social media management is time intensive, as content management takes time and regular monitoring is required. In addition, your customers and followers expect timely responses. As a result, if you run your business alone or with the help of a few other employees, it may feel like social media is taking a lot of time that could be used for other aspects of the business.

In such a case, you may opt to outsource to a social media professional or a content creator. Alternatively, if you want to head the social media aspect of your business, then you can delegate your other duties so that you have time for social media. Also, automate the aspects of your business and social media management that you can.

5

Diminished ROI on campaigns

There have been cases of reported campaign flops that lead to diminished return on investments. Often, this happens when one does not have a well-thought-out campaign or advertising strategy. Besides, running a campaign alone is not enough, you need to constantly engage with your audience.

Like starting a business, using social media presents both benefits and risks. However, with a well-thought-out strategy, an analysis of the risks and benefits, taking measures to mitigate the risks, and constantly monitoring your analytics, social media marketing will become a potent tool for your business.

For more information on how you can mitigate the risks of using social media for small businesses, call us today and be sure to download the Become a Leader in Your Industry Using Social Media eBook here.

Why Small Business Owners Don’t Take Advantage of Social Media?