80% of small to medium-​sized business (SMB) decision-​makers say their business has experienced increased costs since August 2022. Not only that, data from Verizon shows that their sales have also been declining. If your client is worried about costs and sales, it’s time to recommend that they optimize their social media world.

How Squeezed SMBs Can Optimize Their Social Media World

Don’t Worry, Agencies are Still Essential

Before we dive into the SMB social media world, let’s talk about SMB owners' opinions on getting outside help. Despite being worried about money, more SMBs are concerned about making the most of what they do spend.

Only 17% of SMB decision-​makers aren’t concerned at all about marketing their business’ products and services effectively, says Verizon. Overall, SMBs are worried about:

• Creating relationships with new customers or clients
• Marketing their business’ products and services effectively
• Maintaining relationships with existing customers or clients

All of those concerns can be remedied with the help of social media management.

SMB decision-​makers also realize that they need help overcoming their concerns. According to Verizon, “Compared to 2022, fewer respondents say they will be cutting back on operational investments.” They accept that they need expert advice and services to make the most of their marketing budget.

Additionally, 61% of SMB decision-​makers say that speaking with experts who can help them with their engagement on these platforms is crucial.

Social Media and SMBs

The Current State of SMB Social

Selling your SMB client on expanding their social media world won’t be difficult. According to Verizon, 56% of SMB decision-​makers are already using social media marketing to increase customer engagement and online traffic. Another 21% haven’t done so yet but are considering entering this arena.

Right now, the top social platforms SMBs are using include:

• Facebook: 80% of SMBs are currently utilizing this platform
• Instagram: 59%
• LinkedIn: 49%
• X (formerly Twitter): 40%
• TikTok: 35%

That’s a lot of opportunity to get your client active on social platforms aside from Facebook.

Plans for Improvement

SMB decision-​makers have a few ideas on how to utilize their social media marketing world to positively impact their business:

• Offer sales or deals on products or services to appeal to new customers: 73% of SMB decision-​makers are currently doing this or considering it.
• Implementing new digital marketing technologies to better target the right audiences: 67%
• Using social media ‘storefronts’ or ‘shops’ to allow consumers to buy products or services directly via social platforms: 57%

Your client is interested! All you need to do is offer to help them get started or ideas on how to improve their current efforts.

When it comes to audience targeting, AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel can help. Simply look up your client’s target audience’s profile and you’ll discover a wealth of social media information, such as:

• Which platforms the audience is the most active on
• What percentage has taken action after seeing a social media ad within the past year
• What they’re looking for from future purchases (to highlight in social media ads)
• So much more

With that information, you’ll know if your client is active on the right platforms. And you can show them whether they are targeting the right consumers with the right messaging.

The Advantages of Social Media Advertising

Does your client need more convincing on the power of expanding their social media world? According to a previous SalesFuel blog based on data from Mediaocean, the biggest opportunities social media offers marketers are:

• Better creative and production tools: 49% of marketers agree
• Better ad performance: 40%
• Resolving social identity across platforms: 40%
• Time savings automation provides: 32%
• Cost savings: 25%

The time to expand SMBs’ social media world is now.

Photo by bruce mars