If you're considering cutting your marketing budget to absorb rising labor costs and other overhead costs, here are six steps to help you transition to social media.
NerdWallet shares tips from social media experts and business owners who use social platforms as a cost-effective alternative to traditional marketing.
1. Learn from others
With more consumers making purchasing decisions online, the rising cost of traditional marketing methods, and the difficulty of measuring return on investment, business leaders are shifting their strategies to social media.
In fact, a study by telecoms company BT Group found that just over a quarter of businesses surveyed in the week to 5 January 2023 earned most of their revenue through social media.
If you're looking to cut costs, you're probably not alone in weighing the value of traditional marketing and wondering if DIY social media could be a way to cut costs.
You may be tempted to hire a social media marketing consultant to give your Facebook or Instagram page a complete overhaul, but the fees can run up to £500 a month. Instead, ask business owners in your network who are growing their audience on social platforms for free advice.
2. Dream big, but keep it real
Social media is a powerful way to increase brand awareness, and there's a lot you can accomplish for free without incurring the costs of creating printed posters, distributing leaflets, or advertising on TV or radio.
Saffron Saunders is CEO of Startup Croydon, a charity supporting local early stage founders. She would like to consider advertising on local tram stops and billboards, but like many of the companies she works with, the Croydon start-up doesn't have a large marketing budget.
“There's a lot we can do, but we have limited resources,” Sanders said.
3. Strengthen your in-house expertise
Fortunately for Saunders, she has a talented receptionist who handles social media. This decision not only reduced costs compared to outsourcing to experts, but also made it easier to post timely and relevant content.
“She knows when to get things out because she has the ball and she can see it happening,” Sanders explained. So far, startup Croydon has not paid for any social media advertising, but the team plans to look at Google Ads as a way to promote its new creative digital lab. Creative Digital Lab is a virtual podcast and video production studio designed to help other small businesses go digital. Add content to your life.
4. Ask for help if it’s “too technical”
Despite its benefits, social media marketing remains daunting for many solopreneurs, and mature business owners may be hesitant to move away from traditional methods.
“Some people [social media is] It's a complete minefield for them and there's no way they can do it on their own…It affects age groups in general,” Sanders explained. “Many older adults find it too complex to understand.”
Scott Goodacre, founder of Scott Digital, provides digital marketing training to businesses of all sizes and founders of all ages. Many of them are eligible to attend his fully-funded workshops through local businesses and his support services.
Goodacre told NerdWallet that the aspect of digital marketing that people are most likely to shy away from doing social media on their own is measuring and monitoring performance. “The main problem I see is that [digital marketing] For campaigns, it’s not knowing how to set up tracking…some of it is a little bit technical,” he said.
According to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB UK), it's “more important than ever for marketers to know how their spend is performing”. While industry benchmarks are available that show average click-through rates, cost per click, and cost per lead, the only way to know if social media advertising will work for your business is to try it.
With your budget carefully guarded, now may not be the time to start experimenting on your own. Website creation (or optimization of an existing site) and Google Analytics setup can be outsourced if necessary.
5. Customers create great content
The answer, according to Goodacre, is to use real conversations with customers to generate content. “Talk to the people who buy from you… find out how they found you, what their motivations were… all of that feeds into your social feed.” he explained.
Goodacre encourages businesses to think of organic social media as the top of the marketing funnel, rather than expecting to convert customers through social posts. Social media channels are a proven way to increase visibility for your business, just like expensive billboard ads and leaflet postings. But if you can use your posts to inform, educate, and entertain your visitors, they're more likely to engage with your business without paying a dime.
With the right training, social media skills can be learned at any stage of life and at little cost to your business, so it's never too late to start.
“Don't let age or lack of experience be a barrier…The most important thing is to understand your customer and be passionate about what you're promoting,” says Goodacre.
6. Develop social skills at low cost
Social media courses are available online at a variety of price points, from the in-depth Social Media Expert Course (£1,499 +VAT) by Comms Creatives to workshops run by local business support agencies such as Startup Croydon for just £20 per day. You can take the course at .
To find out about free or funded social media training near you, search for business support services in your area or contact your local chamber of commerce.
Free social media tutorials are also available on YouTube if you're itching to start learning right away. The only investment required is time. But many small business owners don't have a lot of time on their hands, so attending a training course that allows you to network with other founders and get tips from them at the same time can be a great addition to your marketing budget. may be able to make the most of it. this year.
Image source: Getty Images
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