Social Media Marketing and Advertising for Small Businesses

CLAIM : Although many costumers believe
that social media marketing and advertising are not powerful in helping small
businesses, I claim that social media actually does help small businesses
handle their advertising and marketing easily.
Introduction:
In today’s world, many businesses started to use social media as a major tool to market and advertise their products. The utilization of social media is becoming increasingly important and it is giving benefits to small businesses not only in interacting and networking with their customers, but also in marketing and advertising their goods and services effectively. Businesses have started using social media to create awareness about the products and enhance the level of interest of the consumers in the organizations. In the article “Facebook Should be key focus in online retailer advertising” Clint Engel mentions another expert’s view “it’s less important today for a shopper to be present in the store than it is for the store to be present wherever and whenever a shopper needs them”(1). Initially, this trend was adopted by the multinational organizations that had high resources and they considered the use of social media as a way of influencing customers. However, the high penetration rate of social media and the benefits that it provides, has made it easier for small businesses to use it as marketing and an advertising tool. The primary issue of this paper is to analyze the social media as a tool for advertising small businesses, as advertising play an imperative role in the success of every business. However, the success rate of newly established business is low because of brand recognition. High capital costs restrict small business owners to advertise their products. Therefore, social media is one of the tools that can help small businesses advertise their products.

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It is a myth that people believe in traditional advertising more in contrast to social media marketing. The reason is that people are unable to identify their target market which leads them to be unable to sell the products. Nevertheless, the perception of people is changing with the passage of time after the huge success of social media marketing. Multinational brands have also played a significant role in order to change the perception of people about this concern. I believe that social media has a huge significant value for small businesses to promote their products. Therefore, small business owners must utilize social media to advertise their products.  However, social media strategies used by small businesses for promoting products or increasing the level of brand awareness, it needs to be focused on the target audience to attain the best results. Thus, there are certain aspects that need to be provided such as: what applications must be used and how they must be used in order to get the best outcomes of the marketing strategy applied.
The use of social media to promote
products is expected to bring in higher revenues and higher profits.
Additionally, the costs associated with the usage of social media are very low
and it provides a great opportunity for small businesses to take an advantage.
Furthermore, the increased usage of the internet and social media is another
reason that social media marketing for 
small businesses is successful. In Kyle Hensel’s article “using social
media to increase advertising and improve marketing” he states that “businesses
have also realized that consumers use social media because it is fun”(4) and
the number of people being addressed from the use of social media has enhanced
over time. The various benefits that are expected from social media strategy for
small businesses include: brand awareness, higher sales for the company, higher
acceptance in the market, creation of an effective positioning in the minds of
the consumers, reinforcement of the brand name, and the enhancement of the
engagement of customers with the brand.
Overall, most of the research
studies and the practical aspects of 
business have been found to restore that the use of social media by
small businesses result in better performance and a number of advantages.
However, a few research workers have also focused on the challenges of social
media faced by the small businesses. These research experts have given higher
value to the benefits of using social media to market and advertise for small
businesses rather than any other tools. In order to analyze the importance of
social media in the sales of the products, the current research has been
conducted, which focuses on the literature work to prove that social media is
becoming a stronger tool for selling the products online. The use of social media
as a tool is not only utilized by the large corporations and businesses, but
also by small businesses who are at a greater incentive to use social media to
promote products and services. Although many costumers believe that social
media marketing and advertising are not powerful in helping small businesses, I
claim that social media actually does help small businesses handle their
advertising and marketing easily.
1.      Advantages of Social Media for
Small Business:
Small Businesses marketing and
advertising are invading into many social media applications these days. There
are a couple major benefits for small businesses when using social media to
advertise their goods and services to the customers that were discussed (Gholston). Social media allows small businesses to
express themselves and share their goods and services to the customers in a
fast way. “Social media is beneficial in regards to it still possess it
benefits, advantages, and rewards” (Gholston 25). Social networking advantages
outweigh the disadvantages as it really changed the way that small businesses
work to be in the market.
1.1 Reinforce Awareness of Brand
Name:
Small businesses can utilize the
social media to spread their brand and to create a quick constant that would
ultimately result in the reinforcement of the brand name. A study was conducted
by Hansel and Dais discussing that the brand name is effectively enhanced
through the utilization of social media. The tool also increases brand awareness
as well as reinforcing it. N. David Milder states that “ a 2012 survey of
business to consumer marketers by Webmarketing 123 found that the top objective
of their digital marketing programs were increase brand awareness 33 percent”
(37). Thus, social media attributes and the benefits associated with it can be
easily communicated to the customers through the utilization of social media.
Small businesses, which are in need to create awareness about their brand, can
get the benefit through social media (Schaupp & Bélanger). It is important
to have brand awareness because when customers do, it is one way of having a
successful brand.
1.2 Affordable Cost:
Small businesses can get higher
sales through the maintenance of social media pages without incurring any cost.
However, after the potential customers are aware of the products and the brands
they would more likely indulge in purchasing the product. Moreover, the total
cost incurred on the entire process of getting orders will cost  small businesses nearly zero or just a few
dollars spent on advertising through social media pages. As a result of a study
shown people spend 5 hours on the internet, amongst which 20% of their time is
spent on Facebook (Engel), showing that there are higher chances of engaging
the audience through social media leading to sales. The cost incurred on the
utilization of social media platform does not require any investment, which
could be considered unaffordable by small businesses (Neti). Most of the time
it is hard for small businesses to afford paying for marketing and advertising
tools such as TV channels. Thus, social media is a neat, affordable tool for
all kinds of advertising.
1.3 Data Collection to Improve
Customer Insights:
Social media is improving customer
insight as well because an entrepreneur can post as much information and images
as he wants about a product on social media, which provides people with enough
details. The data about the preference of the customers and the statistics
about their location can be easily gathered by small businesses through the maintenance
of social media pages. The data gathered can be used by small businesses for
improving the products or services or modifying the marketing strategy (Carter).
Data does not cost small businesses any money, it is good to gather as much
information as we could about costumers to easy improve the insight. Knowing
what products they like and what prices would be fair to make them happy to
purchase. We as small businesses have to make sure that our customers are
satisfied and well provided with their needs in order to gain their trust with
our brands.
1.4 Enhance Web Traffic &
Search Ranking:
The use of social media by small
businesses can be helpful in enhancing the traffic on the websites, which would
encourage customers to purchase more. Furthermore, the ranking on the search
engine is also enhanced, resulting in greater chances of finding the website
through the search engine and thus web traffic increases. According to the
research conducted by Michaelidou, the use of social media has been reported to
increase the customer base of the businesses through attracting new customers.
As claimed by Kira Gholston “small businesses must actively participate, have
the knowledge needed to run their social media page(s) and develop a strategy
which engages their audience” (36).  As a
result of these strategies, enhancing web traffic and search ranking should be
accomplished.
1.5 Sharing of Content and
Relationship Building
Small businesses can share the
benefits, deals and discounts on products or services without any problems in a
faster way. Facebook is one of the widely used and the easiest platform
provided to the businesses and the customers to use and interact with each
other (Engel). Social media is one of the most effective tools for building
relationship with the customers. It provides a platform for both parties to
share their views, present opinions, and enhance the loyalty of the customers
with the businesses. Therefore, forming strong relationships between businesses
and customers. According to the research work conducted by Lisa Harris, et al, “this trend is fundamentally changing the
relationship between businesses and their customers” (24). The study was conducted
for analyzing the impact of social media on the customer relation in the
business to business sector of London and positive results were found among
using social media to help small businesses share content and build
relationships.
1.6 Richer Customer Experience:
The customers experience of
businesses can be enhanced through social media as it allows companies to
interact with users to solve their queries and enhance the post purchase
dissonance, which ultimately reflects in a better customer experience (Jones). Having
a strong customer service and experience is a good path to make small
businesses grow faster and have more loyal customers. The use of social media
by small businesses can be helpful in creating brand loyalty by engaging with
the customers constantly. The level of customer satisfaction can also be
enhanced by improving the experience of the customers with the product or
services.
2.      The Impacts of Social Media on
Small Businesses:
Social media impacts small
businesses technologically, economically, politically, and culturally. In the
article “Impact of social media on small businesses” by Nory Jones et al, “the
results of the preliminary survey show that small businesses were aware that
the internet and social media have had a large impact on their business; over
95 percent feel it has had a huge(46 percent) or moderate (50 percent)
impact”(621). Additionally, the factors that impact small businesses were
discussed by many experts in the business field.
2.1 Technological Impact:
 The use of social media requires small
businesses to establish an online presence. In some case, the presence of a
brand online is extended with an opportunity to make online sales. Thus, for
this purpose, businesses must shift the general operations of their businesses
to the online forum (Evans). For instance, discussing the technological impact
on small businesses is the conversion of the physical catalogue to the online
catalogue where the customers can review the products and make decision about
the purchases. However, this aspect requires the collaboration of the physical
environment of the business with the digital one as well as additional budgets
for the businesses.
2.2 Economic Impact:
The use of social media forums for
advertising and marketing can result in reduction of costs for the businesses
due to the traditional form of advertising. It requires extensive marketing
budgets, which results in an increase in the costs of the company and leads to
a lower revenues. Additionally, the sales of products online also reduces the
operational costs of managing the outlet and the physical presence along with
the maintenance of distribution channels, thus the usage of social media by
businesses is helpful in reducing the costs of the businesses (Shabbir). One of
the main values of using social media in small businesses is knowing how to
economically manage the company’s revenue.
2.3 Political Impact:
Social media influences the
organizations to maintain a proper business culture where the employees of the
organizations are provided the basic rights. The production of the products is
ensured through the best quality raw material and the ethical dimensions are
effectively governed by the management. The fear of spreading the negative word
of mouth through social media helps the small businesses in maintaining the
ethical practices irrespective of the designation of the individuals working in
the organizations. In addition, the laws, rules, and regulations formulated by
small businesses organizations are ensured to be in line with the expectations
of the stakeholders and according to the national standards set by the
government.
2.4 Cultural Exchanges Impact:
The social media is a global forum
that is helpful for the people and businesses to share the ideas, customs and
values beyond the geographical boundaries. Small businesses could use this
forum for creating a cultural impact all around the globe. The products that
are marketed and sold through social media can result in wider acceptance of
not only the product rather the culture of the origination as well (Chen and
Xu). Thereby, all of that vary upon age profiles and attitude and values which
leads to a good future of international business and globalization in the
business industry.
3.      Social Media Strategy for Small
Businesses
Social media is different media
than other traditional medias. This is why it requires a well-planned strategy
to get the maximum results. Small businesses must set good strategies to
accomplish what is best for their business. Not only by fulfilling customers’
needs but also which goods and services should be distributed. After a research
was conducted, the participants believe that the appearance and quality of
content on social media is substantial (Carter). It is good to learn from big
businesses as they grew from small ones; for instance, the company Burberry has
a good social media strategy. In October 2009 Burberry started its own site on
social media which was called Art of the Trench in order to have their
customers from all over the world share their experience and pictures with one
of their products (Phan). In the article “Social Media and Luxury Brand
Management: The Case of Burberry” according to Michel Phan et al, “ as a result
of all its efforts, Burberry is the best-ranked luxury brand in the top Social
Network ranking by Famecount in 2011 (219). Even though it is not as active to
get attention on social media as other companies. Furthermore, David Milder has
discussed social media strategy and some of the steps to be included in the development
of strategy for small businesses.
3.1 Identifying Goals and Setting
Marketing Objectives:
 The identification of the business goals is
the first step in designing the marketing strategy for social media. It is
important that the business goals be identified first because the ultimate
results of the strategy needs to be in line with what a company is trying to
accomplish. After drawing a path the next step is setting of the marketing
objectives. The marketing objectives must be defined as smart goals so that a
clear understanding of the goal could be provided to all the relevant people in
the organization (Ray). Milder says “one of the biggest mistakes independent
downtown merchants make is the failure to first identify the specific marketing
objective” (35). Knowing where you want your businesses to be in the future
will make you realize if your reaching your business objective successfully or
not.
3.2 Research the Competitors
Analysis of the competitors is
necessary to frame the exact social media strategy. The competitors and their
presence of the various social media forum can impact the market strategy of
the business. Thus, it is important to research the competitor for designing an
effective strategy. There is a greater chance that the direct competitors of
the businesses will be using Facebook pages for promotion, thus looking for
their pages and the offers made by them is necessary for taking the next step
(Ray). In the book The Next Generation of Businesses Engagement Dave
Evans quotes “ ‘it’s not necessarily bad when you do that,’”(4). agreeing with
Ray. Looking at what other companies are doing make you aware of the chances
and options for your company to succeed more than the competitors (Evans).
Seeking around and trying different methods that other companies used before is
one of the critical and effective ways to develop a small business.
3.3 Developing Message for
Customers:
The next step in the development
of social media strategy is creating a powerful message for the customer. The
message must be designed as realizing the target audience so that it could have
a higher appeal.  At the same time, the
message for the customers must be engaging. In the current time, various
different modes of creating the messages can be utilized. These include videos,
written, visual or audio content. The content created for advertising the
product or services on the social media needs to be creative, concise and
effective to leave an impact on the audience. Making surveys in the applications
that provide this tool is a helpful way for developing a message (Evans). Twitter
for example,  it provides the survey tool
for free for all users whether it is a business account or a personal account.
The tool itself  shows the outcome of the
survey after the users participate.
Opponents (Different views):
Opponents might claim that social
media is not a helpful tool for small businesses to market and advertise their
products. According to the research work conducted by Hensel and Deis, the use
of social media marketing is not as effective for small businesses as it is
presented. Claiming that social media management requires an expert in the
field, the person who would be aware of managing the tools available along with
handling the constant feeling for the stakeholders as well as the competitors.
They believe that in order to have the requirements of this aspect to social
media marketing, a trained individual is required. I agree with Hensel and Deis
about having an experience in using social media but in today’s world there are
kids who are in the age of six using the media properly. Not to mention the
cost of hiring the individual ‘experts’ for social media marketing, provision
of training for adapting to the culture of the organization and the shift in
technological use of the organization from the traditional to the online forum
results in high costs, which is very difficult to incur by small businesses.
I am not a trained individual nor
am I an expert. Back in 2014, I opened a small clothing shop that I handled
myself. I had the shop open for couple months with variety of goods that
consumers like. Marketing was a problem for me and I could not find a good
solution even after my family and friends suggested different ideas. So, I
ended up shutting the dream of my life down because it was not really that
successful. The thing that I figured out from my personal experience was that
only limited number of people knew what products were sold at my shop and how
could they benefit the lives of the customers. Some of the potential customers
were also lost because they were not able to access the shop, as it was not in
a crowded area. Thus, overall, it seemed that there was nothing wrong with my
products but the placement of the products and the promotion techniques
utilized were not up to the media that could have attracted a large number of
customers for my shop. This was a great 
experience and I decided to keep these factors in mind before I take
another chance for fulfilling my dream.
In 2015, I started selling goods
again but without having an actual shop. I have all the goods in my house
garage. In order to gain more customers, I have decided to use social media to
advertise the products and present the benefits and special points of each of
the products that I have for sale. Social media was a really good tool in
helping me market/advertise my products. The pictures uploaded on the various
social media platform helped me in getting the attention of the consumers.
After reviewing the attributes of the product that I upload, the potential
customers contact me through the options provided by each of the platform and
settle the transaction details through online medium. This sort of business
model that was based on social media and its advertising has helped me develop
my small business and it has earned me a higher profit comparing to my last
experience of selling products through a shop.
4        Conclusion:
The purpose of this paper is to
discuss the effectiveness of social media in small businesses. The problem that
has been identified in this paper revolves around personal experiences that I
have had from opening a shop and later selling the products online. My main aim
is the analysis of the utilization of social media marketing that would be done
in order for the results to be applied to personal businesses. As well as
presenting a clear picture for the other businesses operating at the small
scale.
The results of the research have
revealed that there are various advantages of using social media as a marketing
tool for small businesses. The use of social media can help in engaging more
customers with the brand and the products, resulting in higher sales. Moreover,
reinforcing brand name, improving customer data and insights, increasing brand
awareness are some of the benefits that can be achieved by small business at a
very low cost. Furthermore, the businesses can enhance the traffic of the
websites and ranking on the search engines, improve the experience of the
customers, and advertise the brand  products at a lower cost than usual.
Additionally, social media
marketing has been found to impact the small businesses in a number of ways.
Overall, the impacts have been divided into four different categories
especially the cultural impact, political impact, social impact and the
technological impact. The analysis of the literature has shown that the use of
social media requires the management of company to convert some of the other
aspects of the business towards the automation and use of technology, thus
triggering a process of involving software and high tech instruments in the
business. From the political perspective, the social media makes the management
of the companies and brands conscious about the ethical practices of the
businesses. Culturally, the brands can learn and create an impact on the other
brands through the utilization of social media. Furthermore, the utilization of
social media lowers the businesses’ advertising and marketing costs creating a
positive economic impact.
Additionally, social media
strategy for small businesses has also been made as part of this report that
discusses the various steps involved in creating an effective strategy that can
provide the benefits of social media marketing for small businesses. All these
aspects have reinforced that the use of social media by small businesses is
effective for creating higher customer engagements and relationship at lower
costs, which can ultimately result in increasing profits for small businesses.
Although, a few studies have been found stating the negative impact of using
social media on the small businesses but overall the benefits of social media
usage have been found to outweigh the costs and risks associated with it. Thus,
the utilization of social media for advertising and marketing the products can
be considered important and can efficiently be used for enhancing the personal
sales as well.
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