If you’re a business owner, chances are you’ve already explored the benefits of social media marketing to help spread the word about your business. People are using social media to engage with brands more than ever. With over three billion people using social media around the world, social media has become a powerful way for brands and individuals alike to be seen. Many small business owners are using sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram to help grow their businesses. However, there are still businesses on the fence about connecting with the newer platforms especially if they are unfamiliarized with where to start. If you’re not taking advantage of the platforms, you are missing out on an inexpensive and effective way to reach almost half the globe’s population.

Within each channel of social media, you can diversify your marketing efforts in more than one way to help vary your customer base. Professionals may find your website via LinkedIn while millennials may find you on Instagram. Each piece of social media content that you create is a different opportunity for you to connect. Depending on the type of business you have, you can cater it to catch the eye of the targeted platform’s users.

A popular example could be tied to one of the biggest names on social media, Kylie Jenner. The now youngest self-made billionaire can attest much of her success to social media, tying in all aspects of social media marketing (video, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) to expand the boundaries of customer engagement. With a combination of her marketing and social media moves, she launched Kylie Cosmetics, which went on to become her biggest success with a new worth of $900 million. As social media replaces traditional media, it’s likely you won’t see an ad in Vogue anytime soon promoting Kylie Cosmetics but rather a combination of her cosmetic and personal accounts online.

Although we may not have a following of 133 million like Kylie, there’s no doubt that social media has become a powerful new tactic for brands to create a persona for themselves through online media. According to Adobe Digital Insights’ 2018 State of Digital Advertising Report reports show that social media ads drove three times more non-customers than existing customers to retailer websites at the end of 2017. In June, it was revealed that Instagram stories now has more than 400m daily active users; rising dramatically from 250m since 2017. According to a recent report by Google, 59.6% of Generation Z actively uses Instagram, in contrast to Facebook (52.8%) and Twitter (just 35.4%).

Another popular example is the quirky and fun E-Commerce online store, Dolls Kill. With minimal paid marketing, the online store has been growing since its 2011 launch with a net worth of over $8 million. Similarly to other brands that have thrived off of social media such as ModCloth and NastyGal, Dolls Kill relies primarily on on social media for their immense success (Facebook and Instagram) to connect with current and potential customers making them feel as though they are a friend.

By integrating social media into your marketing tactics, you not only generate more business but also connect with your customers better and serve them on a higher level. Every opportunity you have to syndicate your content and increase your visibility is crucial to becoming more widely known, social media networks are just another platform for your brand to be recognized. This is important because it makes you more accessible for new customers and makes you more familiar for previous customers.

Content courtesy of Michelle Finn, Founder of Pop Design Shoppe

Contributing Author, Michelle Finn

Michelle has a strong marketing background in a versatile set of roles including social media, events, and field marketing. She fell in love with design and combined it with her skills to create her business, Pop Design Shoppe. In the future, she hopes to continue her work within design or the arts (including interior design, fashion, the visual arts, and event design). She wants to continue working on projects that create impact. Her perfect day includes a morning workout, sunny day at the beach (preferably with her dog joining) followed by an evening out with friends at an event.

Connect with Michelle on Instagram @michellekatheriine and follow her business @popdesignshoppe