Social media as cost-effective small business tool

Staying within a budget is a difficult endeavor for many young companies. Because of this, managing your small business necessarily involves a lot of creative financial gymnastics and strategies to maximize your return on investments. Luckily, the internet has proven to be an incredibly powerful way to get the most out of your budget. In fact, if you learn how to optimize your lead generation marketing and viral marketing campaigns, you may find that you need a lot less money than you thought you did to attract customers on the web.

Social media, with its massive reach and devoted core of adherents, may be the most effective way to promote your business online without investing a ton of money. Indeed, many small business owners have found this strategy revolutionizes the way they do business. A recent survey of 462 small businesses conducted by VerticalResponse found that the last few years have witnessed a rapid increase in the amount of time and energy these companies invest in social media.

According to the survey, two-thirds of small businesses are spending more time on social media than they did a year ago. Noticing sizable increases in the level of engagement they receive from social media-using customers, many businesses have begun spending an hour a day or more promoting their brand online – 43 percent of respondents said they spend six or more hours on social media marketing a week and 25 percent reported the number as closer to 10 hours a week.

“Our survey confirms that small businesses are understanding the value of social media,” said Janine Popick, VerticalResponse’s CEO. “They’re spending more time doing it and investing more money into it at a faster rate.”

The importance of SEO
Increasing your investment in social media might not be enough, however. Research shows that companies who combine social media promotional efforts with carefully chosen keywords are giving themselves the best chance to significantly improve brand awareness. According to Clickz, using research tools like Google Webmaster Tools and Analytics can help you make sure you are getting the most out of each post you put on one of your social platforms. Including effective keywords in your social posts is the best way to get people to find and share your content, the source reports.

What techniques have you used to make your social media marketing campaign as successful and cost-effective as possible? Share your thoughts below!

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