A few years ago, Adobe said content democratization is changing the business landscape, and this can be a big boost to small businesses. In the past, consumers learned about new products and services through television, radio, and print; today it’s primarily social media platforms. I’m not an expert on social media, but I do use it for my business and follow trends that may be helpful to you. The Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How—the 5 W’s and H—are a journalistic tool that’s meant to cover all angles of a story; they’re also helpful in understanding the role of using social media to grow your business.
Why use social media for your business
Social media can be used to enhance brand awareness, engage with customers, and generate leads. Because social media has a worldwide audience, you may be able to find new customers in markets you never dreamed of.
Social media can also be used for targeted advertising and help you retain customers. SproutSocial reports that social media ads account for 28.8% of all digital advertising dollars.
Social media can drive traffic to your website. This indirectly helps with SEO for your website.
Where to place your content
There are many social media platforms, and it’s unlikely that a small business can optimize their message on all of them. Choose wisely on where to focus your attention, based on where your customers frequent. More than half the world (62.6%) use social media, but keep in mind which are the most used platforms globally :
- Facebook (Meta): 3,065,000,000
- YouTube: 2,504,000,000
- Instagram: 2,000,000,000
- TikTok: 1,582,000,000
- X (formerly Twitter): 611,000,000
- Pinterest: 498,000,000
Doorfinder lists the most used social media platforms in the U.S. in 2024. Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram top the list.
Choose the social media platforms where your audience is most active. For example, Instagram and Pinterest are best for visual content, while TikTok attracts a younger audience.
What content should you post
Your content should be crafted for your target audience. It can relate to your business specifically—an account of a special event—or your industry. Or it can be as simple as posting an inspirational quotations. You can find my blogs on the social media sites I use.
You can also use posts to make offers to customers. These can be sales or discounts, or alerts about contests and giveaways.
Engage on social media, which can be liking another post or retweeting an X post. Be sure to reply to comments directed at your business—whether positive (with a thank you) or negative (with an explanation of how to correct a problem that’s been identified.
When to use social media
“Consistency” is the work used to describe your social media presence. The frequency of posting depends on the platform you’re using. Sprinklr suggests 2-5 posts per day on X, 1-4 posts a day on TikTok, 1-2 posts per day on Instagram, and once a day on Facebook. Hootsuite suggests other numbers:
- Instagram: posts 3-5 times per week; stories 2 times per day
- Facebook: 1-2 times per day
- X: 2-3 times per day
- TikTok: 3-5 times per week
- Pinterest: 1 per week
What the numbers tell me is that you have to see what works for you.
How to create content
With today’s tools, it’s easy to create great looking content for posting. Whether it’s a blog, a podcast, or other posting, take advantage of tools that can polish your post.
Caution: Using AI, such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot, can be seductively easy, but beware. AI can be a great research tool, but it’s not entirely reliable for information.
Who’s going to do it
While it may be free to post, it takes time and effort to do it, and this translates into money. Bottom line, it’s not free to use social media to grow your business. It requires a financial investment. Decide whether you, someone in your company, or an outside person or agency will handle your social media activities.
Final thought
Commit to using social media as a way to grow your business. Put this in your budget. An often-quoted rule of thumb for a marketing budget is 8.7% of total revenue, with a good chunk of this (12-18%) going toward social media. Decide what works best for you.
