Social media remains one of the more important components of brand initiatives, and this is only going to continue becoming more apparent and intensified as the years progress. Few platforms compare to the power and tools provided by Facebook for small business, while Twitter appears to be becoming a more common pursuit among entrepreneurs. It is worth noting that Pinterest and Instagram are growing in popularity to boot, though far more in some industries, such as retail and restaurants, than others.
Regardless of what a small business owner’s goals might be with respect to the ebb and flow of social media, there needs to be a set strategy in place that is at once firm in its approach to objectives and agile enough to deal with the ever-changing landscapes of these websites. Remember, nothing really lasts very long in the realm of Internet marketing of any kind, and social media might be the only portion that compares to search engine optimization in terms of changes and progressions.
Facebook not only made adjustments and updates, but also called upon small business owners to keep pace with the tides.![Facebook marketing for small business]( "Facebook marketing for small business")
For the purposes of this blog, Facebook will be the major focus, as one could make an argument that it is the king of social media advertising, and no one could deny its fluidity with respect to regular changes. In the past few years, and most recently this week, Facebook not only made updates and adjustments, but also called upon small business owners to keep pace with the tides.
Street Fight Magazine recently reported that although Facebook’s leaders have hailed small business owners as being some of the more prolific sources of revenues for social media companies to target, they have since appeared to not be quite as loving toward entrepreneurs. According to the news provider, Facebook worked to protect itself from free ads by warning small businesses that they would not see a lot of distribution for “unpaid pitches” at a conference in October.
The source then interviewed Facebook North America’s Head of Small Business, Jonathan Czaja, regarding the company’s new approach to the entrepreneurial community, not pulling any punches in the process. When asked about his opinion on a Forrester Research recommendation to entrepreneurs involving the reduction of reliance on Facebook for the one goal of boosting marketing performances, the executive had this to say:
“I do. I think the way that folks think about utilizing Facebook has changed for a lot of reasons,” Czaja told Street Fight Magazine. “A decline in organic reach does limit the amount in which you can communicate with your customers in the way you used to be able to do on the platform. I would agree with that.”
The general theme of the interview appeared to be that Facebook is really pushing to enhance its news feed and act more as a customer experience and service platform for small businesses to use, rather than solely a marketing tool. This is somewhat aligned with trends and best practices in social media use, as it is most advantageous as a customer service solution rather than one that seeks to attract and convert clientele.
Plenty of reason to adopt Facebook for your small business
Business Insider reported that in spite of some of the more negative changes made, Facebook has indeed launched a new data analysis tool, aptly named “Topic Data,” which will help small business owners more seamlessly identify conversations among prospects, audiences and followers. Although this might seem a bit confusing, the firm is making changes in a highly transparent fashion, and time will tell if those adjustments work to the advantage of small business marketers.
At the end of the day, social media is a must in any small business marketing or customer experience strategy, and hopping aboard should boost results before long.
