How Small Businesses Are Using Social Media Marketing in McKinney

Two women working with a laptop that has the words Social Media on the screen

A survey of small business owners reveals that businesses budget modestly for social media marketing in McKinney and elsewhere around North Texas – which may be a mistake, according to industry experts.

Most small-to-midsize businesses in the United States are now using social media for marketing purposes, according to a recent survey by Clutch, a B2B research firm. Social media, website marketing, and email marketing were key areas of investment.

Some 71% of respondents say their firm uses social media, and 16% say their firm is planning to in the future.

Graphic showing Which Social Media Channels Do Small Businesses Use When Doing Social Media Marketing in McKinneyFacebook is the social platform SMBs use most (86% use it). Instagram is second (48%), followed by YouTube (46%), Twitter (44%), LinkedIn (31%), and Snapchat (25%).

Just over half (52%) of SMBs that use social media marketing post at least once a day.

Many small businesses may not budget much for digital marketing because they have so few employees and limited resources to invest. More than half (57%) of businesses surveyed reported annual revenue of less than $1 million.

In addition, in-house digital marketing teams may not be “teams” at all: 30% (the largest group) of small businesses only have one employee working on digital marketing. This finding suggests that in-house digital marketers may lack the time and resources they need to market efficiently.  This is one of the most important reasons if you are doing social media marketing in McKinney or elsewhere in North Texas, Luce Media is able to improve on what you are currently doing.  We have programs and plans to fit virtually any small business marketing budget.

The adage “you must spend money to make money” is true for digital marketing.

Although the concept is familiar to most small business owners, many still struggle to choose the best marketing methods or to afford marketing at all.

OTHER FINDINGS FROM STUDY

  • The majority of small businesses use both social media (62%) and a website (61%) to market themselves.
  • The majority of small businesses (80%) do not invest in content marketing, and experts warn that they are missing a key marketing opportunity.
  • Websites (54%), social media (51%), and email marketing (36%) are the top three digital marketing channels that small businesses will invest in during 2018.

Over half (54%) of small businesses surveyed will improve their websites and engage consumers through social media, while 36% will direct more resources to email marketing in 2018.

Content Marketing Lags, Despite Cost-Effective Results

Fewer than 1 in 4 small businesses plan to invest in content marketing in 2018, but experts caution that failing to perform content marketing is a mistake for small businesses.

Creating content–such as blog posts, whitepapers, and videos—is a highly cost-effective way to build brand loyalty and boost a business’ ranking in search results.

Keith Gutierrez, vice president of marketing at Modgility(link is external), reminds small businesses that in developing a content marketing strategy, quality is more important than quantity.

“[Content] just needs to be great, quality stuff you can’t find anywhere else,” says Gutierrez.

Small businesses already have what they need to start creating content: they should consider their unique advice and data, then package that information into useful content.

Virtual/Augmented Reality Marketing Sees an Investment Bump

In an effort to keep up with new technology, some companies (12%) will increase their investment in augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) marketing.  AR/VR marketing is especially effective for products that benefit from in-person tours, like real estate and travel booking.

Clutch’s 2018 Small Business Social Media Survey included 351 small business owners or managers from across the U.S. with fewer than 500 employees.

To read the full report and source the survey data, visit: https://clutch.co/agencies/digital/resources/small-business-digital-marketing-survey-2018.

To get more information on Social Media Marketing in McKinney and other communities in DFW, please call  (469) 907-1057 or send us a note at our website.  To find out how we can teach you and your employees to deliver on social media marketing, read more here.

 

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