Do this, don’t do that, wait a while. If you’re in the throes of growing a business, you may watch your sales figures go up and down or stagnate. No matter what you do you can’t seem to reach your business’s potential. You could always make changes in your operation like adding more staff or giving your storefront and website a new look but doing so is expensive.

In this post, you’ll learn how to use marketing tactics to drive sales. More precisely, how using social media marketing can boost your business and the pros and cons of using specific platforms.

Social media rocks the web

Marketing using social media outlets continues to trend upward. According to a recent 2019 report by Oberlo, there are 3.2 billion social media users worldwide. Another interesting fact is that 90.4% of these users are Millennials, 77.5% Gen-X, and 48.2% Baby Boomers.

The centrality of those figures rests on mobility. More people these days are using mobile devices to access their favorite sites. On average, each person spends over two hours on social networks. That’s why business owners have turned to using social media platforms like the ones mentioned below to reach customers.

Facebook

Pros:

• With over 2 billion users, any industry has the potential to build a customer base using Facebook.
• By having a Facebook page, you can interact with customers by posting photos, short posts, and videos.
• It’s also possible to announce sales, promote products, and post content links to drive traffic to your website.

Cons:

• Anyone can post negative comments on your FB page.
• Because you must constantly monitor and provide fresh content regularly, you may not have the time or money for upkeep.
• Not every small business owner has the funds to use FB’s business advertising campaigns.

Twitter

Pros:

• Monthly users climbed to 330 million in late 2019.
• Small business owners can increase brand awareness and connect with their customers.
• Messages can be retweeted to reach more people.
• You can track data to see which tweets work best and automate tweets to appear on a future date.
• Twitter’s demographics support a wide range of industries such as real estate, health, travel, personal finance, crafts, and beauty.

Cons:

• Users are limited to using 280-character messages which need to be succinct and to the point.
• There’s the never-ending problem of whether your followers are trolls or potential customers.
• It’s also easy to get addicted to tweeting, write a quick tweet, send it, and wish you never had.

Instagram

Pros:

• With over 1 billion users and growing faster than other platforms, Instagram integrates with Facebook and Twitter accounts.
• Photos and short videos are popular ways to reach the majority of users under 25.
• Fashion and tech industries do well on this site because the young audience lives in predominantly urban areas.
• Followers can reach you through email, calls, or visiting your website.
• Story Links help drive traffic to specific products.

Cons:

• The idea hasn’t fully caught on in user’s minds that Instagram is a place to shop.
• Converting to a business page reduces the concept of social visibility in user’s minds.
• If business owners focus on selling products rather than building a community, followers are less likely to engage with them.

Embrace marketing tactics today

Small business owners are joining the online crusade to reach customers online. Along with social media marketing, why not check out other marketing tactics you can use to grow revenue. You’ll be in a better position to increase profits.

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