To get started, you need to determine the best channel or two to use for your customer base and your industry, and then focus your efforts there. This could mean involving professionals on LinkedIn if your business is B2B or showing the uses of your products on Instagram in a creative way. In most cases, starting with Facebook is a good option, simply because of its massive use across generations, demographics, and beyond. Regardless of the channel, your company needs a social presence.
Focus on creating engaging content that connects you with your current and potential customers, and keep in mind that your messages aren't overly promotional. Avoid constantly “selling” your business and, instead, ask your audience questions and share interesting content that appeals to them in a way that fits your brand. Check out Hubspot's list of 41 resources for beginners in social media marketing, which covers everything from how to use videos to e-books and infographics. If you're one of the 47% of small business owners who manage marketing on their own, this feature is likely to be one of the many roles you carry out.
And chances are, unless you run a marketing business yourself, you don't have a professional background in marketing. This means that there are probably some things you're doing or not doing in your marketing efforts that could be holding your business back. Without a strong marketing team, it's understandable that you want to focus on one or two channels that you know best, such as email or Facebook. However, while it's great to get your message out there and build brand awareness, there's no doubt that you'll want to avoid overwhelming your audience because they'll leave.
According to a GoodFirms survey, 42% of users stop following brands that publish content excessively. Spending your money on marketing to acquire new customers on a large scale is the recipe for disaster. Did you know that only 2% of web traffic is converted on the first visit? That said, I'm not suggesting that sellers stop spending on the acquisition, but I do suggest that they should dedicate a significant portion of their marketing budget to also increasing their repurchase rates. Why? The cost of acquiring new customers is dramatically high compared to that of retaining old customers.
It costs 6 to 7 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. In addition, the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60 to 70%, while the probability of selling to a new potential customer is only 5 to 20%.
