A friend and business owner recently told me he was approached by a marketer. This person recommended that my friend’s marketing strategy be based solely on social media. Of course, he asked my opinion. While it’s clear that social media is here to stay, varying reports say that Gen Z is abandoning social media, largely because it makes them unhappy.
Can your business do all of its marketing on social media? The answer to that question largely depends upon your industry, your location, and your target market. In the Virgin Islands, I believe that most businesses can use social media for nearly all of their marketing. That’s not to say that you couldn’t be more effective using additional tools. Today’s social platforms want businesses to “pay to play,” and that means that it’s difficult to get your message in front of your followers organically (in other words, free).
Social media isn’t always free
Using social media for most of your marketing does not mean that it will cost you nothing. Paying for Facebook exposure is an extremely effective and inexpensive way to reach your fellow Virgin Islanders. You can do this by creating an ad campaign or by boosting a post. Compared to large cities stateside, we’re a relatively small population. If you narrow down your audience to one island (St. Thomas, St. John, or St. Croix), you’re targeting an even smaller number of people, making paid advertising less expensive.
Target your ideal customers
One of the things Facebook does best is targeting. Do you want to introduce your brand to potential customers? Or make people aware of a little-known aspect of your service offerings? Facebook is great at building awareness.
Facebook knows so much about our habits that it knows which people should see your ad. It knows which users are likely to perform the action you want – watch a video, sign up for a newsletter, or swipe through pictures of cute shoes. Knowing users’ habits and being able to target effectively makes Facebook a relatively quick and easy way to advertise your services.
Facebook can almost be your web site
Facebook has introduced a number of tools for business owners such as lead pages, an online shop, and even a job application portal. Depending upon your business these tools may be a better way for you to advertise than using a traditional web site.
Wow, it seems that Facebook can be used for just about anything! That’s the idea that Mark Zuckerberg has had all along. Need help setting up your Facebook ads? Let us know.
