Small businesses are always on the lookout for ways they can improve their standing in their local markets, and over the past several years many have turned more heavily to social media to aid in that goal. As such, many social networks are now starting to reach back the other way and help these companies flourish online.
Facebook has tried to do more to boost its standing with small businesses specifically in the last year or so, including launching a program called “Fit,” according to a report from the Motley Fool. This is a kind of real-world instructional forum for small business owners in various parts of the country to get a better understanding of what they can do to more effectively market themselves online, whether that’s through social media or elsewhere.
While more than half of all small businesses across the country already have Facebook pages for themselves, they may not be fully aware of the ways in which using this kind of option might help them to better gain a larger, more dedicated following in their local areas, the report said. The first of these “boot camps,” held a few months ago, drew more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, and was by all accounts wildly successful.
How does this help both sides?
Today, only about 20 percent of small business owners who have a Facebook page for their companies also buy advertising on the site (constituting about 11 percent of companies overall), but that number is still substantial, the report said. While 11 percent of small businesses on the site are advertising, the average company might spend at least a few thousand dollars annually on it. Given the number of such companies with those pages – about 30 million – even 11 percent (3.3 million) spending that much could mean billions in annual revenue.
Meanwhile, that also can be a boon for such companies as well, because Facebook has hundreds of millions of users worldwide, and many are likely to be in their areas, the report said. Using the site’s advanced algorithms, owners might be able to find the exact right audience for their companies’ offerings, and potentially boost sales.
Owners who want to clear a little more space in the marketing budget might want to consider the ways in which they can reduce their other costs. That might include finding more affordable small business insurance, including liability insurance coverage, to potentially save thousands.
