Millions of small businesses across the country may rely heavily on all kinds of different methods for getting the word out about their companies, but one in particular that has more recently become popular is already changing. Social media sites are quickly altering the ways in which small businesses can reach loyal and potential customers alike, and they’re making it more difficult for those who don’t have large marketing budgets.
In what could be an effort to generate a little more advertising revenues from small businesses in particular, Facebook started making it more difficult for such companies – and other organizations with a limited reach like non-profits, independent music artists, and so on – to reach an audience by altering sharing algorithms, according to a report from the Arizona Republic. For its part, Facebook said that users were complaining about seeing too many advertisers popping up in their feeds, and as such, posts from smaller companies will only reach people that already like their pages, and small business owners and advocates alike are upset about the change.
“It’s always hard when something was free and then it stops,” Erica Pederson, communications director for Local First Arizona, told the newspaper.
Why paying works
Now, when companies pay for ads, they’re far more likely to see the things they post reach a larger number of eyes, and likewise that will probably turn into more sales and higher revenues, the report said. The good news is that the cost of these ads is relatively small, and so many people – from just about all backgrounds and in nearly every age and economic group – use the site that this is likely to prove to be money well spent. However, that might become problematic for smaller firms that operate on relatively slim margins, because even setting aside a few hundred dollars a month to make sure people see the postings can be difficult.
For owners concerned about mounting costs, it might be wise to look into ways of reducing expenses in other ways. That might include taking the time to seek out more affordable small business insurance, including policies for liability insurance. Doing so could end up saving even a fairly small business a few thousand dollars per year, which would then allow them to devote those funds to improving other aspects of the firm.
