Small businesses & social media: A match made in heaven?

Small businesses traditionally found it challenging to raise awareness among broader audiences. However, the situation has changed since the advent of commercialised social media. In 2024, Forbes estimates that 77% of brands use platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to reach their customers.

Global Reach
Today’s social media platforms have global reach (something that wasn’t true ten years ago when most users concentrated in the West). Sites can now reach consumers in South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa, giving companies access to global markets.

Cost-Effective Advertising
Also, social media platforms offer small businesses cost-effective advertising compared to radio or TV. Firms can target specific niche audiences with individual ads instead of everyone using these services.

There’s even opportunities for non-paid organic outreach. Countless firms already document their business activities on YouTube, providing sales-focused content audiences will happily sit through.

Gain Market Insights
The ability to gain market insights is another perk of social media. Small businesses no longer have to go to the expense of collecting data. Instead, platforms do it for them to a degree of granularity that even the largest multinationals couldn’t access twenty years ago.

Flexible
And, finally, social media marketing is flexible. Companies aren’t locked into contracts to run a specific number of ads with a broadcaster. As such, if they run the wrong set of ads, they can cut their losses and run.