Starting your own business might be the first step to become the successful and independent person you’ve always dreamt of being. However, at some point, almost every small business owner faced issues with the lack of finances to properly promote their goods or services. This begs the question, how are small businesses to survive and thrive with a relatively small start-up budget?
That’s where social media comes in handy. Owners of small businesses have quite a few perks they can profit from. Here’s a shortlist of ideas you can use to make sure you get the support you deserve, especially in the midst of a global pandemic.
Shops: a useful Facebook feature
For many businesses, organising an online platform to offer goods and services instead of an offline one has been the only solution to remain operational for the past year. That said, making your own website or an app is not something every business owner can afford.
That’s where Facebook comes to the rescue. Similar to the Marketplace, where you can buy and sell personal items, Shops offer the possibility for businesses to sell their products on the platform.
Facebook provides free tools and options to customise your shop to reflect your own brand and make it as user-friendly as possible for your customers. Moreover, it integrates with Instagram, so you don’t have to set it up twice!
Don’t forget to adjust your settings to target your ads locally or go worldwide.
Pinterest Shop: an alternative option
Pinterest, a visually driven platform, has something to offer for your business as well. After setting up your business account, you can create a shop to help your customers buy your products in just one click.
In a couple of simple steps, you can boost your sales with this easy to use instrument and find your customers among the avid Pinterest users.
You can also build up the trust for your brand by participating in the ‘Verified Merchant Program’, where you can get a blue checkmark for your business profile if it meets specific criteria. For the moment, this option is available exclusively for US-based businesses, but Pinterest is getting ready to expand the program to let people from more countries join eventually, so stay tuned!
Ad Tool for YouTube
Video editing is not the easiest thing to master or afford to pay for. At the same time, advertising your services or products on YouTube can be extremely useful and effective for all types of businesses. For those who want to explore this advertising method, YouTube has prepared a new and easy-to-use tool: Video Builder.
There, you can animate any static images or texts and complete them with music from YouTube’s audio library. Using a simple guide, you can create short videos (6-15 seconds) and use them separately or integrate them as ads to display to your potential customers.
Business resource hub: a Facebook Initiative
Information is the most valuable resource when you start your own business or want to develop an already existing one. Yet it might be difficult to find credible sources all in one place, especially for free.
This year, Facebook launched ‘Business Resource Hub’ - a free platform where you can find answers to most questions you might have as a business owner, plan of actions in case of emergencies, and information on developing your business and preventing it from disruption.
Get access to free events and grants, tools for your employees, and human resources and boost your business!
Sticky situation: Instagram for small businesses
Instagram Stories is, without a doubt, an extremely versatile and convenient feature for all types of businesses. This time, Instagram has gone one extra step further, launching a new sticker that helps people support their local retailers and service providers.
‘Support small business’ sticker allows people who add it to their stories link their subscribers directly to the mentioned account. Moreover, Instagram highlights those stories in a separate category for the users, drawing extra attention to it.
It’s a great way to strengthen a bond with your existing clients, reach out to new audiences and take advantage of the platform to the fullest.
There are more options you can use to promote your business and make it easier for yourself to profit and get new clients. Make sure you do your research and never give up. In times like this, it’s crucial not to lose the high spirits and look out for new possibilities, especially when it comes to social media which will cost you nothing more than your time.
