Social media provides SME’s (Small and Medium Enterprises) the ability to compete with big brands.
Everyone knows that social media is big. Commitment to social media channels is key for SME’s to gain top market position. Combining several platforms to promote your business is a sure way to reach a wide audience.
With that strategy in mind, here are five ways Small Business Enterprises can Compete with Big Brands through Social Media Marketing:
- Ignite Your Passion
SME’s have the advantage of starting their brand because of a passion or a need they saw in the market that hasn’t been solved yet. There is something about that opportunity that excites them. Passion will keep you motivated. When big brands are managed by people that may be burned out, most of the small to medium businesses are filled with people or founders who are very passionate about building success. Let your passion ignite you and those who are on board with you. People will be drawn to you because they see your passion.
- Build A Personal Brand
If done right, this strategy can make a very big impression. When you launch your small business, you become your own brand. You will have to leverage your brand to connect to a target market, community, partners and stakeholders. Create your unique and personal brand. The right time to build one is when you haven’t launched yet. You might need some marketing services such as Vibbi to boost your online presence. Strategically plan how to present your brand in a way that standouts among similar brands.
- Deliver Quality Service
SME’s can have an instant leg up on the competition when it comes to service. You can leverage your brand and personal relationships to make your customers feel special. Just make sure to set proper expectations. Under promising and over delivering have always worked. Don’t give your customers quick turn-around time for deliverables if you know you can’t meet the deadline. Work hard to set proper expectations at all of your opportunities.
- Choose Your Niche
SME’s need to focus on a niche market to penetrate it early and fast. Expansion can be done later. You can select one to two niche markets to target. You must seriously go after them. Know your audience; what are their needs, their interests, their online behavior. What concerns do they have that you can address? How can you add value to their lives? How can you help them in a way that big brands can’t?
Be able to answer these questions and you will have no problem locking down that niche of customers or clients.
- Let Agility Fuel You
Leverage your brand to start and build agility. A big brand may deal with red tape, while a starting brand will not have that problem. When SME’s see that they are already going in the wrong direction, they can easily make a quick pivot without having to face big negative impact. Get the benefits of agility in terms of market research, innovation and marketing execution. Let agility fuel you to make fast, yet well thought out decisions. As a small or starting business, don’t be afraid to take those risks. Just learn from each failure and success along the way.
Now that you see your opportunity of being on par with the big brands in terms of marketing, where do you start? Most popular among social media channels are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. You’ve got to utilize these channels. You can also reach the readers through a company blog. Your social media marketing strategy will definitely bring significant benefits to your business.