Using Social Media to Effectively Drive Traffic to Your Small Business

Social media marketing encompasses many different platforms and can be used in a multitude of ways to increase foot traffic and drive sales for businesses. When the COVID-19 pandemic shifted many work environments towards remote spaces, utilizing the digital landscape became even more integral to marketing strategies.

Some of the most prominent social media platforms that can be used to target younger audiences include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest.

Below we’ll explore the various ways to leverage each social media platform to drive traffic and boost sales. 

Facebook: 

Facebook’s user profile is slightly older than other social media platforms, with most users between the ages of 18-34. Facebook is most effective when a business is looking to advertise online because Facebook ads are easily customizable and user-friendly. This means you can be very specific in how you want ads to appear to people, who you want them to appear to, and how much money you want to spend before the ad expires. 

Over 2.8 billion people use Facebook every month meaning advertisements have the ability to reach a wide range of potential consumers with ease. With the capability to have ads reach audiences far and wide each day, Facebook serves to draw a lot of attention to your company and products, which, in turn, increases sales and brings in more foot traffic.

Instagram: 

If you are looking to target a slightly younger audience, Instagram is an effective platform because its main user demographic ranges from 18-29 years old. It is easy and free to set up a business account on Instagram, which provides real-time metrics on how your posts and stories are performing, how your followers interact with your page, and your followers’ demographic data. This makes it easier to adjust your advertisements based on the analytics gathered by Instagram’s user data to more effectively tailor your ads to the right audiences. This then allows more people from your target demographics to see your advertisements and be drawn to your business’ page and store, thus increasing sales. It is also easy to link your Instagram and Facebook accounts to each other to further increase foot traffic. 

TikTok: 

As one of the newest social media platforms, TikTok targets an even younger demographic, with most of its users being 16-24 years old. Through this platform, users can create and upload videos up to 60 seconds long. On the app, users are able to follow other accounts, however, there is also a ‘For You Page’, which is an endless stream of videos specifically tailored to each individual based on an algorithm. 

There are a few ways to successfully advertise on TikTok. Brand takeovers are 3-5 second full-screen ads that appear as soon as users open the app before they see any other user content. Users are unable to scroll past these ads right away, and they are linked to the advertiser’s landing page. In-feed video ads are different in that they are 9-15 second videos that play in between user content. They look similar to normal videos and blend well into a user’s feed, but users can also skip or scroll past these ads easily. 

Lastly, branded hashtag challenges are popular on TikTok because users generally love joining challenges and are a great way to promote unique interactions with your brand. Branded hashtag challenges occur when brands tell TikTok users to film themselves performing something, like a dance, and post it with a specific sponsored hashtag. Through this social media marketing strategy, consumers create content and become unofficial brand ambassadors by sharing their own videos in an authentic way. This is a great marketing strategy to utilize user generated content to bring the brand to the masses, thus generating more attention and boosting traffic and sales.

Pinterest:

The age range of Pinterest users is the widest of all the platforms, with users ranging from 18-64 years old. With over 200 million users worldwide, Pinterest is ideal for showing off your products and services, because users turn to Pinterest for inspiration and ideas about their interests and hobbies. Every idea is represented by a “Pin,” which is an image that can be searched and saved by Pinterest users. Brands can use pins as a link to their respective websites, making Pinterest an effective social media platform for brands seeking to increase traffic.

There are many other social media platforms that may find work better for your business, however, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest are currently the most widely used social media platforms, making them a good place for small businesses to begin their marketing strategies. There are two different ways in which social media platforms can be used strategically to increase foot traffic and boost sales: giveaways and influencer marketing. 

Giveaways:

If you can afford to do a giveaway, it is an easy way to draw more people to your company page and increase sales. A proper giveaway sets rules or requirements in order to be eligible, like requiring participants to follow, like a post, or tag friends in the comments, and extra entries can be awarded to participants who share the post to their story. The only cost associated with giveaways is the cost of the product and the cost of shipping; however, this is generally outweighed by the increased engagement between potential consumers and your webpage.

Influencer marketing:

Influencer marketing is another effective strategy that can be used to increase foot traffic through social media. Influencers are able to reach broader audiences, build trust, and drive engagement by creating original, engaging content specific to your target audience. The amount of money you are willing to spend on an influencer will dictate the number of people that will be reached. That is, there are different kinds of influencers, and the more followers an influencer has, the more money they will cost. Mega Influencers are celebrities or users with a big following who can cost upwards of $2000 per post, whereas micro-influencers have fewer followers and may cost upwards of $20, depending on their following size and the social media platform they are using. Once you find the right influencer to effectively reach your target audience, it is important to let them know exactly what you are trying to accomplish and give them the creative space to reach their followers. Ultimately, the influencer will be able to bring your brand to the attention of new audiences. 

There are many other ways to effectively use social media platforms to increase foot traffic and boost sales. However, these are great starting points, especially as businesses continue to navigate operating businesses in an online world.

As a social impact initiative, Rem and Company also offers free consulting services and resources to small businesses and nonprofits impacted by COVID-19. Our pro-bono consulting teams provide small businesses with the opportunity to identify and prioritize issues facing their business, propose innovative strategies, and facilitate execution. If you are a small business or nonprofit in need of assistance, learn more about how we can help.