Currently, social media plays a crucial role in professional success, with 47% of internet users aged 16 to 64 spending more time on them in 2020. This not only continued to grow in the following years but also boosted e-commerce sales. Professional success depends on many factors and can be interpreted in various ways, but it’s undeniable that nowadays, social media is part of the process.
A Digital Megaphone
For many, bringing projects to life doesn’t seem as daunting as getting them to resonate with people. Sometimes we have an incredible business idea, a fantastic product, or a service ready to conquer the world, but we lack something crucial: visibility.
Social media fosters this ground. They are the home to millions of active users. They’re the new playground uniting all audiences. It’s every marketer’s dream coming true: free access to a vast audience of potential customers.
The good news is that the boundaries between the concepts of the old order and the contemporary order in digital platforms are becoming more evident, while technological advances suggest an invitation to change regarding the dominance of big companies over technology, paving the way for an accessible, decentralized, and revolutionary digital future.
A New Way of Doing the Same Things
According to Britt Beemer and Robert L. Shook, experts in marketing business, customer development is done one by one. There are no shortcuts to it. This means that in the past, a small business needing to attract new customers and develop relationships had to go door-to-door to increase awareness and brand expansion. It depended solely on the budget and time available for the business.
Today, social media stands as a marketing tool available to all businesses, knocking on doors for you. Whether small, medium, or large, all ventures have the chance to develop almost instantly intimate relationships with their potential customers, on an infinitely larger scale.
Social networks don’t require gigantic budgets or a deep time investment. For small businesses, it’s possible to leverage social media to penetrate their markets, reach their customers, and develop personal and direct relationships, which boost the brand and increase awareness as much as any big company. It’s possible to engage a large and potentially global audience in a short period, with relatively little energy.
It’s the famous opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade
New trends show that times are changing. We know, for example, that instead of seeking traditional employment, several laid-off employees – especially in tech and finance – are pursuing careers in online content creation.
In the wave of layoffs since 2023, about 260,000 technology workers in the US lost their jobs. In contrast, globally, the online content creation industry is already estimated at $250 billion.
The certainty about the decision made is solidified with some data:
- In the last three years, YouTube has paid over $70 billion through its creator program.
- At the same time, TikTok has grown by 15% in user monetization.
This reflects that for many, being a content creator and owning their own business, even a small one, is less risky than working for an employer. This happens because, instead of assuming that social media is a game only for big players with hundreds of thousands of dollars to spare, they can actually offer an opportunity for small brands and creators to grow and engage with a united community of present and future customers.
So, don’t shy away from the tipping point
According to Malcolm Gladwell, “the tipping point is precisely the moment when small changes come to a boil, causing a trend or behavior to take a turn and spread.” Ideas, products, messages, and behaviors show us that they spread like viruses, and it’s necessary to take advantage of these decisive moments to spread any and all news about our ideas.
Success is the result of communication. And with social media, we can occupy many worlds, subcultures, and niches through our own narratives. The ability to circulate in this environment originates from a combination of curiosity, self-confidence, sociability, and energy. Here, what matters isn’t how many people you reach, but who shares the same purpose with you and how you communicate it. If a person doesn’t remember what I say to them, why would they change their behavior, buy my service, or watch the movie I recommended? In other words, we must make room for the unexpected to become expected – let radical change be a possibility. And there’s no more welcoming space for this movement than a place filled with people willing to consume ideas.
And boost your brand awareness
We’ve entered an era where social media isn’t just about connecting and facilitating socialization among friends and family anymore. According to data collected by SCORE, 77% of small businesses are leveraging social media to boost brand awareness, streamline customer service, and drive revenue. Meta’s data also reveals that 83% of Instagram users claim to discover new brands while using the platform. So, let’s get social and take your brand to new heights!
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I’ve got a suggestion to spice up your newsletter and make it even more relevant! How about simultaneously creating an Instagram post featuring some success stories of small brands that went big with social media marketing? It’ll add a fun twist and highlight the power of your message. 🙂
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https://buffer.com/library/social-media-for-small-business/
https://www.thefuturelaboratory.com/blog/digital-engagement-a-social-future
https://www.facebook.com/business/news/insights/how-instagram-boosts-brands-and-drives-sales
