The end of one year and the start of the next always sparks some reflection, but especially when the past year included celebrating 10 years in business. The StoryPath team has been reflecting on the opportunities, the accomplishments, and the lessons learned through a decade of helping small businesses grow.
In this article, we’re sharing our top three lessons learned and how you can apply them to your business.
Engagement matters for helping small businesses grow
As a business owner, it’s important that you include engagement in your marketing strategy. Social media isn’t just a one-and-done thing. Yes, you can create and schedule content in advance. In fact, we recommend it – but it doesn’t stop there.
Engagement matters to your audience and the algorithm, but the people are the most important for growing your business. If someone comments, take the time to respond in a meaningful way. Spend some time liking, commenting, and sharing content from other businesses, too.
The algorithm rewards engagement, so the more people like/comment/share your post, the most people will see it. That’s good for business growth because it creates more opportunities for connection and more engagement. It’s a win-win!
Don’t rely solely on social media for growth
While social media is a great way to get your content out there, it shouldn’t be the only thing you are doing when it comes to growing your online presence. Social media accounts get hacked and suspended all the time with no explanation, and that’s not good for business if social media is your only marketing channel. Remember the phrase about not putting all your eggs in one basket?
When it comes to helping small businesses grow, we recommend a comprehensive approach to marketing. Make sure you have a solid website for your business, plus an email marketing strategy at minimum. Blogging, print marketing, and other tactics can round out your strategy and present additional opportunities for engagement and growth.
There’s no one-size-fits-all marketing strategy
What works for someone else, might not work for you. It all starts with your goals, your audience, your brand, and your message. Marketing strategies are never one-size-fits-all, so keep that in mind as you focus on business growth. What works for a competitor may not work for you. What worked for you last year may not work for you this year. The ability to adjust marketing strategies is critical for helping small businesses grow!
If you’re ready for a marketing strategy that aligns with your business goals to help you grow, let’s chat. We offer multiple levels of strategy support to help you get clarity and confidence in your marketing.