Social Media: Impact, Relevance and Usefulness in the growth of MSMEs

In this modern era, social media seems to have become a part and parcel of our lives. We practically, eat, sleep, breathe in this world surrounded by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, et al, for we believe it makes the world a smaller place to live in. Apart from becoming one of the mainstream modes of communication, social media has also proved to be extremely beneficial for businesses and industries across the world. While most businesses especially, MSMEs communicate with their audience through traditional media, i.e. Newspapers, Television, Radio etc. the response time tends to become high and the interaction level is almost negligent. The communication isn’t personalised which makes the audience feel less relevant.

Since the MSMEs form the backbone of the Indian economy, it is crucial for them to become a part of this globalisation and understand the essence of social media. According to the reports on Hubspot, 92% of the marketing professionals have reported that social media marketing played an important role in their businesses with as much as 80% of them claiming that their inbound website traffic increased because of it.

Social Media – An Integral Part of Digital Marketing

Since social media is a primary aspect of the digital marketing space, it is important for businesses to make the most of it to stay at the top of their game. With digital marketing changing the entire landscape of advertising, marketers are investing most of their time in marketing campaigns and building a brand for their product. While digital marketing strategies vary business to business, let’s look at how B2B and B2C are different when it comes to exploring this wide space.

One of the key differences between B2B and B2C digital marketing is the audience. Since B2B activities are only confined from one business to another, it is important to understand the communication technique. Typically, B2B customers are accustomed to being bombarded with information which are packed with the technical aspects of the product/service. B2C, on the other hand, the customers only want to know about the product or service in a more colloquial and entertaining manner. For MSMEs, to design a digital marketing strategy, it is extremely important to assess the kind of business model a company is. The communication can then be designed, and the consumers can be approached in the most impactful way which would eventually make their business boom.

Digital Marketing for B2B MSMEs

Creating marketing campaigns for B2B companies which are targeted to be populated on social media is quite tricky. While the traditional tactics like business brunches and cold callings are still practiced, to make your brand speak for itself, social media advertising should definitely be adopted. Identifying the mediums through which you would want to communicate with your audience in the most effective way is one the key steps in B2B marketing as your audience won’t be present actively on all the platforms equally. Look at this infographic found by Content Marketing Institute which will give you an idea of where your audience primarily lies