The small business sector, furthermore, is creating attractive opportunities for agencies and technology providers. Facebook, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Morning Consult have recently released a study entitled “Examining the Impact of Technology on Small Business.” (PDF) The study involved surveying more than 1,000 small businesses to assess the use of digital marketing technology.
It found that 84% of small enterprises use at least one major digital platform to disseminate information to customers and that 80% use at least one major platform to show products and services as well as to advertise. African American-owned firms, veteran-owned firms, and women-owned firms, furthermore, had the highest rates of using Facebook to build their businesses and to have increased hiring as a result of growth attributed to using the social media platform.
The report recommends that policymakers and tech companies support programs that encourage small businesses to leverage digital platforms. Digital literacy should also be a goal of K-12 education.
The study also found challenges that many small businesses face. For example, 55% of survey respondents reported that the cost of internet and connectivity is a challenge and 57% said a lack of familiarity with digital tools is an additional challenge. An even higher percentage (61%) said recruiting skilled employees is an obstacle.
With many small businesses embracing digital marketing while also identifying challenges associated with the discipline, it’s not surprising that there is no shortage of agencies and technology firms that seek to serve the niche. Just recently, Inverse Paradox and Exigent Technologies announced a partnership to broaden their services for small and mid-size firms.
Inverse Paradox, which is based in Pennsylvania, is a digital agency specializing in WordPress websites and ecommerce, while Exigent Technologies, which is based in New Jersey, is an IT consulting and support company. The companies maintain that small business owners often struggle to run their businesses effectively while also managing information technology and marketing.
MDG Advertising, meanwhile, has identified marketing opportunities for small businesses, including using micro-influencers. Such influencers typically have less than 100,000 followers unlike macro-influencers who can have millions of followers. MDG maintains that micro-influencers can be effective because more people relate to real people than to superstars.
Among YouTube subscribers, 70% say they relate better to channel creators than to celebrities. MDG also recommends that small businesses adopt strategies that are common among larger firms, including data-driven personalization, augmented reality, and customer journey mapping.
In a nod to the needs of entrepreneurs, Inc.com has rolled out recommendations regarding the best internet marketing services for small businesses. It maintains that the best overall internet marketing software is Adobe Marketing Cloud. According to Inc.com, Adobe Marketing Cloud is one of the most robust services, but with minimum annual fee of $50,000, it isn’t cheap.
Inc.com says the best free software is HubSpot. Among other features, it includes blogging software, email templates, social media tools, and lead management. Businesses seeking more robust services can update to paid versions. For email, it recommends iContact. Inc.com says the service is simple and straightforward, but users that want to branch out beyond email marketing will need to look for other providers.
