I always say, if you’re not telling your story, then someone else is. And if you’re not the narrator, it may be your competitors. However, even if you are telling your story (or paying a talented marketing agency to do so), do you know where to tell it? With limited time and resources, you may find yourself wondering about the value of social media vs blogging for small businesses in Florida.
Where do you devote your time and money if you can choose just one? Perhaps sadly, like with so many other marketing questions, the answer is not entirely straightforward.
The Poppin’ Pyramid
Like Human needs, marketing needs have a hierarchy. And while humans have Maslow, marketing has the Poppin’ Pyramid.
At the base of the pyramid are branding and your website. You shouldn’t start your marketing until you’ve decided who you are – not just colors, name, and logo, but mission and values. All are important to your branding.
Once you know who you are, get that website up because it’s the first place anyone will go once they hear of you. No website or bad website = instant lack of credibility.
The next thing we have on the pyramid is SEO, followed by regular social media posting. And since blogging is one of the primary building blocks of SEO, that would imply that blogs should come before social media, right? Well, yes and no. I’ll explain shortly.
Finally, at the very top, you have ads, print collateral, and other items.
Ok, now let’s discuss SEO and blogging.
Blogging For Business in Central Florida,
If SEO is one of the most basic steps of the pyramid (only behind websites and branding), why is it not straightforwardly more important than social media?
The answer is twofold. 1) Your type of business matters, and 2) Notice the specific wording: SEO and Regular social media posting.
Type of Business
Some businesses can get by on just social media better than others. For example, a restaurant’s social pages are often pretty critical, and a small home service company, such as a cleaning or lawn-mowing business, often starts on Facebook or Nextdoor. As much as we value social proof, a website builds credibility, and some people start everything with a Google search.
It becomes even more important when you’re dealing with high-trust businesses – anything that deals with finances or is a business-to-business enterprise. Generally speaking, people are not going to trust an accountant, architect, or banker without a website!
My, My Look at the Time(ing)
Part of the point of having a website is credibility, but the other part is findability. That’s why we rate SEO as such an important part of the marketing pyramid.
But…
Here’s an interesting thing. If you’re making active changes to your website–adding pages, changing text, and, in general, doing all the things that show search engines you’re active–that also helps your SEO efforts.
So if you’re at the beginning stage of having a website and optimizing, and you have a limited amount of time, particularly if you’re in a business that people search for on social media, you may want to focus on building up your social media before you begin blogging.
In other words, for some businesses, the order could be:
- Figure out who you are.
- Create and optimize your website.
- Start actively posting on social media.
- Then start blogging.
Social Media Marketing in Clermont, FL (Yes, HERE!)
The best social media marketing is active without feeling spammy. How do you prevent your posts from being spammy? Use the 2QC formula – Quality, Quantity, and Consistency.
Quality Content – Garbage in, Garbage Out
Quality content is relevant content. It’s not just “Buy me! Buy me!” or “I’m awesome, look at this advertorial!” Social content should feel social:
- Helpful Advice
- Funny Stories
- Customer Success
- History
- Heartfelt thanks if that’s appropriate for your brand
What quality content isn’t is anything that looks like an advertisement.
Quantity – Where’s Goldilocks When You Need Her?
Unless you’re a comedian or political leader, chances are, people aren’t hoping to see you post content several times a day. However, if you haven’t posted in a month, your customers will probably wonder if you’ve gone out of business.
What’s the happy medium?
For most of our clients, posting 3 times a week or daily during open days is the right strategy. However, if that feels like too much pressure, at least showing up once a week shows your customers you’re alive and kicking.
The perfect quantity of social media content in Clermont depends on your business. Which brings us to…
Consistency… Where’d You Go, Man?
While the ideal amount of social content for your business might not be the same as another business’s, and whether you have time to post the ideal amount may be an open question, here’s one thing that’s true for everyone: consistency matters!
The worst thing you can do is post daily for a month and then disappear for a month. It’s better to post once a week consistently than to surprise everyone with your absence.
A sudden change in posting not only scares off your customers but also stops new ones from finding you. The social algorithms like consistency as much as your customers do, and Facebook and its buddies will reduce who they show your content to if they can’t count on you to stick to a schedule.
2QC In Social Media Vs Blogging for Small Business in Florida – Who Wins The Battle?
In a perfect world, you would have a steady stream of content across blogging and social media so that no matter where people are looking for your business, they’ll be able to find you.
However, if you’re asking yourself about social media vs blogging for small businesses in Florida, the answer depends on a lot of factors.
Whatever you do, it’s vital that you stick to it and always start with a strong understanding of who you are (your brand) and a quality website.
With the right marketing agency on your side, you don’t have to choose between social media vs blogging for your small business in Florida. POP wants to give you both.
And if you can’t do both now, why not hand off the one that comes less naturally to you? Let’s do a consultation and discuss who wins that battle for you!