According to Nielsen, 802,781 adult consumers in Southwest Florida use social media every month, an audience that continues to expand. As a result of this growth, social media has become a crucial part of local advertising campaigns.
Social media allows Fort Myers-Naples-Cape Coral area business owners to continually be in front of their target customers and to stay top-of-mind. It allows businesses to communicate daily and be the first company on call when needed. Social media has become essential for marketing local goods and services.
The best part is that social media is free to use for both SWFL consumers and business owners.
There is no subscription service for social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram which, according to Nielsen, are used by 75.1% of Fort Myers consumers each month. There are no monthly payments or premium memberships required to unlock more services.
For free, any Fort Myers small business owner can post engaging content as often as they like to create followers. However, on Facebook, for example, only about 5.2% of a business page’s audience will ever see a post. So, if a business has built a great local reputation and accumulates 10,000 followers, only about 526 of those users will ever see the company’s information.
To reach a much larger audience, though, a local business owner will need to buy social media advertising. In 2022, according to Borrell Associates, a company that tracks advertising expenditure across the country, Fort Myers businesses are expected to spend $103 million on targeted display advertising which includes social media marketing
So, why are local business owners expected to invest so much in social media advertising in Fort Myers?
Paying for social media advertising allows local business owners to boost the reach of their content to well over the five percent of their followers who would normally see free posts. This additional reach can be targeted just to the other 95% of a business’s followers. These ads could also be made to target potential customers beyond page followers. For a fee, a Fort Myers business owner can choose new audiences based on a target consumer’s interests, location, demographics, gender, and purchase intent.
In addition to paying for social media advertising, there are several tactics Fort Myers business owners can do for free to extend the reach of their content. This includes:
- Ensuring posts contain content followers will find interesting.. Social platforms want users to stay on their sites for as long as possible. To increase the likelihood of this, they offer users content, which they will find to be the most engaging.
- Encourage page followers to comment, like, and share the content of free posts.
- Post videos in addition to photos and text wherever possible.
- Respond to as many post comments as possible
- Posting every day increases the chance of visibility and being remembered by consumers.
The best social media advertising strategy for Fort Myers business owners is to utilize a mix of free content and paid ads. The paid ads will result in creating content views faster than building an organic social following. It also provides the ability to reach very specific audiences such as new homeowners, parents, voters, or small business owners.
Social media advertising in Fort Myers is similar to maintaining good personal health. Everyone knows a good diet is essential, but so is exercise. There is the option to do one, without the other, yet the optimal results will come when both are combined.
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