Somewhere along the way, social media became marketing. Or at least that’s how it can feel when you’re running a small business.
You haven’t posted on Facebook in a few days, Instagram has been quiet and you keep hearing that you should be doing more video or making Reels. So you sit down, try to come up with something to post and, a few days later, you’re doing it all over again.
I see this a lot. So much time goes into trying to keep social media going that, after a while, it starts to feel like that is the marketing plan. But it’s really only one part of it.
Your website, email list and Google Business Profile are all part of your marketing. So are your signs, printed materials, promotions, events, community involvement and what happens when someone actually does business with you. All of that contributes to an amazing customer experience.
A promotion might show up on social media, your website, in an email or on a sign in the store. The point is that those pieces are working together, not separately.
That’s where having a marketing plan matters. It helps you see what needs your attention and how the different pieces fit together.
There’s another thing I’ve noticed too, especially now that there are so many tools making it easier to create content.
I use them too, and they can be helpful, but I think we still need to pay attention to whether what we’re putting out there actually sounds and feels like our business.
You know your business and your customers. You know the conversations you have with them, the questions they ask and what matters to them. All of that is part of your brand, and people should be able to feel that in your marketing.
I’ve seen a lot of content lately where you could change the business name or swap out the logo and it could belong to almost anyone. Staying on brand is more than using the right colours, fonts and logo. It also needs to sound and feel like your business.
That doesn’t mean adding more things to your marketing. A plan can actually help you stop doing things just because you think you’re supposed to and focus on what makes sense for your business and your customers.
Without a plan behind your social media, it can be hard to know what to post or why you’re posting it. That’s when it starts to feel like a chore and often gets put off. When it comes from your marketing plan and content calendar, your posts have a purpose and reflect what’s actually happening in your business.
Social media can be an important part of your marketing. But it shouldn’t be the thing you’re constantly trying to keep up with while the rest of your marketing gets pushed aside.
Sometimes it’s worth stepping away from social media for a minute and looking at the whole picture — what you’re trying to do, what’s working together and whether it still feels like your business.
That’s where marketing needs to start — with a plan for the whole business, not just a plan for what to post.
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