The Role of Social Media in Marketing Strategy: What It Can (and Can’t) Do for Your Business
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Hocus pocus, bippity boppity boo, abracadabra!
As much as I wish I could tell you we can cast a spell and make your account go viral, social media isn’t a magic wand for your business. Let’s clarify what social media for small business is designed to do, where it fits into the broader marketing strategy, and what businesses should (and shouldn’t) expect from it.
The Multi-Touch Customer Journey
If you’ve ever posted a single piece of content and made a sale, then congratulations. You’re an anomaly!
For most of businesses, the consumer journey is complex, non-linear, and spread across multiple channels. A sale from a singular touchpoint is rare, as most buyers require multiple interactions with a brand before taking action.
On average, it takes 8–13 touchpoints to convert a prospect into a customer (Rain Group, 2023). This number continues to climb with each passing day, as users are inundated with more and more purchasing possibilities to consider.
72% of consumers interact with brands across multiple channels before making a purchase (Omnisend, 2023).
Google data shows that customers typically move between 3 to 5 platforms before converting (Think with Google, 2023).
Social media usually plays a role in early and mid-funnel engagement, but it’s rarely the final touchpoint before purchase. A customer’s journey with social media might look like this:
A user discovers a brand via social through a reel that appear on their feed. After engaging with the account for a few minutes, the user decides to explore the brand’s website. The user trades their email for a lead magnet or engages with an email campaign. After being retargeted by ads for a few days or weeks, they finally convert into a customer.
So, while you can’t directly attribute the sale to social media, the customer wouldn’t have even entered your funnel without that first touchpoint. TOFU (top-of-funnel) content marketing for the win!
What Social Media Can’t Do Alone
If you’re a service-based or B2B business, social media usually does not consistently drive direct sales on its own. This is particularly true for high-ticket or B2B offerings that require more extensive lead nurturing.
Social media also cannot replace a professional sales strategy. Social media certainly supports marketing, but doesn’t serve as a standalone sales engine. If you’re a service-based business or B2B, you’ll need a human touch!
Another rookie move: going in blind. Socials are ineffective without a strategic foundation. You need clear goals, strong messaging, and targeted execution, or else your social content likely won’t deliver results. bvghy. u
Finally, social media doesn’t provide deep audience targeting without investment. Especially on Meta platforms, paid campaigns are necessary to reach specific audiences at scale.
What Social Media Is Actually Meant to Do
Build Awareness
Social platforms are critical for visibility. On Instagram, 90% of users follow at least one business (Instagram, 2023). This is where people first encounter a brand, begin to understand its value, and form impressions.
Create Community and Engagement
A strong social presence encourages dialogue and connection. According to Lyfe Marketing (2024), 71% of users who have a positive experience with a brand on social media are more likely to recommend it to others.
Educate and Establish Expertise
LinkedIn and Instagram are ideal for sharing insights, answering questions, and positioning a brand as an authority in its space.
Support the Sales Funnel
While social doesn’t typically close deals, it helps guide leads through the buyer journey. 54% of users say they use social media to research products (GlobalWebIndex, 2023).
Drive Targeted Traffic
Paid social campaigns are effective for generating high-quality traffic to landing pages and websites.
Sidenote: What Channels Are Best for What?
Instagram & Facebook
Meta platforms are highly effective for brand storytelling and visual content. While organic social conversion rates are generally below 1%, Facebook Ads average a 9.21% conversion rate across industries (Wordstream, 2024), indicating strong potential when leveraged strategically.
LinkedIn remains the most effective B2B platform. It excels at thought leadership, recruitment, and high-value lead nurturing.
TikTok
TikTok should be used as a discovery-first platform, TikTok is highly effective for top-of-funnel awareness. The average user spends 95 minutes per day on the app (Statista, 2024)!
Setting SMART Social Media Goals
For social media to succeed, goals must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Here are a few examples:
SMART Goal Examples
Awareness - Increase Instagram reach by 25% in 90 days
Engagement - Reach a 3% Facebook engagement rate by Q3
Website Traffic - Drive 500 visits/month from LinkedIn
Lead Generation - Capture 100 leads/month from TikTok ads by Q4
Authority - Publish two thought leadership posts/month on LinkedIn
What Social Media Can Realistically Achieve
Social media content marketing plays a valuable role in any modern marketing strategy, particularly in the areas of visibility, community, and credibility. But it must be understood for what it is—a necessary support mechanism, rather than a sole conversion driver!
The most successful brands treat social media as one piece of a larger system, integrating it with SEO, email, content, and paid campaigns. When approached strategically, it becomes a powerful driver of long-term growth.
Ready to start growing your social media channels and expanding the top of your sales funnel while elevating the look and feel of your brand? We’ve got you! Book a strategy call to get started.
