SMB and advertising? Let's talk about communities

No business is too small for growing customer love. But when you’re wearing multiple hats (CEO, CFO, CMO, you name it) you can’t do everything on your own. See how these SMBs are doing it.

When I managed social media alone at a small arts and culture institution, I was unsure about whether my marketing strategy was effective because I didn’t understand how to measure campaign performance. Others share the same sentiment: A recent survey found that while 76% of small and medium business (SMB) owners invest in advertising, 26% of them were unsure how to measure campaign performance.¹ So, what do we do?

I sought out to interview SMB advertisers and better understand how they resolve some of these knowledge gaps.

The revelation I heard repeatedly behind the scenes: SMB advertisers relied on their communities to teach them what they didn’t know—whether it’s how to measure campaign performance or something less specific, like sharing examples of other great ads for inspiration. Be it friends, spouses, ex-colleagues, and digital marketing experts on social media—a surprising amount of SMB advertisers relied on human-to-human connections for learning.

You, too, can find a community to support you. As a starter, you could use Seller Forum to ask a question, create a discussion, or find an existing discussion with the ‘Advertising’ tag. Maybe, just maybe, you’ll meet brands or resellers like you who are willing to share their wisdom. Working with external partners could be a solution, if you’ve got the financial means to afford help. But you can start small, even when your goals are big.

To all the small and mighty business owners and their employees out there—you’re not alone.

Visit Seller Forum to connect with other sellers, or browse our partner directory.