Patricia Bright – one of the UK’s rising influencers – is being brought in to help entrepreneurs in small businesses make the most of growing social media sales.
More than a quarter of small businesses in the UK are now generating more sales from social media than from any other channel; including e-commerce and bricks-and-mortar stores, according to research from BT, the UK’s leading supplier of fixed and mobile telecommunications.
More than 1.2 million on Insta.
Bright has her own YouTube channel – with two million subscribers and 1.2 million followers on Instagram and is ready to offer entrepreneurs guidance on how to reap the benefits of digital marketing.
“Digital marketing skills are now a ‘must-have’ for small business owners so that they can grow awareness and build stronger relationships with potential customers. Getting started with social media for your business might seem daunting at first but there’s now more support available to entrepreneurs than ever before. I learned first-hand that investing time to foster a strong social media following can put you in touch with new customers directly and showcase your services and products more clearly, building a powerful brand image and reputation,” she says.
There is a long way to go. One in five entrepreneurs are concerned that they lack the digital skills to help them take advantage of these sales.
Social media can increase income
BT’s study investigated social media strategies used by more than 500 small businesses in the UK . It found that Meta-owned platforms are the most important for revenue-hunting entrepreneurs. Almost a third (30%) of those asked said Facebook was the primary social media channel they use for sales generation. This was followed by Instagram (18%), Twitter (10%) and TikTok (9%).
Social media is also seeing a growth in popularity compared to other marketing tools used to generate sales, with a quarter (25%) using organic/non-paid social media to increase income, and 22% using paid social media posts. These are both being used more widely than other digital tools like direct email marketing (18%) and SEO (15%), and more traditional tactics like partnerships (11%) and leafleting (11%).
Stressed, anxious and confused.
Many entrepreneurs have turned their expertise in social media into a competitive advantage. Others admit to feeling overwhelmed by changes to rules, algorithms, and consumer habits. One in five (21%) feel “behind the times”, 16% feel “stressed”, and others feel “anxious” and “confused” .
These feelings often come from the frequent changes to advertising rules, the complexity of paid social performance and making the most of customer data. Facebook Marketplace, TikTok and Instagram shops all help businesses reach new audiences and convert sales within social media sites, yet guidelines and algorithms vary across platforms – which is leaving many business owners feeling left in the dark.
More than half say they would benefit from training.
More than half (58%) of small business owners say they would benefit from digital skills training, and even more (60%) wish this support had been offered to them while at school.
The campaign also comes as BT celebrates supporting more than one million entrepreneurs through its Skills for Tomorrow programme. This provides free digital skills training, courses, resources and mentoring for any small business in the UK.
