Key Takeaways (TLDR):
Topic: Is social media marketing worth it for small business owners? We also discuss how to find a balanced, authentic approach that actually works for your business.
What you’ll learn: Social media is a valuable marketing tool, but it’s not the end-all be-all that many entrepreneurs treat it as. This post explores the real benefits of social media marketing (including ROI that extends beyond business), the most common frustrations, and why removing the pressure for social media to carry your entire marketing strategy is actually the key to using it better. It also covers how to build authenticity and genuine connection on social media, how to choose the right platforms for you, and how to think about your marketing as a whole pie rather than a single slice.
Who this is for: Entrepreneurs, coaches, service providers, and small business owners who feel burned out, frustrated, or conflicted about social media and are wondering whether it’s actually worth their time and energy.
Written by: Emily Aborn, Small Business Copywriter for home trade professionals, event planners, non-profits, podcasters, and small business owners. Host of the Small Business Casual Podcast, based in NH.
Finding Balance & Authenticity: Your Business and Social Media
Remember the early days of Facebook when the “It’s Complicated” relationship status was all the rage?
It was sure to garner questions and pique the interest of the still-slightly-single.
Nowadays, your relationship status with social media itself might feel equally “complicated”. And it’s anything BUT piquing our interest.
It can vary from day to day how we feel about social media. We can be hot and cold. It can feel like it loves us and then hates us, and vicey versa.
Some days we see it clearly for what it is – a tool to market our businesses on.
And sometimes we’d just like to see it all go up in flames.
Maybe you’ve even wondered:
- Does my business even need social media?
- Is social media worth my time?
- Is social media marketing worth it?
As a fellow entrepreneur and avid content creator, I’ve had my share of highs, lows, and everything in between with social media. My relationship with it has been anything but smooth sailing.
In this blog, we’re going to navigate this question together as to whether or not social media marketing is really worth it.
With Social Media, Boundaries are Key
For many of us, social media has become a daily part of how we promote and market ourselves professionally.
However, we need to draw clear boundaries that work for ourselves and acknowledge that our own experiences on these platforms can be intricate, and well… complicated.
You might feel the pressure to be omnipresent or frustrated when it doesn’t seem like it’s giving back as much as you’re putting in.
The goal of this blog is to help shift your perspective as you more intentionally engage on social media through your visibility journey.
Benefits of Social Media Marketing: ROI that Goes Beyond Business
As business owners, there are quite a few benefits to using social media as a marketing tool. I think the benefits can extend even beyond our businesses for some serious ROI.
Here are just a few I came up with:
- It can be entirely free of cost to market on social media
- It can be used to get your message out there on multiple platforms and reach more people (locally, nationally, and worldwide)
- You can (and I have) make new friends
- You can grow your network and community
- You can have fun and show off your personality, plus learn about others and see them as well
- You can use it to maintain and nurture connections and relationships
Where social media marketing can become frustrating:
- There are a lot of platforms and places to choose from! Figuring out where to spend your time and energy can be exhausting in and of itself.
- You can get discouraged and bogged down by what others are doing
- You can fall prey to the many shiny objects and distractions out there
- You may not get the traction you hope to get and/or ROI in the way you were expecting
- It’s ever-evolving and changes FAST! It can feel hard to catch up and know what you have to do to “play the game”
Social Media: Not a One-Size Fits All Solution
Sometimes, it can feel like there’s a right way and a wrong way to do things when it comes to social media.
Some people win on social media, and others don’t. Is it worth the headache?
While it’s an effective marketing tool, it’s not the one-stop shop, perfect solution for everyone (most people). As entrepreneurs, we need to build a unified pie with our marketing strategy, and social media is just one slice of the pie.
Once you remove ALL that weight on social media to make your business successful, and to be the only marketing tool you use, you can start looking at where you show up and how best to spend your time and energy while there.
You don’t have to be omnipresent, do it like everyone else is doing, be where your clients are, and share any certain type of content on social media. You can do this in a way that works for your business goals and ties into your marketing strategy as a whole.
Social media isn’t the end-all be-all.
Choose the places that feel aligned to you and ideally, are places your clients are hanging out, and nurture and grow relationships in those places. You can always add and take away. You can post more or less. This is your marketing, no one else’s.
Social media isn’t my number one marketing tool. Neither is my blog. Or my email newsletter. Or my podcast. Or podcast guesting, or speaking. Even word-of-mouth and referrals aren’t responsible for 100% of my clients! For me, it’s about all the layering and cohesive whole that I’ve built over time.
When you view your marketing as a whole pie, it gives you FREEDOM.
Freedom to:
- Follow your curiosity and try new things and opportunities without too many expectations/pressure
- Lean into various tools and strategies in different seasons of your business and life
- Pull back
- Let something go entirely
- Share in all sorts of different ways
- Test and see what feels good, what’s working, and what’s not
Building Authenticity and Connection on Social Media
- Don’t get bogged down with meaningless vanity metrics, shift your focus to meaningful connection and genuine engagement
- Find balance and set boundaries. Strike your own unique blend and balance between using social media for business and maintaining your calm.
- Know what platforms you’re into and opposed to. Know where your ideal clients are and where they’re spending their time and engage with them there. (Sidebar: if your ideal clients are all on a platform you don’t care to be on – bless and release. No one is forcing you to be on any platform!)
- When connecting on social media, remember that there are PEOPLE – yes, live human beings on the other side. The goal isn’t just to blast your stuff and promote yourself constantly, it’s to CONNECT and market yourself in a HUMAN way.
- Invite people to connect with you OFF social media. In person, on Zoom, in your weekly newsletter, on your podcast. Get in each other’s worlds outside of social media.
In the ever-changing world of social media, it’s important to be intentional and keep checking in to ensure it’s in line with your vision and the impact you want to make.
Next time you find yourself asking, “Is social media marketing worth it?” Remember, it’s a long, slow, consistent process and there’s almost never an “arrival point” or a “there” to get to.
Focus on building meaningful relationships and connections throughout all of your marketing strategy and use social media as a tool to amplify your message, connect with new faces, and create the positive change in the world that only YOU can.
Resources:
Want help figuring out YOUR unique marketing pie recipe? Book a Strategy Session with me HERE where I’ll answer your questions and give you simple, actionable steps you can start taking right away in your marketing. The strategy you need to move forward with ease, confidence (and maybe even a little laughter ;))
Kim Dawson’s Sassy Strategist Podcast: Is Social Media Worth My Time?
She Built This Podcast: Does My Business Really Need Social Media?
Want more content like this? Check out my Small Business Casual podcast for weekly episodes on content, visibility, and marketing like the HUMAN you are!
It depends on how you’re using it and what you’re expecting from it. Social media can be a genuinely valuable, low-cost tool for getting your message in front of more people, building community, and nurturing relationships over time. Where it stops being worth it is when it becomes the only marketing tool you rely on, or when the pressure to perform on it is consuming more energy than it’s returning. Used as one intentional slice of a larger marketing strategy, social media is absolutely worth it for most small business owners.
No, and trying to be everywhere usually backfires. Spreading yourself across platforms you don’t enjoy or where your ideal clients aren’t spending time creates more stress than results. A focused, consistent presence on one or two platforms where you genuinely show up will almost always outperform a scattered, reluctant presence on five. Choose the platforms that feel aligned to you and where your people actually are, and give yourself permission to ignore the rest.
Social media ROI often shows up in ways that don’t look like immediate sales: new connections that lead to referrals, relationships that warm up over months before someone becomes a client, speaking or guesting opportunities that come from someone discovering you online, or simply staying top of mind with your existing network. If you’re only measuring social media by direct conversions, you’re likely undervaluing what it’s doing for you. Connection, visibility, and relationship-building are legitimate returns.
Start by remembering that there are real human beings on the other side of every post. The goal isn’t to blast promotional content and hope something sticks. It’s to connect, share your genuine perspective, and invite people into a relationship with you and your business over time. Show your personality. Share your actual opinions. Engage with other people’s content as much as you post your own. And look for ways to move relationships off social media entirely, into your email list, your podcast, a coffee chat, or a Zoom call.
First, check whether your expectations are realistic. Social media is a long, slow, consistent process and rarely produces overnight results. Then look at whether you’re actually showing up in a way that invites connection, or just broadcasting. If you’ve given it genuine, consistent effort and it’s still not moving the needle, it may simply not be the right primary tool for your business right now. That’s okay. Social media is one slice of the marketing pie, not the whole thing. Redirect that energy toward the tools and strategies that are actually working for you.
