5 Social Media Marketing Challenges Small Businesses Face

Automating authentic social media moments can help small businesses at a fraction of the cost of other marketing methods

Every small consumer business knows they need to market using social media. But limited budgets, time constraints, and knowledge gaps make building and maintaining a strong online presence challenging. 

Whether you are trying to drive business to your new restaurant or are eager to promote the new colors at your nail salon, it’s important to develop a social plan that works for you. 

If you’ve explored doing this, you’ve likely encountered one, if not more, of these challenges. 

Challenges in Automating Social Media For Small Businesses 

Teenagers snapping their selfies and posting videos online make social promotion look effortless. But for business owners, it’s not. Curating pictures of your food takes time, capturing happy customers on video while you’re in the middle of dinner service isn’t viable, and taking a moment to snap the perfect manicure isn’t a reality if your shop is busy. 

There is also the issue of authenticity. If the content originates only from you, the content can get stale fast.

Affordable Marketing Solutions For Tight Budgets 

Turning to an agency is an option if you have the money. But agencies who manage social media accounts start at $500 or more a month – and that’s for posting basic concepts. You’ll need to budget another $100 to $500 a post if paying a microinfluencer, keeping your fingers crossed that their followers are legit, engaged, and appropriate for your business. 

Changing trends are hard to keep up with

Social media trends evolve rapidly. New platforms emerge and others lose followers. Tools within platforms morph and change. Staying relevant requires constant adaptation. From viral challenges to algorithm changes, knowing where to focus your efforts can be hard.

Even With Effort, Social Engagement Doesn’t Always Happen 

Posting consistently doesn’t always guarantee engagement. Many small businesses struggle to connect with their audience, resulting in posts that go unnoticed, unread, unliked, unshared, and uncommented on. It can feel like shouting into a void.

Measuring the ROI of Time and Money Isn’t Easy

Understanding whether your social media efforts are paying off can be challenging. While most platforms provide modest analytics for free, many small businesses lack access to analytics that provide clear insights into what’s working. Even with solid analytics, you need to know how to interpret them and pivot if engagement flags. 

How to Overcome These Challenges With Scale Social AI

User-generated content isn’t new. Businesses have been using it for more than a decade. Reviews on websites, resharing product pictures on Instagram, encouraging likes on Facebook – it’s very much ingrained in B to C marketing.

 What has been missing is a way to capture and quickly use this content with as little manual intervention as possible. 

This is where Scale Social AI comes in. Our Reel Moments product is designed to automate and streamline the content creation process. Strategically placed QR codes encourage customers to share authentic reactions in the moment. 

The AI engine turns those reactions into ready-to-post short-form videos. No video editing, scrolling through reviews, seeking permissions, contracting with microinfluencers, or setting up photo shoots. This saves time while keeping your social media channels active and engaging.

Scale Social AI takes it one step further with tools that analyze engagement trends and optimize your content strategy. ReelMoments’ AI-powered platform helps identify and amplify the most impactful content, ensuring your posts stay timely and resonate with your audience. And we’ll provide you with detailed analytics that help you measure ROI and refine your strategy to focus on what drives results. 

Contact us today to get started.