Delaware has over 27,000 small businesses. In Fiscal Year 2022, small businesses made up 56% of the state’s workforce, and generated 13.8 billion in wages.
The Delaware Division of Small Business is using the month of May to remind Delawareans the importance of small businesses, and help those businesses find ways to succeed.
That includes making the most of social media.
Sussex County Business Manager Lauren Swain says social media is everywhere- and many businesses have already incorporated it into their operations.
“People are sharing their favorite restaurants, they’re tagging photos from inside their favorite shop, they’re taking pictures of the latest thing that they just purchased from a store. So social media is huge. Everyone is connected and everyone is on social media. So businesses really thrive there.”
To help more businesses take advantage of this phenomenon, DSB has created a social media toolkit.
The idea came from the understanding that not all businesses have been able to keep up with social media’s rapid growth.
“Social media is a huge outreach vehicle for many of our small businesses, however the owners are usually doing it all, or they don’t have a very large staff,” explained Swain. “So they don’t always have the time to keep coming up with ideas for content, or even have the time to engage with everyone because they’re actually in their business making or selling products.”
The toolkit, available on the Div. of Small Business website, includes items such as graphics, suggested captions, tagging ideas, and hashtags.
Much of the content is designed specifically to be used during Small Business Month, but it can also help businesses not using social media practice engaging with customers with posts already curated for their use.
During this month, the Div. of Small Business also asks customers to engage with small businesses on social media more by sharing social media posts and leaving reviews.
