Most small business owners wear multiple hats to not only get their companies off the ground, but to grow.
From knowing their product inside and out to customer service to sales, it can be difficult for owners to focus on branding, advertising and social media endeavors, adding extra stress and anxiety to running a successful business.
This is where The Social Hive comes in to help.
The Social Hive is a social media management agency catering to small businesses, offering services such as social media management, brand kits, logo design, content creation, video editing, professional photography, business collateral and content strategy.
The organization was founded by Todd Barnes and is run by Kristine Barrera, who works in a one-on-one environment with clients to promote their businesses and help with organic growth.
“Our main focus is social media management,” Kristine said. “For organizations that don't really have a social media presence, or they maybe don't have time to do it themselves, that's where we like to come in and help them out.”
Media marketing and social media has become a full-time position in almost every industry. Bigger corporations can afford to hire a person to take care of branding and strategy, but many small businesses need help with the basics to get the word out about what they offer.
Kristine said that she and her team cover all aspects of social media branding, including media campaigns, content creation (such as videos), editing and professional photography.
“Every business has different needs and we want to meet them where they are,” Kristine said. “We assess what their current strategy is, where they are on social media and what their overall goals are. Then we build a strategy from there.”
According to a study just conducted by Small Biz Silver Lining, a company that provides a variety of tools for entrepreneurs, 75% of small business owners are concerned about their mental health, and 56% have actually been diagnosed with anxiety, depression or stress-related problems by a doctor or mental health professional.
While most entrepreneurs aren’t afraid of the hard work that comes with heading a business, more than 50% said providing solutions for all of their business issues or road blocks by themselves causes mental stress, according to Small Biz Solver Lining’s study.
By taking this important job off of the business owners’ plates, they are able to focus on the sales and relationship aspect of their company and know they are not alone in trying to spread information about their products and services.
“It's really about just building a brand for the organization, because if they could be all over the place,” Kristine explained. “They might not have uniformity across their platforms. And we give them a cohesive, uniform brand, then we push that out to different platforms.”
These days, social media has become essential for many businesses to bring in traffic, which is why owners reach out to Kristine. By helping local entrepreneurs build an online presence, Kristine says they will have a significantly larger reach in both numbers and geography.
“[About] 4.9 billion people used social media in 2023, 90% of social media users follow at least one brand on social media and 76% of social media users have purchased something they saw advertised on social media,” Kristine said. “It's a really powerful tool, and I think if you utilize it well, it can drastically transform your business.”
Rodeo Celina, the first Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association-sanctioned rodeo in Collin County, used The Social Hive’s services to promote its event in May. By running their social media accounts and placing a couple of advertisements on Facebook, Kristine said the rodeo sold out the same day the ads were placed.
She added that all her clients, no matter their industry, should maintain one simple rule to have quality engagement on their social media platforms.
“Authenticity is so important,” she said. “You can make the coolest graphics and put them out there [or] the coolest videos with the coolest effects. But I found that most people respond best when they show when they see real people.”
The Social Hive can offer one-time services or can continuously run a client’s social media accounts. By keeping a strong presence on social media, especially Facebook, Kristine says business owners have peace of mind knowing that experts are keeping track of those channels.
“It's package dependent on what the [client’s] specific needs are, but [we have] an ongoing social media service,” she said. “We create the content, we create the captions, and we send it out to the platforms of your choosing.”
Business owners and entrepreneurs interested in growing their company’s social media presence and brand can visit www.thesocialhive.net or call The Social Hive at 469-731-8127 for a consultation with Kristine and her team.
“Every business has different needs and we want to meet them where they are. We assess what their current strategy is, where they are on social media and what their overall goals are. Then we build a strategy from there.”