• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, July 20, 2015

Small and medium-sized business owners are eager to use social media for marketing targeting their local customer bases, but still face substantial obstacles in terms of expertise and resources. Last year I wrote about a survey of small business owners by Endurance, which found that 72% of business owners said that “we don’t have a plan, we just publish when we feel like it,” and 76% said they “post to social media when we have the time.” Just 30% were using social media to post promotions, coupons, and special offers frequently, while 29% did so occasionally.

Social media marketing for SMBs is getting a little easier thanks to Wix, whose ShoutOut service already assists with Web and email marketing. Wix is expanding ShoutOut’s capabilities to include Facebook advertising campaigns and promotions, using the same creative elements as the Web and email products. Wix developed the new capabilities in partnership with Facebook.

According to ShoutOut head Sarig Reichart, the company developed the new Facebook component after it became clear that many of the most popular “ShoutOuts,” as the marketing messages are called, were generating a lot of their traffic and engagement from social networks through sharing.

When it comes to online marketing content, Reichart noted, “Small businesses create something beautiful but then they say now what?  This just takes it another step forward by streamlining the process.”  To do this, “The content of the ad itself is automatically generated, and a lot of the targeting that needs to be done we do behind the scenes for the users; they can choose targets based on location, gender, and age.”

Users select the budget and reach they desire and can preview the ad before it appears. The paid ads are distributed in Facebook feeds with an image, title, and sponsored post label.

Before the new Facebook component came online ShoutOut already had over a million users around the world for its email and Web marketing service, according to the company. It also supplies e-commerce services, including inventory management, product profiles, storefront, and various backend functions.