Social media has provided an outlet for people all over the world to share information with each other since the insurgence of the internet. Within the past decade, social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have made connecting your small business to customers easier than ever. With Facebook’s almost 1.24 billion users, getting your company’s message across has never been easier.
So why should your small business have social media?
The answer is simple; having social media presence for your small business will make it easier to engage with your customers, find potential new customers and have strong online visibility. Social media can be particularly effective for local small businesses, as you can launch events and connect more strongly with your customers.
Of course, it is not without work. Business owners must stay on top of their social media page to inform their customer of new and upcoming products, news, and updates and more and more, business owners are choosing to outsource their social media to low cost social media management companies. Customers may also leave comments detailing their experience with your business via Twitter or via the review system on Facebook. You can use these to your advantage, as the customer will often say exactly what they like or dislike about your business, whether it be your service, products or customer service.
What about other methods of advertisement, such as billboards and print media advertising? They are a viable method of getting your business out, and many companies do still use this method. The benefit of these more traditional methods is they will get your business out to those people who may not use social media, but when pursuing this route, don’t forget to mention that you have a social media account!
The downside to billboards and other advertising spaces is that they are temporary. They can also cost a fair bit of money and don’t get much attention, but that does not mean you can’t not use them. On the contrary, using both methods to promote your business is a great way to get your name out to as many people as possible. Again, this will vary from business to business and you will need to suss out whether a social media marketing driven strategy or a more traditional print media advertising strategy fits your business best. Contact 50 Pound Social and we can anaylse this for you!
Finally, as stated before, using social media allows for you to be more aware of your customer’s needs. Whether they had great service or poor, the customer will usually let you know through means of social media. So what happens when you receive a scathing review on your social media page, where it may be seen by everyone? Take it in stride. Address the customer’s concerns as best you can, and treat it as a learning experience.
Social media is a great way to boost the profile of your business, engage with your customers, and promote new and upcoming products. In this age, it is vital you have a good social media presence as more and more consumers are turning to social media platforms as their first port of call for contacting businesses and making complaints. Younger people are also more likely to check a business’ social media pages before making a purchase from the company to check that they are active and have a good reputation, so you need to make sure your small business has got social media game.
