The importance of social media for small businesses
It’s time to rethink the importance of building strong social media accounts for your business.
As a Small business owner, you consistently try new ways to gain exposure and improve your marketing plans but because of how much time it takes to run your company, social media is almost always placed on the back burner.
Through social media, you can gain new customers/clients and engage more insightfully with recurring ones. Social media can be a highly cost-effective and personalized way of reaching your customers while providing a community vibe around your brand.
Below are 4 reasons why social media is an essential asset to your small business and shouldn’t be ignored.
1. Use for customer service!
Because so many people are constantly online shopping and looking through social media, using social media for customer service is a no-brainer. Although each social channel may have different demographics and features, you can address customer problems quickly and efficiently, helping you create a loyal customer base.
Always remember - to make public conversations private. Sometimes an angry or frustrated customer can leave public comments on your brand’s Instagram and Facebook accounts or tweet at your business.
While you shouldn’t ignore these messages, it’s not always wise to handle the entire encounter publicly. Show other customers that you value their input and time by sending an initial response requesting to continue the conversation privately.
2. Use social media for sales?!
You heard that right! One of the most direct and lucrative ways to experience the power of social media is through increased sales. You can boost sales on social media in various ways:
Advertise on social media. The major social platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, have advertising platforms that help you reach your target audience and monitor your ad campaigns.
Sell on social media. Facebook and Instagram offer sales platforms and shoppable posts that make it easy for businesses to start selling online.
Work with micro-influencers. Finding social media influencers or enthusiastic customers to act as brand ambassadors is an effective way to boost word-of-mouth buzz about your business and boost sales.
3. Thought Leadership
Social media allows businesses to become thought leaders and stand out from their competitors, establishing themselves as industry leaders through engaging and relevant content.
You can do this by sharing creative content on Instagram, writing thoughtful blog posts for LinkedIn, or showing a fresh take on different ideas to really show how unique your business is.
By becoming a thought leader, customers will come to your website or social channels for advice which in the end creates more referrals and sales.
4. Analyzing Your Social Content
With each social channel, there are pretty good reporting features that can clue you in on what posts are working and which ones well,….are not.
Each month, take a look at each social channel’s analytics tools whether it’s:
Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Twitter
TikTok
Pinterest
And write down important metrics such as followers, impressions, clicks, etc. Remember, just because there are many different social channels, it does not mean you need to create a profile on every single one. Start with one or two and focus on building up your brand and follower base. From there, you’ll know what other social channels will work for your business.
Quick Tips:
Always schedule your posts ahead of time so you don’t have to worry about posting everyday manually.
When and how you post will constantly change! By looking at your reports, you’ll find the best days and times to post.
Consistency is KEY! Try to make a habit of posting on social media at least once a day and use relevant hashtags that will bring about more followers to your page.
What would you add to this list? Comment below!
