8 Reasons Your Small Business Should Utilize Social Media Marketing

If your small business hasn’t taken the social media plunge and started a social media marketing campaign, now is the best time to jump in. Marketing is all about engaging in conversations with customers, problem solving, promotion of your products or services and educating your customers. Social media can help you generate new leads as well as establish a client base that encourages them to purchase from you again and again. What better way to engage your customers than through social media outlets?

Here is a short list of reasons to take that social media plunge:

1. Create a “buzz” about your products or services. Buzz marketing allows a business to increase awareness about their product by growing online traffic. Get consumers talking about your products, services or company by utilizing social media marketing campaigns. Create an event to promote your products or services then have customers share experiences or engage in conversations. Examples of this would be to start contests on Facebook or Twitter that give followers a chance to win prizes. You can also ask consumers to follow you on Twitter and re-tweet a specific tweet to be eligible for a contest.
2. Build your brand.  Social media makes it easy to build your brands identity and increase brand awareness. You can successfully establish your brand and make it relatable to a specific demographic.
3. Social networking with current clients and prospects. Personal conversations can be held with customers by using social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
4. Create traffic. A study by Balihoo indicates that, “91% of local searches use Facebook to find local businesses online.” Being active on social media will help you increase the quantity of traffic that your website receives. Successful social media campaigns will likely improve the amount of traffic referrals your website receives, playing a role in business sales.
5. Communicate with customers. Social media gives a business the opportunity to interact with and receive valuable information from customers. In addition to a customer service email or phone number, social media is another way to monitor and be part of the dialogue about your product or service. This platform makes it possible for a business to provide tips and solutions in real time. In other words, social media gives small businesses an opportunity to host the conversation about their product or service and gives them the power to mediate and correct issues that may occur.
6. Move up in search engines. Social media’s importance in a website’s SEO ranking continues to increase with the current popularity of social media. If you company is being talked about on social media, chances are Google will consider your website to be authentic, helping your SEO ranking. It is important to use high-quality content and links on your website. This information is evaluated and used as  part of an algorithm by Google, contributing to your site’s ranking  in the search engine chain.
7. Social media helps increase trust in your business or brand. Customers can become overwhelmed by the number of choices they have for certain products and services. Customers want some type of indication that your business is authentic before making that first contact. Having an active social media presence helps fill an impending trust that indicates you care about your customers and that you can easily be contacted.
8. Target a specific niche. Your business can use social media advertising to target by specific demographics, zip code, keyword, demographics, etc. Twitter is an excellent site to start reaching your niche market. Hash tags and lists are used to help you generate leads. Linkedin and Facebook also offer ways to connect to people with the same or similar interest groups.

Developing successful social media marketing campaigns has become an important tool for small businesses, and it should be utilized for all of its benefits. It provides a cost-effective way to build a community, that can potentially enhance the experience for both client and business owner. The trend of social media is still going strong and there is no indication that it will be halting in existence any time soon. Is your business missing out on this incredible opportunity?

If you and your staff are too busy or uncomfortable with the process of social media marketing, you can hire us to be your social media expert!

Sources
Pingler.  Creating A Buzz With Social Media. July 9, 2011. Retrieved from https://pingler.com/blog/creating-a-buzz-with-social-media/ on September 15, 2015.
Forbes. Jacquelyn Smith. How to Use Social Media to Make Sales. January 10, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2014/01/10/how-to-use-social-media-to-make-sales-2014/ on September 15, 2015.