Social media is polarizing. When things like Facebook first started to grow in popularity, we all jumped on the bandwagon. Whether you were the kind of person that friended everyone they’d ever met, poked long lost friends and shared every detail of your life with the world, or just someone that used the platform to save photos and keep in touch with good friends and family, you were online, and you were social. Over time, new platforms grew, and some of the darker aspects of social media came to light.
Nowadays, in your private life, you might prefer to stay away from many social media sites. There might be a few that you favor, and use often but, experience might have taught you that social media, as well as being entertaining and a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, is a huge time waster. A home for trolls and bullies, and not always the nice space on the internet that you want to spend your time in. While social media is still popular, more and more people are deciding to be more selective with who they follow and what they share. But, when it comes to your small business, social media is essential. Here’s why.
It Will Help You to Reach People
Despite its faults, social media is exceptionally popular. Most people have profiles on at least one site, and many of us spend a good deal of time browsing our feeds. That means that building social media profiles for your business is a fantastic way to reach people. You’ll be able to use targeted marketing to reach people that could be interested in your company, without having to do hours and hours of market research for yourself. Even better, your followers will share your posts, giving you the chance to reach even more people, without you having to do any extra work.
Social Media is a Great Way to Communicate
Life has a habit of throwing us curve balls when we least expect it. Your business might face many unexpected issues over the years. You might find yourself suddenly having to reschedule a sale, or open late one day. You might need to make quick changes to your opening hours, services, products, or prices. Or, you might need to give your customers and clients other important information, quickly. Social media is a quick and easy way to do it.
Social media platforms give you an easy way to communicate with your customers, both quickly, and to provide them with more details, information and to add value to your products or services. Proper Social Media Optimization can give you a fantastic communication tool.
But, you need to remember that communication goes both ways. Social media doesn’t just give you a chance to speak to your audience. It also gives them a way to communicate with you.
To Save Time
Social media can be time-consuming. If you wanted to waste an afternoon or pass some time while you are waiting for an appointment, there’s no better way to do it than scrolling through social media looking at posts, pictures, videos, and memes. In business, it’s easy to spend far too much time sharing posts and communicating with your audience.
But it can also be an excellent way to save time. Use part of your Facebook page to answer any frequently asked questions or to offer further information and guidance and people won’t need to get in touch with you to ask questions, all of the answers will be easy to find. You should also publish vital information like opening times and prices so that you don’t have to answer calls and emails asking such simple questions.
To Build Trusting Relationships
Building relationships with your customers is tough. But it’s also essential. Building relationships also means increasing loyalty. These customers will be your fanbase and your cheerleaders. They’ll be the people that stick with your through the tough times, offer up meaningful feedback, and bring their friends to your business.
Social media gives you a great way to create these trusting and lasting relationships. You’ll have a great way not just to share information, but to actually engage with your audience. You’ll be able to reply to their comments, ask them questions, offer them advice, and make them feel valued.
Improved Customer Satisfaction
Customer complaints and poor reviews are an unavoidable part of business. As much as we’d like to, we can’t please everyone, and mistakes are sometimes inevitable. If dealt with well, a complaint can be turned into a positive. When left alone, a poor customer experience can mean that you lose a customer, and that word spreads. Deal with it well, and you’ll please a customer, open up communication and start to build a reputation.
Social media gives you a way to reach disgruntled customers quickly. To find out what is wrong and take steps to deal with it straight away, before they’ve had the chance to tell anyone, or get angry.
You’ll Reach a Wider Range than With Any Other Marketing Method
Generally, most marketing campaigns will reach a specific demographic or location. Even your website will have a target audience. But, social media speaks to everyone, as long as you get on enough platforms. Older people are sticking with Facebook and Twitter, but the younger generations are much more likely to be on Snapchat or YouTube.
It Gives You a Great Opportunity to Understand Your Audience
Understanding your audience helps you to give them what they want. Knowing more about them means you are better equipped to give them what they want or need. Social media gives you a wonderful way to learn more about the people that use your business.
Everyone Else is Doing it
Most businesses are on social media. From global companies to tiny business, and even sole traders, everyone has at least one social media account. Even freelancers use social media to sell themselves and attract clients. This means if you aren’t, you are already on the back foot. Modern businesses need a social media presence to do well, if only because everyone else has one.
