These days social media has become an important inbound marketing strategy for any small business and an integral part for any marketing campaign. Creating high end content and invaluable content and ranking well for it on the SERP (search engine results page) is all well and good, but being able to share that content to the right customers straight away and getting those customers that are interested in your brand, product, or service back to your site is a whole different ball game.
Interacting with consumers on social media is becoming an important marketing strategy for small businesses and by using social media it can help you in a variety of different ways such as:
- Building brand awareness
- Increasing your customer base
- Connecting with current customers
So let’s take a look at some of the important reasons as to why social media for small business is a good thing and should be an integral part of your marketing strategy.
Communication
Communication with your customers is important to your small business or any business for that matter but it is always great to have all communication bases covered and this includes social media. Mailing addresses, a phone call, an email, and a contact form on your websites are all well and good, but if the customer has a quickfire question to ask or wants to share the good news about their order arriving or how great it is and even recommend you to other people they tend to go straight to a social media platform be it Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. The real-time advantages of social platforms is that they allow your business to engage with your customers in a quick and timely manner. You don’t have to be on every platform as there will be some platforms that are advantageous to your business, but it is very helpful to have a few active accounts where you know your customers are and can be found.
Understanding
Do you know who your customers and potential customers are? If you don’t know, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can be a great way in helping you collate date and find your target market. With analytical tools found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as examples, can help you find out more about your audience, what posts they react to, what times they are active and how many times they click through to your website. Understanding their ‘habits’ can define your online marketing strategy and ultimately increase traffic to your website.
Keeping A Step Ahead
Whilst any small business shouldn’t mimic every move that any of their competition may make, you should keep in mind and be fully aware of where they are at and what they are doing that maybe you are not or maybe you could improve on. If your competition as an example is more actively engaging through social media with their customers, they may have built a distinct advantage over you as having a good communication as we know is key to boosting a good reputation and business profile.
By simply having an active social media presence and profile, you are actually doing your business a massive favour and increasing your businesses visibility through search result pages. As we said earlier in this piece, you don’t need to plaster or bang on about your business on every single social platform, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube etc to show that you’re visibly active. Go to the sites where your brand’s voice will be amplified and at its strongest and be able to engage with your customers whilst still getting your brands message across
Need help with your business social media accounts? Contact us and let us help increase your digital presence