Small businesses are always on the lookout for novel approaches when it comes to advertising and promotion. While some business owners are opposed to the idea, data shows that social media is a terrific place to spread word of mouth about your company and promote your content.
More than 4.59 billion people are already using social media, which is projected to rise to nearly six billion by 2027, as reported by Statista. Consider these benefits of having a social media presence for your small business.
The Importance of Social Media:
Increase Brand Awareness:
The original intent of social media was to facilitate communication between friends and family, but this has since changed. SCORE reports that social media is used by 77 percent of small businesses for marketing, customer service, and income generation. According to Meta’s research, 83% of Instagrammers report learning about new businesses thanks to the app. Users can then spread the word about the brand by sharing the content with their social networks.
Drive Traffic:
Small businesses can use social media to increase website traffic. The Instagram bio promotes your website and drives traffic from your feed and stories. Posts on your feed that give users a taste of what your company has to offer will pique their interest in learning more about your brand.
Promote Content:
The proliferation of widely used social media sites means that promoting material may be done in a variety of places. Both Instagram Stories and Facebook Messenger offer platforms where companies can share their unique perspectives and expertise. Stats and interesting anecdotes regarding the items or services you’re offering are a great way to convince potential customers that your company is worth their time and money.
Valuable Communication:
It’s preferable to have an abundance of customer-facing channels rather than a scarcity of them, especially for small firms. In addition to mailing addresses, phone numbers, emails, and website contact forms, Twitter and Instagram are just two examples of the many social media platforms that customers can use to reach a company or ask a quick inquiry. Your company can quickly interact with its customer’s thanks to the real-time benefits of social media. You don’t need an account on every service, but having a presence on the ones where your target audience congregates is useful.
Understand your Customers:
Who are your usual clients? Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram may collect user data and help you narrow your focus. This is probably not news to any small business that currently uses social media to promote its products and services, but those that don’t could be missing out on leads and a potential customer base.
Step Ahead of Your Competitors:
A tiny company shouldn’t imitate the competition unthinkingly but should be aware of its rivals’ landscape and activities. Your rivals have the upper hand if they actively communicate with their clientele on social media.
Having a social media presence is a straightforward strategy to increase your brand’s visibility in SERPs. As previously mentioned, promoting your company on every possible social media site, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, and YouTube, is unnecessary. Instagram and WhatsApp, according to CNBC, nevertheless have large user bases. Find the platforms where your brand may best be heard and understood by its target audience while also providing a platform for interaction.
Social Networks:
Facebook:
Small businesses can benefit from using Facebook in several different ways. In addition to making a profile for your company, you can promote postings by sharing them on your personal feed and your daily stories. In addition, companies can form associations that unite and promote their members and other companies with similar interests. Advertise your brand on Facebook to get in front of people interested in what you’re selling. Facebook Messenger is one of Facebook’s most innovative services, and it can be used by businesses to communicate with their consumers, answer their questions, and keep them up to speed.
Instagram:
Instagram, like Facebook, may be used to spread the word about your company. As they go through their feed, followers will see vivid photographs of your company, coupled with descriptive remarks, tags, and hashtags. You can try out several ad formats like photo, video, carousel, and story advertisements. People who appreciate what they see from your brand can quickly spread the word by tagging friends in relevant posts or sending them private messages.
Twitter:
Twitter is most known for “tweets,” which are short messages (limited to 280 characters) posted by people to express themselves to one another. Tweets can be an excellent tool for local businesses to establish a unified brand voice, interact with potential customers, and target a specific audience. By tweeting, you can engage with clients who have discussed your company on their profiles, whether through praise or criticism. Your business can monitor its Twitter analytics to understand what’s working and what isn’t.
Linkedin:
LinkedIn is the largest business-to-business social networking site in the world. You can highlight your company’s products and services on your LinkedIn business profile, giving your audience an instant impression of what you offer. You can introduce the people behind your brand in the About section of the platform. Reviews of a company’s products or services written by former customers can be displayed on company profiles, providing free marketing.