If you own a business, you have probably started leveraging social media for your business development. If you haven’t, we are here to tell you the huge pool of growth potential you’re missing out on.
About 82 % of small business entrepreneurs these days use sites like Twitter, Youtube, Facebook,, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest to grow their empires. If you, for some ungodly reason, are still lying reclusive and aloof, you must exhume your morbid social media presence now. Let us discuss why it’s important for your business.
Get the info out
Let’s first get this right— you do spread awareness about your brand and its products. Not only that, but you also get to interact with your audience on social media, and form long term bonds with them. Since most of your fans know your firm and have bought your products, they are likely to give you your much needed boost in referral business generation by telling their acquaintances about your business.
Social media is Widespread
Consumers literally adore social media. And that is way too obvious to even deserve a mention. Alas, many businesses yet fail to leverage the potential of this medium of promotion.
The Pew Research Center reveals that the number of american adults who use social media is about 65 percent. This means, social media can hit almost every customer that shows up at your door.
Mostly, businesses employ Facebook — which has about 1.7 Billion monthly visitors to pursue their online marketing goals. With its extensive reach and dynamic functionality, there are very few businesses that couldn’t benefit from having a presence on Facebook. And starting there will make it easier when you want to try something new.
It’s Economical
Imagine putting your ads in direct competition with those on TV. Firstly, it is expensive beyond measure. Secondly, you will have to do it more often, which will put a big dent into your pocket. Now compare that with $2 ads on facebook that even let you decide who sees your post. This helps a bunch identifying consumer persona and demographics. Hence, you must take great advantage of this cost-effective medium to drive more leads to your business.
Reaches all kinds of demographics
Social media has no age boundaries. A 2015 Pew Research Center study revealed that 65 % of the US adults now use social media.
In the last decade itself, usage among people from the ages 30 to 49 shot up to 77 %. Hence, irrespective of your target audience’s age, you can still engage them with your content.
Social media encourages two-way communication
Social media gives you the power to learn more about your audience, their interests, and collect feedback.
Ask your customers to share their thoughts, questions, and ideas to get to know them better. You can respond just as fast, without having to pick up the phone or worry the customer isn’t seeing your response.
Social media users are active
A peculiar thing about social media users is that when they say they are on social media, they really are on social media.
According to an Informate Mobile Intelligence Report, most United States users check their accounts a stunning 17 times a day. While a guest may come to your store once a week, they get to see your social media posts in their newsfeed several times through the week.
Social media websites are starting to become the go-to area for users who want to learn more about their interests and specifically types of businesses. Why? Because these portals allow businesses to offer the latest information about services, products, or upcoming events.
Also, much of your activity can be revealed publicly. This means, they can be categorized by search engines — one more way to make sure your business or organization comes up as the result when someone is searching for a solution to a problem.
Social media is best for customer service
Providing perfect customer service is likely already a top priority for your small business. But along with the two-way communication that social media provides, it also offers a unique opportunity to step up your customer service game and provide instant gratification to your target audience.
This will allow you to showcase just how much you care about providing a memorable experience and will ensure that no customer inquiry goes unnoticed. And by monitoring social media for customer feedback and offering a response, you can drive real business results. Businesses that engage with customer service requests via social media earn 20-40 percent more revenue per customer, according to Bain and Company.
Social media can rev up your email marketing
Social media has upturned the game in terms of how small businesses perceive email marketing. Posting your email newsletters across your social networks opens up your content to a new audience and generate the type of buzz you’ve been looking for.
Not only that, but you can also use sites like Facebook to attract more readers by including a ‘join our mailing list’ right on your Page.
Together, these two powerful tools have reshaped the marketing landscape and have really leveled the playing field for small businesses trying to better connect with current customers and reach new audiences for their business.
Social media is Omnipresent
Today, more than 50 % of all Americans happen to be smartphone users and several businesses are now going out of their way to offer mobile-friendly services. The benefits of the boosted mobile activity in our daily lives offers a big opportunity for small businesses.
Most social networks, like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest, offer free mobile apps that let businesses manage their online presence anytime.
Moreover, these apps also let customers check out their favorite websites from wherever they are. These users aren’t just sharing updates from their own lives, they’re searching for businesses, products, and services, and connecting with brands through their social channels.
Having a social media presence that’s accessible via mobile can improve the chances of your business getting found when someone is searching for a place to eat or a product to buy, while on-the-go.
It certainly does not require a genius to figure out by now, that the use of social media is indispensable for any business that wants to grow. Let us know what you think, in the comments below.