Think social media is just for big businesses? Think again! It also provides a cheap and effective marketing tool for small businesses too.
Businesses are diving into the social media space at a very fast pace. The allure of success in social has accelerated its adoption into traditional business processes.
There are many benefits of using social media to promote your business. Some of which are:
Increase website traffic – If you regularly update your website or blog’s with new content, signposting it using social media can drive increased traffic. Also, search engines are starting to take more notice of links from social media’s, so it could even help to increase search engine traffic.
Raise awareness of your business – People buy from people they know and trust. They may not all follow you on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, but by getting your name out there and building relationships with relevant people, potential customers are more likely to have heard about you. You may even get recommended by others!
Get seen by journalists – Twitter isn’t just used by businesses and customers, most media organisations got wise to the power of tweeting early on and now use it as a source of interesting stories.
Engage customers and increase loyalty – It can be difficult to stay in touch with all your customers, but social media gives you the opportunity to engage with them on a one-to-one level. By becoming more involved with your company and getting to know the people behind the business, customers will feel more loyalty towards you, returning to buy from you again and again.
Increased sales – If you’re looking for a concrete return on investment on your social media efforts, there’s plenty of evidence that social media can result in sales. Don’t expect to broadcast messages and sales role in, you need to interact and build relationships with people before they will buy from you.
Manage your reputation – many businesses are afraid to put their good name out into the world of social media. What if someone says something bad about them? Rather than seeing it as a threat, you can turn it into your advantage by tackling bad perceptions about your brand head on and thanking people when they something positive about you.
Conduct your Market research – Social media gives you access to instant feedback from your target market, and it’s absolutely free! Plus, you can use it to keep an eye on what your competitors are doing.
Networking opportunities – Good contacts are key to successful businesses, and social media offers the opportunity to meet more potentials contacts than you ever could in person. Plus, it integrates very well with traditional forms of networking. Use social media to find events to attend and forge relationships that you can then continue in face-to-face networking.
Educating customers – Sometimes it’s not enough to go straight in with the hard-sell. Social media allows you to nurture leads and educate them about issues surrounding your industry. Share your knowledge and experience with articles, blog post and videos to establish yourself as an expert in your field.
Cost effective – The best news is that social media is free! Other than your time, participating in social media doesn’t have to cost you a thing, which can help to significantly reduce your marketing budget. It is important to establish from the outset what you want to achieve from engaging in social media. This way you can easily see whether social media provides you with a return on investment of your time.
Keep measuring your success against your goals. If something isn’t working then don’t be afraid to change it or try another type of social media.
In this article there are several reasons why using social media to promote your business can be effective. If you haven’t already, promote your business by signing up to social media sites, all for free!