The Power of Social Media
for Small Businesses
When the first social media platforms, such as Myspace, Flickr, and Photo Bucket, were invented in the early 2000s, no one could have predicted the phenomenon that social media would become.
Today, individuals and businesses have a variety of social media network sites to choose from, and people of all ages use social media on a daily basis. Social media for small businesses is an invaluable tool that is being used to give valuable and real time information on target customers’ shopping trends, behaviour and likes. It has presented businesses with an opportunity to grow an audience and advance their marketing efforts.
Here are 4 reasons why Social media for small businesses is a powerful, indispensable tool:
It Gives You Access
To A Huge Audience
A report by We Are Social found that out of the total global population of 7.59 billion, 4 billion people are internet users. Of these internet users, 3.2 billion are on social media. Whether your target customers are local or international, social media gives you access to a wide audience.
Ability To Qualify
And Target Specific Customers
Both tech companies and marketers are well aware that promotion is not just about attracting an audience; rather, it is about attracting the right audience. As a result, social media metrics and analytics features have constantly evolved to become sophisticated tools that enable you to target and qualify your audience.
For instance, if you are a local business, you can now target only people that are within your locality. Similarly, businesses can narrow down their reach to people who are interested in the specific niche.
Powerful
Communication Tool
Until about a decade ago, many businesses had to rely on mass communication to relay their messages. Mass communication was out of reach for many small businesses, as it was expensive. Until recently, when mass media found ways of integrating with social media to receive feedback, it was primarily a one-way communication channel.
Social media for small businesses has extended the power of communication to both individuals and small businesses. It allows you to reach existing and potential customers, to interact with them, and to nurture a relationship with them.
Research shows that 78% of customers buy from businesses they have social engagement with. These networking sites also enable you to listen to your customers – social media offers direct feedback.
Cost Effective And
ROI-Driven Marketing Tool
You can use social media platforms to achieve a wide range of marketing objectives, including building awareness, generating leads, sales promotion, launching a new product, collecting feedback, gauging competition, driving traffic, and much more. Furthermore, social media marketing is cheaper than using mass media for marketing and the ROI is higher.
As a small business that is starting to explore social media, you might feel that the platforms are too complex or time-consuming. Well, at the beginning you will need to invest a substantial amount of time into creating content and attracting an audience.
However, as you become better established on the platforms and understand them better, it will become easier and you will reap great benefits. Besides, there are tools to automate some of the social media processes and activities, freeing up your time to do other business duties.
For more information about social media marketing for small businesses, please download a copy of Become a Leader in Your Industry Using Social Media eBook here.