Why Social Media is Beneficial for Small Businesses

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When you hear about social media, you’re probably thinking about your teenage daughter’s endless appetite for facebook, twitter and other social networking sites. That irritates you. You’re probably thinking that this is just a new fad for kids and won’t be able to benefit your brand as much. Maybe for bigger enterprises, but not for yours. Wrong. What if I told you that you can actually use social media to your advantage? Particularly in your small business? The proliferation of social media has revolutionised the decision-making and the consumption patterns of people – particularly the up-and-commers and by that I mean Gen Y which are now in good jobs and just about to enter ‘home formation’. According to a study done by the Internet Advertising Bureau, almost 80% of consumers would be more open to purchase a product or service because if that brand has a social media presence. So yeah, social media isn’t just for teenagers. You need it. Your business, in particular, needs it. Here are some ways social media can help your company thrive and grow: It establishes your company’s presence on the internet Okay, so you probably have a website that gets about 20-40 hits per day. You would know very well that you can improve those numbers. And social media gets your there. For one, almost all people are on facebook. Your employees, your business partners, your customers--everyone! Almost all brands have facebook pages and twitter accounts as well. Facebook, in particular, is really good for businesses because of its versatility, especially if you have a visual product or service. You can post text, images and videos about your product on your company page, and this is a very good for marketing. It helps you connect with your customers to understand them better Brands use social media platforms to better connect with their clients. One thing that would set you apart from your competitors is if your customer service is top-notch. With social media, you can ask your clients which part of your service they like and best which aspects need to be improved. You can simply post a question of Facebook or do a poll—whichever method you think would send your message best. Remember, customers can relate to your brand better if you humanise it, and social media does just that. Builds Reputation and Loyalty In relation to the second point, humanising your brand can build your reputation and increase customer loyalty. So how exactly do you build brand reputation? Well for one, you can create a company blog and talk about useful information about your industry, using your knowledge and expertise. You can join in popular B2B social media platforms such as LinkedIn and connect with professionals and experts of the same niche. As long as you share valuable content and continuously make an effort to increase your follower base, that will go a long way as far as building relationships are concerned. Monitor Reputation You can also monitor your reputation. Is there a chat room somewhere that is talking about your brand or your people? Is it positive or negative? You need to understand how this stuff works so you can monitor what is going on… for example, if some ex-employees are having a big session online talking about you then you need to get in there and sort it out. So there you go, social media isn’t just for teenage kids and young professionals, it’s also for budding brands and businesses such as yours. According to the Small Business Authority Market Sentiment Survey, 57% of its respondents had a Facebook or twitter account, an upgrade from 47% the year before. So you see, there’s still a big percentage of people not using social media. So if you want to stay competitive, which I’m sure you are, social media is the key. Go have a crack at it and see how it will benefit you.