11 reasons why small businesses need social media.

A few years ago, people thought social media was going to die out.

In the days of Myspace, the audience was primarily young, with a large percentage being under 18.

As users were growing up, they stopped logging in to their social accounts such as Myspace and MSN.

But the birth of Facebook and Twitter re-launched social networking on another level.

In 2018, the age groups are much more open.

With this comes a much larger audience.

This offered small companies an avenue of reaching out to this audience and attracting customers.

With social media (generally) being a free service, it has become one of the go to methods of internet marketing for small businesses and people who are self employed in the UK.

Often the first thing a person launching a business does is create a Facebook page.

This is the first step to getting the word out about your new venture.

If you feel that you’re missing the boat on social media and its benefits, check out some of the reasons we’ve highlighted below:

If you prefer to read the information on a web page, here it is:

1. Customer Interaction

Interact with customers on a daily basis and learn valuable information about your audience – who are they, what are they looking for, what do they think of your service?

2. Real Time Targeting

Create social ads such as Facebook Ads and get your content out there in real time. Specify who and where you want to target. Receive feedback and engagement within minutes of publishing content.

3. Brand Awareness & Trust

Make it easier for customers to find you with multiple social media pages. With a strong and active social presence also comes trust. Allowing you to reach out to more potential customers as well as provide support to existing ones.

4. Geotargeting

Geotargeting allows you to publish content and spread it to a specific audience. Facebook is one of the most popular ways to target groups based on location and age. It also shows you the number of people you can tap in to in real-time.

5. Fast Content Promotion

Some years ago, reaching out to customers used to take time. Methods included posting flyers or advertising on the radio.

Time small companies often don’t have.

With social media, companies can release news, press releases, service updates and new products direct to an audience within minutes.

6. More Website Visitors

Social media can advertise your company website in a number of ways. This results in direct traffic from people clicking to your website from sites such as Facebook. More website visitors can also help increase higher rankings in Google.

7. Competitor Research

Gone are the days of spying on your competitor, or even picking up the phone and pretending to be a customer after a quote. Business owners are simply checking and monitoring similar companies’ social media pages for products and prices.

8. Great Customer Service

In 2018, one of the first things people do when looking for a service, aside from searching Google is checking social media. Even when a person finds a company providing the service, they tend to see if they are on Facebook and Twitter. Having social pages allows you to build trust and confidence and provide customer service through these channels.

9. Higher Conversions

Social media can promote your services and products quicker – increasing sales and improving customer retention. Resulting in higher sales conversions versus those without social pages.

10. Customer Relationship Building

Secondary and passive promotion of your services is a popular tactic on social media. Rather than constantly pushing your services in people’s faces, look to publish interactive content that can draw in ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ in a friendly manner. This can help build relationships with customers and increase brand awareness.

11. Virtual Word-of-Mouth

It is well-known that word of mouth is one of the best forms of advertising. You’ve just had a new bathroom fitted, you’re happy with the job, you tell people about it, they do the same. In an ideal world every small business owner could have a large portfolio of jobs doing this for them. But that’s not how it works. However, with online reviews and ‘post sharing’ happy customers can spread your services and name around the web with recommendations to friends and family.

It’s easy to see why social media is so popular in 2018. The benefits in helping grow your business are second to none. If you would like to get a slice of the social media cake, but are unsure as to where to start. Get in touch with us for a friendly chat about how it can specifically work for your business and the industry you are in.

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