Posted by Globally, there are currently 4.62 billion users on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and LinkedIn, a figure that is expanding at a rate of 13% year on year.
A social media plan not only gives your company another way to reach out to customers, but it’s also a strong tool for creating long-term connections with them. If you haven’t reached out to your target market on social media yet, chances are your rivals have — more than 50 million small companies that have a presence on social media.
The most attractive part of social media marketing is, that it costs nothing but time. The difference between a small company and a big one all comes down to budgets, but unique and creative ideas can push even small businesses into the limelight.
Advantages of using social media for small businesses
People of all ages are using social media platforms as a new playground.. It’s a marketer’s dream come true: it provides unrestricted access to such a large pool of prospective buyers for any product. I believe that the great majority of marketers are currently utilizing social media in their work.
Many small companies make the mistake of thinking that social media is solely for huge brands with hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend. Small businesses, on the other hand, may use social media platforms to expand and connect with a close-knit community of current and potential clients.
Without paying for the extra services, social networking is an excellent advertising tool. You can keep your followers up to date on specials, deals, new goods, or even simply industry news. Customers will be able to see what you have to offer if you provide images. You market to your present clients through social media. However, putting your brand out there might help you market to potential clients. Your current customers can also serve as excellent brand advocates.
Let’s look at some of the advantages you may get from using social media in your marketing approach.
1. Helps you build brand awareness and reputation
Online research is one of the first things a potential buyer performs before making a purchase. If you don’t have a social media strategy in place for your company, you’re significantly restricting your chances of increasing brand recognition at this point in the customer decision-making process. Having a strong social media presence may go a long way toward indicating that your company is one worth buying from. A social media plan may help you create consumer trust by giving them another way to learn about your small business and what it stands for.
2. Will improve your website traffic and brand authority on the web
Having an online community around your brand signals to Google that your company provides a valuable service, increasing your exposure in search engine results. Aside from the possibility for greater Google rankings, having accounts on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram gives you many possibilities to rank, not only for your brand name but also for the keywords you’re linked with. Including social media in your entire SEO strategy may help you generate a lot of new revenue for your company.
3. Cost-effective and efficient way to advertise for your small business
To get the word out about your company, you don’t need complicated, expensive advertising efforts. In fact, on sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, the cost per 1000 impressions may be as little as $1, allowing your company to reach a huge number of people with a small marketing budget. Although it may appear simple, merely placing an ad on the internet will not usually result in the conversions or leads you need; instead, you’ll need a well-thought-out plan established by pros to make your ad effective.
You may select to only show your ads to the most eligible demographics on social media like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This means you only pay for advertising that is incredibly targeted, and you don’t have to waste money having your ads displayed to individuals who are most likely uninterested. This is a really cost-effective strategy, and it underlines the value of social media yet again.
As an example, take a LMS that wants to use social media marketing to attract people who are interested to sell courses online. Since the LMS is only for teachers who want to sell courses, they would use job titles to target. They may even add other filters, like interest like online teaching, to enhance their targeting
4. Increase your conversions
Every connection on social media creates a new point of contact with current and potential customers, presenting a plethora of options to address their requirements with your product or service. If you post a link to a freshly released product on your brand’s Facebook page, for example, each click offers a new possibility for a customer to click on your content and decide to purchase. You’re significantly expanding your sales initiatives with minimum effort by posting to social media numerous times each week. Aside from the material you post, the engagement you receive from your followers may lead to increased conversions for your small business.Using social media to engage with individuals who are interested in buying from your company is a quick and easy approach to answering their inquiries and encouraging them to make a purchase.
According to a survey by The Social Habit, 64% of customers who follow a brand on social media are more likely to be loyal to them and 76% buy over competitors. That’s a powerful statement.
5. Generates digital word of mouth
Few things are more effective for your brand. With word of mouth, customers can now spread the news more easily than ever before thanks to social media. Your clients are exposing your brand to their own networks with every favorable review they share online, dramatically expanding the number of people your brand might reach on its own. With each follow, like, or share, social media expands your target market well beyond your existing geographic boundaries, allowing you to connect to a bigger community. One of the most effective strategies to obtain strong client recommendations is through positive digital word of mouth!
6. Helps you improve customer retention
One of the most important advantages of a social media marketing strategy is it will help your company in retaining and attracting customers. Customers may easily stay involved with you after they’ve purchased one of your products or services through social media. Every social media post your company produces maintains your brand in front of clients’ minds, reminding them of their great experience following their most recent purchase. This raises the possibility of future purchases, resulting in increased brand loyalty.
7. Establish credibility
When it comes down to it, having established and active social media accounts is a significant element of developing a brand since it helps your firm appear more professional, legit, and up to date. Prospects are likely to audit your firm’s social media to discover how active you are. They utilize your social accounts to validate your authority — because, let’s face it, a business with 5,000 followers appears far more legitimate than a business with only 50 followers.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you’re selling hamburgers or multimillion-dollar machinery — your business should be present on at least one, if not more, social networks.
Social media is essential for small businesses
Although social media is an important part of your small business’s marketing strategy, it does not have to be difficult to handle. Create a profile and begin communicating with your consumers as soon as possible.
More customers will look to new and upcoming social platforms for shopping decisions. This gets better as technology continues to weave itself into our daily lives. Those with a strong social media presence and branding will see higher conversion rates. But, those that do not have active social media campaigns may lose prospective clients.