10 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs Social Media
Running a small business can be really, really hard. When the pandemic hit, it got a whole lot harder. Knowing how to promote your business, especially with a limited marketing budget, can be stressful if you don’t know where to start.
Let’s begin with a simple fact: your small business needs to be on social media. This may be scary, especially if you are not social media savvy, even with your own personal profile. It can also seem intimidating since your feed is already so cluttered with photos of your friend’s new baby, your aunt’s new lasagna recipe, the latest political news, and updates from your guilty-pleasure television shows.
However, social media is no longer just a choice for your small business marketing efforts. Your customers expect it. It can appear as an automatic red flag if someone cannot find you on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn when they are looking for you.
Here are 10 key reasons why your small business needs a strong social media presence:
1. Most businesses are on social media.
Did you know that 90% of U.S. businesses are using social media for marketing purposes? It is imperative that your small business does not fall behind the curve, especially if your competition is strong in social media.
2. Social media is cost-effective, with a high return-on-investment (ROI).
Starting any company’s social media page is completely free. That is the uniqueness and beauty of this low barrier to entry because there are no cost-restraints to having a social media page. From there, your business will get back what it puts into it with content strategy, effective management, and building that presence online.
3. Social media allows your small business to have two-way conversations with your customers to learn more about them.
3.8 billion users are on social media. Your business can then whittle the audience down to your target customers and start building those relationships. Using analytics can help you target consumers specifically and learn what they do and don’t like through the content you share. Companies can also comment back and forth and have conversations, which was never possible before social media existed.
4. You are able to create an online community with social media that is reflective of your local community and beyond.
An example might explain this best: A local pizza restaurant could create a Facebook group to invite customers to trivia nights, allow the customers to coordinate with each other, and build a community of local, loyal patrons.
5. Social media can provide helpful word-of-mouth activity and reviews.
Most consumers trust their peers over anything a company says, so seeing their friends’ positive reviews on your Facebook page can make all the difference. 71% of consumers who have had a great social media experience with a brand are also likely to recommend it to others.
6. Social media can reach all ages, no matter your target audience.
Many businesses make the mistake of assuming that its target audience is too old for social media. Did you know that 90.4% of Millennials, 77.5% of Generation X, and 48.2% of Baby Boomers are active social media users? You can also check out Sprout Social’s insights on ages and social media sites; for example, 79% of 30 to 49-year-olds use Facebook and 67% of 18 to 29-year-olds use Instagram.
7. Social media allows you to personalize your organization, putting a face to the name while building that customer loyalty.
Have you heard of the phenomenon that is Wendy’s on Twitter? Wendy’s established a distinct voice and level of sarcastic humor that completely changed their company’s social media for the better, really creating that niche audience that sets them apart. Putting a face to your organization’s name is a great way to build that customer loyalty, showing how you interact and present your business every day.
8. You can use social media as a place for customers to find you.
Other than your company website, where else can current or potential customers discover you? Social media gives your business a place to lay out all the information they need to get in contact, as well as what you are selling. This is now the first stop before consumers go on to your website, so it needs to make a great impression.
9. All industries are welcome on social media, no matter if you are more business-to-consumer (B2C) or business-to-business (B2B).
Every business is different, so social media should be leveraged based on their strengths for the type of company you are. 94% of B2C marketers use Facebook, while 94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn. For example, a law firm may perform well on Facebook, but its strength may be spending most of their time on LinkedIn. Alternatively, a fashion company may perform the best on Instagram.
10. Real-time analytics can measure your social media performance.
All business pages on every social media site offer in-depth insights on how many people saw your content, who saw your content, and whether they engaged with it or shared it. These metrics can be tracked and used to compare performance and improve, allowing your business to adjust and grow on social media.
Did we convince you yet? Now, just trust us, log on to a social media platform and start that company page. This task may sound super intimidating still, and it may not be your area of expertise. We totally get it.
Juxt Marketing is a marketing firm based in Atlanta, Georgia that can serve as your outsourced marketing partner from wherever you are. We can put our 20 years of experience in brand strategy, identity, graphic design, web development, and digital marketing to work for you. Get in touch with Juxt Marketing to let us take that off your plate.