Social media offers big benefits to small business

One thing all small business owners can agree on: They don’t have unlimited resources to put into marketing and other customer outreach.

This is where social media can be a big help. 

What does social media allow your small businesses to do?

Listen for opportunities: Possibly the most-overlooked benefit is simply being on social networks as a way take the pulse of a marketplace or to hear people discussing a need … a need you may be able to meet.

Vertical Response surveyed small business and
found which platforms they preferred to use

Offer better customer service: Customers using Facebook or Twitter can easily communicate directly with you and you can quickly answer them in a public format that lets other customers see your responsiveness.

Stand out in web search: Social media allows you to share your content to a wide range of interested readers who then might visit your website, share your content with others and even link to it. It is commonly believed the big search engines take into account social signals when they decide how to rank links on the search results page.

Demonstrate your business’s personality: Social media can be a great way to show off your business’ personality, as well as behind-the-scenes information about you, your employees, your workspace, and more. By humanizing your business, it makes it easier for consumers to connect with you and develop loyalty.

Be seen to add value: By regularly sharing useful content on social media customers and potential customers are likely to decide that you’re adding value and therefore are at the least worthy of their interest. When it comes time to buy something or select a service you are more likely to be top of mind.

Extend your reach: Social platforms start as places you share information, but can also be the place that your follower extend your reach by resharing. This means people who are not yet customers are exposed to you and your business. 

Conduct competitive research: This can be as simple as seeing what your competitors are sharing and saying about what they are doing or connecting with a competitor’s dissatisfied customer to see if you can help them. 

Small business how to … get started on social media: 

• Set a goal or goals: Be realistic because social media is a not a magic bullet and usually works best in combination with other tactics.
• Understand your audience: Who are they and where can you find them on social media?
• Develop a strategy: Be sure to start small and always record results, good and bad, and modify accordingly. This is an area where you might need outside expertise or at least to talk to others you trust to see what worked for them. 
• Give social media a chance: This means allocating a modest amount of time each day and ensuring you stick with it for at least six months so you have a chance to build a following.
• Only post relevant and interesting content: If you have to, write a list of the types of things you will share on social media. Be sure it is only stuff people would be impressed with and might reshare.
• Be willing to adjust: After a tactic or specific social platform has had a chance and is not producing results let it go and move on.

So has this been helpful? Are there things from your own experience that other small business owners should consider? 

Related post:
10 Social Media Resources for Small Businesses