Small Business and Social Media

How You Can Use Small Business Social Media

One thing all small business owners need to realize… you need to be active on social media. Even if you feel as though your business would not benefit from using social media marketing, it is important to know that your competitors are likely using this media platform to their advantage and, if you want to compete, it may be time to start making a statement online. Not only are competitors using social media, they are getting results. Those businesses using social media have been reporting higher customer engagement, more repeat business, increased brand awareness, and improved targeting.

For small business owners still on the fence about using social media in advertising efforts and investing their time and money in this kind of marketing, it is important to understand the benefits of using these types of online platforms in order to make the most informed decision for the business. Social media has the ability to drive traffic and, when used properly, can be an important element of bringing increased traffic to your business’ website and even to your brick and mortar store – it is amazing how a really great social media post can result in a spike in traffic and sales.

Small business owners can expect to see increased visits to a number of different online resources, including their home page, lead generation page, and product sales pages based on the type of content being published. Many small business owners rely on search engine traffic to draw in their target audience – with social media, you are able to yield the same kind of results and use the content you are posting for a more focused effort.

Local Small Business Can Benefit from Cost Effective Social Media

While search engine analytics, online advertising, and some print marketing can be expensive, social media marketing is much less expensive and can yield the same return on investment. When you are ready to begin an integrated, thoughtful social media marketing campaign, your business can expect to see a much healthier bottom line without having to spend a single dollar on other, more traditional marketing methods. Social media gives you the opportunity to build a target consumer group, engage with them, and spread news and information about your business all at the click of a button.

Social media, when used correctly, is the definition of inexpensive marketing that actually works. Additionally, this type of marketing provides an amazing return on investment for advertising spend – platforms like Twitter and Facebook allow businesses to have their ads targeted to consumers based on a series of parameters such as their age, interests, likes, education level, and geographical location. This gives business owners the opportunity to send very targeted messages to their preferred customer base while they get to enjoy higher click-through rates and better conversations with consumers.

Consumers Connect with Local Social Media

Social media is among the easiest ways for business to reach out and connect with the people who are interested in their industry, services, or products. This type of marketing makes it easy for business owners to build relationships with virtually any consumer around town, the state, the country, or even the world.

Search Engine Optimization with Social Media

By being active on social media, businesses have the opportunity to send positive search engine optimization (SEO) signals to search engines like Google and Yahoo, which positively impacts where the businesses social media and website appears on the search results page based on the business’ branded and non-branded keywords. Social media pages that have been optimized will appear on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) and the business’ Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media pages can be ranked for those targeted keywords.

Create Quick Buzz with Social Media

If your business has an upcoming product launch, big sale, or important event, social media can be the perfect platform to help create buzz around that event in a very short amount of time. When the traffic to your website is slow or the consumers visiting your retail store have diminished on a particular day, advertising a product, sale, coupon, or free giveaway on social media can help boost those numbers very quickly. Additional content you can add to your social media pages when business is slow includes how-to videos related to your business or even interesting news about something in the industry.

It is important to always keep an eye on the competition’s social media platforms as well – this can help you to see their success and performance while also studying their techniques and adopting some of their best practices. Small businesses can only gain from using social media and having a strong presence online. The best part of using social media is that it is inexpensive undertaking that can dramatically increase the overall profitability and community presence of your small business.

If you are struggling with social media, STBW can help! We can create your social media profiles as well as maintain them on a daily basis. For more information on small business social media services, click here.