Many small businesses are flocking to social media as a way to promote their business and strengthen customer relationshiops. This is great to see because of these platforms’ ability to help create awareness of your products & services, drive traffic to your website and build a relationship with customers.
But how many small businesses are using social as a strategic part of their marketing plan versus just a place to post outward messages about the company? We’ve seen many instances of businesses flocking to social media as some ‘golden ticket’ answer to driving sales but whom were never taught how to properly use the medium.
One of the reasons we see businesses jump into social media only to quickly abandon the space is due in large part to the fact that they see it as an extra task that must be performed. Many begin to struggle with the reality that they haven’t invested the time or required effort to learn how to properly use these marketing channels. It’s also hard to imagine that a company who wasn’t social before will suddenly become a social giant simply because we throw some shiny new tools their way.
But let’s take a look at just a handful of benefits that can come from reqularly using social media channels and building a customer following:
- Increasing your brand visibility – Actively engaging in conversations that take place via social media channels like Facebook and Twitter allow more exposure for your business amongst new prospects. The ability for people to find you in these spaces gives you the opportunity to garner more leads. Posting qualilty content also opens the door to many indirect links to your website which can lead to better search engine rankings for quality search terms.
- Increased customer loyalty – By being consistant and actively engaged in these social communication channels you ultimately strengthen your relationshiop with customers. They come to rely on your business as a source of valuable information, entertainment and interesting dialogue. Social media provides small business owners the ability to communicate more often and on a deeper level with customers then was possible before.
- Improved customer service and feedback – Conversations are happening about your business whether you choose to be a part of them or not. With social media channels opening a direct line of communication with customers and prospects, we now have the ability to quickly respond to feedback in real-time using social channels. Facebook’s “messaging” feature and Twitter’s use of hashtags and “@” mentions give customers a direct line of communciation to your business. How you decide to capitalize on these opportunities is up you but the tools are there.
By putting in the effort it takes to properly design a communication calendar and marketing plan for your social media outlets you can quickly build a loyal following in social media. When implemented properly, taking your offline customer interactions and adding an online avenue for these experiences can be an incredibly valuable tool for boosting business.
