Social Media is So Important for Small Businesses
As small business owners we wear many hats. Often times the small business owner fails to realize the importance of social media to the success of their business, regardless of the industry. Many SBO's (small business owners) think that because their business is not an online business, or their business does not target a certain demographic, that there is no need to integrate social media marketing into their brand. Wrong. Every business needs an online presence, and every business needs to engage in social media marketing to grow their customer base. With over 78% of businesses getting at least 25% of their customers thru social media, the numbers speak for themselves...so it's time to listen and create a plan to hop on the social media marketing band wagon.
Social Media Marketing (SMM) takes time to build, as do most efforts in business, but the return on investment (ROI) of your time will be well worth it when sales and customer contacts start increasing. While there are several different arms of social media, here are our top tips for getting started to build your brand's online footprint:
FACEBOOK: (Great for building brand awareness to potential customers) B2C (Business to Consumer Marketing).
#1. Create a Facebook page for your business and attempt to post consistently at least once per week with relevent tips, ideas, or even business offers/discounts relevant to your company.
#2. Grow your Facebook followers thru active participation in at least four Facebook groups relevant to your industry, product, or service. Pretty soon you will gain attention of a whole new network of potential customers thru your post and discussion engaements, especially if you share your professional knowledge thru an educational approach.
Linkedin: Great for building brand awareness and network referrals with other business professionals. (This is what is called B2B, business to business, marketing.) Also great if your target customers are other business professionals/CEO's.
#3. Create a Linked in Business page along with your personal profile and start connecting with people and business contacts you already know. More than likely many of your business vendors/suppliers will already be on Linkedin.
#4. Just as with Facebook, you will want to post relevant comments, tips, or event updates about your business/industry and join relevant groups.
Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest: (in that order!)
#5. Depending on your business you might not find it necessary to join Pinterest or Instaram unless you have a lot of imagery for your product/service/brand, but every business can benefit from Twitter.
It may all sound so overwhelming and time consuming, but if you start small, yet plan for consistency, it will become second nature in no time. For business owners that want help and expert assistance in managing their company's social media marketing (SMM), Savvy Girl PR is here and available to help you . We will create and manage all tailored content throughout all relevant social media brackets at an affordable cost. Contact us to get started with your Social Media Marketing campaign today!
