The Importance of Social Media for Your Small Business

Social media has become a major presence in everyday life in recent times, with more than half of the world’s population registered on one of the prominent networks. As the giants of social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit and others are constantly duking it out for more users, there is a huge benefit to come out of all this turmoil – advertising. With just under two and a half billion registered users, this environment provides supple ground for businesses to prosper with unprecedented exposure and is definitely something small business owners should consider.

Minimal Investment

Setting up an account for a business takes no more than a few minutes, with the finer details like images, videos etc. adding a bit more into the mix. With as little as the business name and location, any person can register and promote their business ventures across the wide web. Naturally, putting more time into an account will improve its effect on people, but even the basics provide so much exposure that previous media cannot even compare. Companies like Facebook even have a step-by-step guide to further streamline page creation and efficiency.

Boosted Business Visibility

Speaking of exposure, social media has become a marketing titan, providing business visibility in numbers which other services like newspapers, television, and radio cannot hope to compete with. Going with the idea of six degrees of separation and its observed presence in the connected world (via Duncan Watts), exposing just one person to a page on social media has the potential to spread with unimaginable speed, and that’s just with one person! Now, if one social media user has the potential to do all that, imagine what 11 million users do for companies like Audi USA.

Substantially Lower Marketing Costs

The wonderful thing about all this exposure is that it is completely free. Your page is its own entity with most of the marketing done by users sharing positive experiences, telling their friends where they’re currently at or just by liking a post on the page. All of these appear on the user’s friends’ home pages, spreading like wildfire. However, if you’re looking for more, there are great options via advert management tools to set a budget and create auctions. These present groups of users most likely to have an interest in your page at less or equal to your set budget.

Customer Base Insight

When facilitating such an environment for social media users to flock to, companies are often provided with an in-depth look into their customer bases. With constant interaction via user support or just gathering up reviews, companies can extrapolate what kind of users they need to attract to the page and which focus groups to work on. By providing a real-time look into the customer base as people rather than numbers, popularity will rise and so will sales. A personalized relationship makes customers happy, securing their support for future business ventures.

Higher SEO Ranking

Search Engine Optimization or SEO has been playing a major part in online marketing for years now. By taking steps to make websites more visible to i.e. Google’s algorithms, business owners have risen to the top of search lists and super-sized their businesses in no time. SEO experts point out that one of the key factors Google’s search engine takes into account is, in fact, the company’s social media presence. Simply put, as a business page grows on social media, the odds of it’s discovery outside of the network grow. This will also passively spread into outside exposure.

Positive Reviews

Another impactful presence in social media is the appearance of reviews. Sites like Investopedia have provided the statistics of just how much a good review is worth. Taking Yelp under the microscope, they showed a clear correlation between good reviews and improvements in small business financials, going up to 10% per star. The reviews get pinned to the page with comments from satisfied users, further enticing others to try out the services the business offers. This puts the company in a unique position of letting the customers vouch for it and provide an extra hook to reel in new clientele.

The Gist

Love it or hate it, social media has become a titan of immeasurable value to businesses across the globe. Its presence in the everyday lives of so many people cannot be ignored. It also has the potential to launch a niche business into the spotlight. By offering affordable options and benefits for minimal investment, it presents itself as a unique tool in the information age. It is worth noting – moderation is our friend, walking the thin line between engagement and spam is the way to go. And it will carry businesses off to new heights.

Chloe Smith
Chloe Smith
Chloe Smith is a cycling enthusiast, business consultant for SuperEasy Storage, and a part-time writer always willing to share tidbits of advice. She believes that passion, courage and, above all, knowledge breed success.

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