Ten Reasons Why Small Businesses Need Social Media Presence

Running a small company can be challenging. After the outbreak of influenza, things became even harder. Figuring out how to advertise and market your company may prove daunting with only limited marketing budget available and no clear sense of where or how to start promoting. Social media presence for your small company offers some answers!

Let’s establish something fundamentally: small companies require social media marketing services. For anyone unfamiliar with social media – even their own page! – the prospect may be disconcerting: your newsfeed already filled with updates about guilty-pleasure TV shows, auntie’s new lasagna recipe and photos of your friend’s infant could make things daunting and unfamiliar.

Social media is key for small companies and its use may seem intimidating for newcomers, particularly if your newsfeed already seems overwhelming with posts related to guilty pleasure TV shows, auntie’s lasagna recipe updates and newborn photos of your friends’ infant.

However, social media no longer simply exists as part of your small business’s marketing initiatives; customers now expect it. A warning signal would immediately arise should someone search your brand on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn and be unable to locate you there.

Market Data on Social Media Activity

A majority of Canadians–more than half–have at least one social networking account. Canadians also spend the highest monthly average on any country in North America or Europe at over 44 hours spent per month engaging with these platforms.

In the USA, an estimated 81% of users possess at least one social media account; in Europe however, 54% are registered social media users.

Southeastern Asia leads the pack in social media usage statistics across Asia with 47% of their population having an account on social networks such as Facebook or Instagram.

No matter where your company operates in the world, people use social media as a platform to interact with one another, learn new information and gain new knowledge.

Given how prevalent social media use among customers has become, it’s surprising how reluctant many small businesses are to utilize its potential benefits for increasing company profitability.

1. Increased Traffic With Less Work

According to one survey, 79% of marketers claimed social network marketing improved traffic for their company.

92% of marketers reported social media had increased brand exposure even with just six hours spent each week on its use for brand marketing, even without dedicating specific staff members to it. Simply maintaining an occasional Facebook or Twitter presence brings your company onto the internet map while building credibility among prospective clients and investors alike.

As SEO requires significant investments of resources, social media marketing stands apart as being more cost effective and time efficient than SEO.

2. Your Business Must Participate

By 2020, digital sources will account for half of media ad spending.

Social media will make up an estimated $357.3 billion total spent on digital media advertising this year, according to estimates. One study indicates that half or more marketers reported reduced marketing expenses through using social media.

Do not fall behind this trend that’s here to stay, particularly given how cost-effective social media advertising can be for promoting businesses.

3. Make Use of Existing Clients to Gain New Ones

79% of same clients reported sharing life events via social media; most often consumers mention brands in hopes of creating interaction either through acknowledgment or discounted products and services from businesses they mention on social media.

One simple way of engaging customers is sharing their posts on your business’s social media pages. Since people tend to trust friends and acquaintances more than businesses, sharing these customer posts could help convert more prospective clients.

4. Communicate With Diverse Individuals

Over 52% of millennials mention social media advertising when making purchases on the platform.

Social media has an enormous effect on younger generations’ shopping habits; however, recent poll results demonstrate that baby boomers may not be as tech illiterate as might initially appear. 32% of baby boomers say social media advertising influences their purchase decisions – statistics like these may help your small business target specific online demographics with its marketing plan.

5. Establish Your Brand’s Presence

Around 50% of Gen Xers and Millennials interact with businesses at least monthly. To build up its visibility amongst consumers and foster its image in society as an appealing brand presence is of vital importance for success in business today.

Increase awareness by discussing your business in casual conversation. Generations who understand technology may deem your firm irrelevant if it doesn’t actively exist on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

71% of customers reported increased likelihood to buy from a business after having an positive social media experience, such as being recognized via tweet. 77% of Twitter users expressed that firms that responded appropriately enhanced customer perception.

Experiences that provide exceptional customer service may lead to higher spending by 21%; additionally, using social signals to enhance SEO may expand visibility of your business.

6. LinkedIn Is Essential for B2B

Marketing Half of all social media traffic directed toward business websites comes through LinkedIn, making this social networking service indispensable in B2B marketing efforts.

LinkedIn dominates the B2B marketing space; 94% of B2B marketers share and promote content through LinkedIn.

LinkedIn should be part of any company’s B2B marketing plan if its primary strategy involves B2B outreach. LinkedIn generates 277% more leads compared to both Facebook and Twitter combined; its 562 million-user community makes LinkedIn an effective way to gain new business leads while building lasting relationships and creating strong associations. Utilize an email finder on LinkedIn as one way of expanding B2B reach outreach efforts more efficiently and increase return-on-investment (ROI).

Your company must capitalize on this ever-evolving trend that shows no sign of abating.

7. Take Advantage of Opportunities Overlooked by Other Businesses

Only five out of 65 million businesses on Facebook currently run Facebook advertisements.

Facebook is one of the world’s most beloved social networking platforms, boasting more than 2 billion monthly active users worldwide. Due to so few businesses utilizing its advertising capabilities, using it may help your small company stand out and grab more attention than its competition – just by using this platform! You could quickly overshadow those competitors that don’t use it themselves!

8. Chats are cost-effective to implement and provide users with assistance anytime, anywhere.

Chatbots provide information when needed without being available 24/7; chatbots may help provide answers when questions or problems are frequently posed to them.

Chatbots may be an invaluable way to inform customers when they can expect a live human, even if both you and they prefer speaking directly with each other.

7.6 social media accounts are typical for internet users worldwide and rising. As over half the global population uses the internet (4.2 billion and counting!), using social media is an extremely efficient means of reaching such an expansive target market.

9. Build Trust & Brand Loyalty

According to research, 53% of all Americans who follow brands on social media become more committed to these companies; among these followers aged 18-24 this sentiment holds even stronger.

Thus, social media management DOES contribute significantly to an increase in brand loyalty. According to an old adage, “it costs five times as much to gain new business than to maintain current customers”, this maxim could not be more accurate now with all the options open to customers in today’s economy.

Back then, brand loyalty flourished due to customer enthusiasm; today however, things are more complicated.

Today’s consumers know they hold tremendous purchasing power. Businesses now expect customers to reward them for their continued loyalty, so brand loyalty should be reciprocal. Community building techniques may prove useful: creating spaces where clients feel heard and included strengthens connections while encouraging long-term loyalty from clients.

10 Show Compassion to Your Company

According to an international PR firm Cohn & Wolf’s survey involving more than 12,000 respondents, two qualities most valued by consumers from companies include acting ethically all of the time and communicating openly and honestly regarding products or services they purchase from businesses.

Another poll revealed that more than half of individuals don’t trust any organization unless there is “real world proof” that its promises are being kept.

Customers may perceive your company more authentic and approachable if social media is managed properly, since modern customers place great value in authentic businesses.

How will you persuade skeptics that your brand is trustworthy? Leverage social media to demonstrate its human side!

Take the opportunity to give them an inside view of your brand’s true nature by sharing details about who stands behind your business, upholding values and goals, as well as daily operations on social media for business use. It will show your audience exactly who’s running everything! Social media offers this significant benefit that should not be discounted as one of its main advantages for your company’s growth.

Social media helps your business humanize itself by building real connections with customers through communication, problem-solving and involvement.

Conclusion

Small businesses should avoid copying every action taken by its rivals and instead understand their stances and tactics. They could brag about having established strong social media connections if their rivals regularly interact with customers via these channels.

As previously discussed, your business doesn’t need to promote itself on every social media platform available – YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr and Twitter among them – just for promotion’s sake. CNBC reports that most users still prefer apps like Instagram and WhatsApp over any of these others.

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