How to Use Social Media to Benefit Your Small Business

We are now in the age of social media, where people of all demographics spend on average 3-5 hours online a day and are continuously influenced by every post they see.
So how can small business owners use this to their advantage?

 How are you supposed to generate sales and build business if everyone is online for a fair portion of their usual days? 
This is very simple: Don’t expect your target audience to leave their laptops and drive out to you. Instead, go to them.

​No, I’m not asking you to pack up shop and go ring doorbells. The best way for small business owners to reach their target audiences nowadays is through online media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, Youtube, Twitter, and more. The potential for growing ones business through social media is at an all-time high this year, with more and more people staying ‘logged in’ to their favorite social media outlets.
​
​According to a recent, public survey conducted by our consultants here at Creative Consulting, over 90% of social media users have been influenced in purchases they’ve made by posts and advertisements they saw online through social media.

      These users could read the experience and testimonials of products and services that their friends and family received, or saw an appealing advertisement, and proceeded to make purchases thereof! This process of influence is extremely profitable and holds high potential for business owners because of the back-end benefits as well.

Imagine that you are a local accountant for small businesses and you want to build up your current clientele numbers. How better to find research on your clients then through social media platforms? Your business could make a post about an event or seminar coming up specifically for small business owners and reach out for more attention.  On Facebook, it’s customary for small business owners to have a Facebook page specifically pertaining to their business.  Facebook users can like and comment on these pages, and gather information about your business before visiting your site. While they are on your page, they can view business hours, your contact information, your office address, and view any recent posts or deals your business is offering. 

     This kind of constant publicity and advertising can give your business an edge to the competition by building an identity for yourself in your area. More posts on social media platforms and contact with your followers build brand awareness and loyalty with your clients and future customers as well. Unfortunately, most small business owners lack the time to invest into their social media management, and leave their accounts barren and forgotten. Leaving an empty business based social media account with a single post from two Christmas’s ago is more common than you would think, and can severely damage business’ credibility.  There is an easy solution to this issue though: Social media management through a marketing team.

The benefits of using social media for business and keeping your accounts active, whether through your own means or through a social media management campaign by a local marketing team, are invaluable.

     Social media management is the term for a service commonly provided by local marketing teams, where they manage and associate your social media accounts for you, all the while taking note of what kind of attention your official business’ social media page gets. This will free up business owners’ time, and build their credibility and brand awareness online. Social media can be a severely effective marketing tool that too many business owners leave untouched without a second thought but with the help of a reliable social media management campaign, businesses can start to build themselves back up by being where their clients are online. 

​      The benefits of using social media for business and keeping your accounts active, whether through your own means or through a social media management campaign by a local marketing team, are invaluable.  Through social media, your business can find out the following:

• The preferences of your clientele
• Feedback on any products or services for improvement or compliment
• It's budget friendly with free advertising opportunities
• It's user friendly to start-ups and small businesses
• Can give you an edge to competition with more established brands in your field
• Can increase brand awareness and loyalty
• Can make it easier for your clientele and customers to contact you
• Helps determine when and where your audience is most active

​If you would like more information on how social media management can improve your business, or you are a small business owner and don’t have the time to maintain your social media accounts, give Creative Consulting a call today! We are always happy to help out our fellow business owners and improve your business!

How can we help your small business today?