Small businesses are missing out on sales by not using the free social media advertising that’s at their fingertips.
In 2014 a huge 51 per cent of small business owners in the UK claimed social media is not important for their business, while only 11 per cent argued that social media is very important. By not engaging with social media, small businesses are more likely to be engulfed by their competition. So where to start?
The most used site by small businesses is Facebook, with two thirds of social media savvy SMEs in the US posting regular updates. Facebook is a great platform for local businesses, as you are able to connect quickly with people in the same region.
Facebook Insights is also an easy way to track who you’re reaching. Meaning you’re able to tailor your posts specifically to your audience, who will then be more likely to interact. With 1.55 billion users, your business will benefit from an increased exposure for no cost and only a small amount of time.
Twitter is a great resource for all small businesses. You’re able contact customers directly, and receive instant feedback. It’s also a great tool for driving traffic to your website and increasing sales. Hashtags are an easy way to find relevant people and companies to follow and interact with, and they can also improve the quality and SEO of your tweets.
Golden rule; don’t use automatic direct messages. These are not the way to go to get customers to interact with you. Instead tweet the person with a tailored message specifically to them, and reply to all tweets you are mentioned in.
Creating a LinkedIn company page is a step many businesses fail to do. Just because it’s not as widely used as Facebook and Twitter, doesn’t make it any less important. The lure of LinkedIn for businesses is its attraction for companies and professionals, meaning you can easily interact B2B as well as B2C.
LinkedIn is vital for business growth, and is a great tool to search for new candidates to join your company. Applicants often have profiles on LinkedIn, and with an online CV readily available, picking the perfect new member for your team has never been easier. Looking to improve SEO? LinkedIn company pages are ranked highly on Google, and are therefore more likely to come up in the first few pages of results.
Hootsuite
Instead of using your own time, a favoured option is the use of social media management tools. Hootsuite allows users to auto schedule, schedule for a specific date and measuring campaign results. Hootsuite’s basic analytics tool also means businesses can keep track of customer engagement across all their channels.
Social media is waiting for businesses to grow and develop through their sites, and with low cost and reduced time wasting, your business doesn’t have any excuse to turn it down!