Why social media is good for business
Over the years I have written plenty of blogs about the importance of social media for your small business. Still the growth of social media is showing no signs of slowing, however, it is evolving and changing over time.
Are you changing your strategies so you can leverage social media? Or are you still using a Motorola flip phone and hoping your customers won’t notice?
You need to leverage the social media channels that are relevant to your business. Don’t just do it because you think it is in fashion, do it because your ideal clients are in these social networks. This way your ideal clients can engage and connect with you in various ways.
Simple reasons why social media is good for business
- Improved brand awareness
- Cost-effectiveness
- Engagement with ideal clients
- Improvement of brand loyalty
- Customer satisfaction
- Enhancement of your SEO
- Increased traffic to your website/storefront
Image – Roy Morgan
Australians visiting Social Networks & Online Communities: Top 10 March 2019 cf. March 2015. Although both Facebook and YouTube are clear market leaders in the Social Networks and Online Communities market, it is the image sharing sites Instagram and Pinterest that have grown the fastest in recent years.
Instagram, Facebook’s photo and video sharing subsidiary now has over 8 million visitors in an average of four weeks, up by over 5.6 million (+238.1%) from four years ago. And Pinterest, with over 7.3 million visitors, has grown by over 4.6 million (+174.3%) since 2015. Both sites have more than doubled.
Other sites to post impressive growth include Twitter, now with over 6.6 million visitors has increased by over 3 million (+83%), LinkedIn which now has almost 4.9 million visitors, up by over 1.4 million (+40.9%) and Reddit which now has over 2.9 million visitors, up by over 1.2 million (+71%).
Social advertising
Paid advertising on social media is relatively young with Facebook ads launching in 2015. It gives a business a lower ad cost when you compare it to print, radio and TV. The bonus with social media is that you have a free way to share your business along with the paid version. Your reach can be targeted utilising the information that Facebook has about its users and you receive real-time performance reports.
Naturally, Facebook wants you to spend on advertising which is why the organic reach of your posts is going to be a lot lower. Remember that they are a business too and they want to make money so that they can continue to grow their business.
It is not just Facebook where you can advertise – Instagram (owned by Facebook), LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest all provide this option.
Awareness of your business
Social media gives your business the opportunity to be seen by potential clients and stay top of mind for existing ones.
- Decide which social platforms suit your business and your ideal clients
- Use great images that will stop people when they are scrolling
- Video is playing a big role in growing brand awareness and providing content to share
- Connection with others through tagging and sharing
- Sharing your authority with real value for your ideal clients
Inbound marketing
Social media is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your website and/or physical location. By using social media you expand your reach to more ideal clients. When these ideal clients have seen your business on social media they grow your inbound traffic.
As part of your inbound marketing social media creates more touchpoints for your business. It gives your ideal clients more opportunity to come across your business and decide they are ready to do business with you.
Enhanced SEO
Google search results
It has always been known that there is some connection with social media and your SEO. Due to the sheer size of social media platforms, they rank very well in the Google search results. As you can see when I reach My Sassy Business the second result is Facebook. This is because Facebook has a high authority in Google.
People are also using social media as a search engine – Do you ever search for things on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Pinterest?
Loyalty
On social media loyalty is about engagement it is not about the number of followers. The number of followers is purely a vanity number it has nothing to do with how loyal your followers are. This is especially true for accounts that have bought followers.
To create loyalty you need to focus on growing your engagement and conversations. This can then lead to word of mount marketing.
You must:
- Share value content
- Have a strategy
- Be consistent
- Respond to comments
- Show who you are and that you are not just a machine who is unable to engage.
Be human
With the growth of automation people are still looking for people. Your ideal clients crave human interaction and connection. Social media is the perfect place for connection and showing your personality.
Conclusion
Social media goes a long way in helping your business have a substantial online presence. At My Sassy Business, we work hard to ensure that I clients accounts have a genuine heartfelt presence and engagement on social media. So if you want results without the hassle, please get in touch.
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