Why Social Media is Worthwhile for Your Small Business
Post after post, maintaining your company’s social media pages and engaging with followers may feel like a tremendous waste of time. It’s not. It is difficult to see the payoff and measuring the return on investment (ROI) for most small businesses, but there are hidden and powerful benefits from staying active on social media.
Main Challenges for Small Businesses Doing Social
According to the 2017 Social Media Survey by Clutch, 24% of small businesses have no social media presence and less than 50% are consistently utilizing their social media accounts. If prospective new customers look up your company and find your social accounts virtually abandoned, they’re likely to wonder if you’re still in business and will doubt your credibility. Social media platforms also reward more active accounts by showing your content to an increased number of users, making activity increasingly effective.
With social media, content is everything. Issues can arises when content posted is too far off the mark. To optimize your time on social media, posts should be made regularly and provide information that is both engaging and relevant to your business. Over time, by providing up-to-date, compelling content, you will gain followers who are interested in what your company is about and will come to recognize it as a trusted source of information on a specific range of topics. “Approach social media with pragmatism and a strategic plan. Think about how it drives your business forward by driving awareness,” suggests Mark Evans, a leading strategic marketer in Canada.
Small businesses tend not to care about gaining likes on their social media profiles or obtaining content from users in every corner of the globe; the local community is their main source of business. Carefully planning content to post and engaging with other businesses will help make time spent on social media more worthwhile. For example, posting information about local news, upcoming events and initiatives, and interacting with other local businesses through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are great ways to indirectly increase awareness about your company within the community and worldwide.
The Payoff for Consistent Social Media Activity
For many small businesses, social media activity (not including paid campaigns) continues to be an illusive investment of time. Think of it this way: when you see a commercial for any product, do you immediately go out and purchase it? Probably not.
The same is true for your potential new customers. They don’t see one ad or post and think, “Sign me up!” New customers are convinced over time, through various types of interactions with your company, and they are fully aware of what you offer. Social media is just one contributing factor in the constellation of interactions with potential customers in your target area, which will boost your business. Plus, social media activity helps keep your business in the mind of current and future customers. “They’ll be less likely to forget about you if they’re reminded often that you’re available to them,” says Social Paragon Marketing.
“Within two years, more than 50% of small businesses agree social media helps them increase sales; within five years, 70% of small businesses see ROI from a social media presence,” according to Steve Olenski of Forbes.
If you’re not quite ready to dedicate some of your budget towards marketing, assign someone on your staff to keep your social accounts lively; but if you’re ready to take the next step, consider hiring a professional agency to expand your online presence.
