Why Is Social Media Important for Small Businesses?

If you’re one of the many small business owners that are not yet using social media, you may be thinking to yourself what all the fuss is about. Do you really need it, or can you get by with a website? 

The short answer is yes, you need social media – especially if you want to reach customers and stay competitive. Here’s a few reasons why I think social media is so important for all small business owners.

Your customers are already using it.

Britons spend 1 hour and 20 minutes each day managing an average of four social networks, according to a quarterly report from GWI. This means that chances are much of your target market is already using social media. If you want to reach them, you need to be where they are – by using social media you’ll increase the odds that your marketing message will get through to a significant number of them.

It will give you a competitive advantage.

Even though you may not be using social media, your competitors probably are. If that’s the case, you’ll want to start using it or risk falling behind. If your competitors haven’t yet ventured into social media, then celebrate. You can get ahead of them by taking advantage of this marketing channel before they do.

It will help you connect and interact with your customer base instantly.

Most marketing channels are one-way in nature – you send out your message and the consumer receives it. With social media, you can have direct interaction with your customer base – you can read their tweets and status updates to get insights into their daily lives and get the opportunity to adjust your marketing efforts as a result. 

It’s free. 

How can you argue with that? 

If you handle your own social media management, running a social networking campaign is as cheap as it gets. If you’re intimidated by interacting with people online or your writing skills leave something to be desired, hiring help is definitely the way to go. Posting poorly written content or conveying the wrong kind of messages on social networking sites can seriously affect your digital PR presence.

Social media isn’t just for large businesses – it’s a valuable tool for small businesses too. It’s here to stay, so if you need help with getting started, simply contact me and I’ll be happy to assist.