5 reasons why a social media presence is important for a small business

Why should SMBs have a social media presence? 

1. Company humanity
As humans, it is engrained in our DNA to make personal and emotional connections. Social media offers companies an opportunity to humanize the brand by providing customers with a forum for personal interaction with the people behind the brand. Social media gives companies a voice, and a strong social media presence acts as a living, breathing extension of your brand. 

2. Customer Service and Feedback
Using social media platforms allows for everyday communication with consumers and can be a great place to provide a higher level of customer service. Does Yelp ring a bell? Customer reviews on social media sites can sometimes make or break a company. Giving your customers the option to connect with you through social media gives them the ability to offer feedback, and gives you the ability to quickly respond to fix problems or answer questions.Ultimately, social media platforms allow you to stay connected with your customers to increase brand loyalty.

3. Lead Generation
It is 2013, everyone is online— everyday, sometimes all day. With the rise of Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin, information is constantly being shared, pictures are being uploaded, people are researching and buying products and services. With all of this content, social media platforms are a potential gold mine for lead generation.Posting educational and positive information increases your rankings in search engines and keeps customers who follow you on social media engaged. Sharing content through social media carries over into a more effective SEO, leading to higher visibility, more traffic, and ultimately more leads. Social media is also the perfect place to connect with potential partners and vendors. As your company’s social network grows, so do your opportunities.

4. Building trust and a following with your customer base
Sharing your experience and knowledge through online content can establish your business as an expert in your industry.Regularly sharing interesting and educational content will help you develop trust with your customers and naturally lead to a dedicated following. Trust breeds brand loyalty among customers, partners, and vendors. Posting useful information can be as simple as weekly tips or industry-relative quotes.Customers will come to expect that you will continue to provide great content that can help them run their business effectively and will recognize your brand as a key source of information. In turn they will willingly and regularly visit your pages for updates and even share your content with their social or business networks.

5. Cost effective
Think of your social media presence as a nearly rent-free storefront. When used in the right way, social media can be a huge asset and one of your strongest marketing and advertising tools. Want to tell your customers about a new product, service or feature? Social media should be your go to. Posting news on your company to social media platforms is an easy, fast, effective, and low-cost way to spread your message.

When you implement and maintain your social media plan in a way that is aligned with your business goals, the real question is: can your company afford to not be using social media?