Social_media_for_small_business

How Social Media can Positively Impact Your Small Business

Expert Tips For How Social Media can Positively Impact Your Small Business

Social media is a great way to network, connect and market your small business. It can help you solve issues that you may have with customers before they arise and give you the ability to listen to your customers feedback. All of these things can add up to improving the customer experience.

What is the Impact of Social Media on Businesses?

More than 4.5 billion people use the internet worldwide, which has become a great opportunity for businesses to advertise their products and services globally. From social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat to apps like WhatsApp, Tango and Viber, the concept of digital marketing is trending nowadays. The importance of social media networks can’t be ignored as with the help of these online platforms one can directly interact with customers for business promotions or even for sales purposes. But before you dive too quickly into using them, you first need to understand that how much impact do these amazing channels really have on your business.

Brand loyalty

Brand loyalty is a state where the customers have complete faith in the brand, and they purchase the product or service without any persuasion. Brand loyalty faces a lot of challenges from rivals and substitutes. The level of awareness about a brand among people also plays an important role in brand loyalty. Loyalty means repeat purchases, more spending, stickiness to the product/brand, etc. Brand loyalty can be either emotional or rational based.

Learn more about your customers

You can use social media to get a detailed understanding of your customers and their purchasing habits. This information can help you make smarter business decisions, improve product development, and build more valuable relationships with your customers.

Easy communication

When it comes to consumer brands and customer interaction, things have changed. In the past, you had to wait until the company set up an event showcasing their new products and line. This happened maybe once or twice a year. Nowadays, companies are more proactive in interacting with consumers on a regular basis — through social media channels. Customers can connect with brands directly and ask questions about their products.

Increased customer power

Today, businesses are seeing a shift in their relationships with customers. And no, it has nothing to do with Millennials and the younger generations! Over time, social media has allowed a voice to people who previously didn’t have one. Because of this power shift, businesses now seem to be at the behest of their clients and fans. But rather than fear this change of events, businesses should embrace the influence their clients have. Businesses should capitalize on this connection and work towards bringing in more customers and creating more loyal ones.

Attract bigger audience

Social media marketing is a cost-effective and highly targeted way to build your brand presence. Just like traditional media, social media creates a bigger reach of your company in the digital space. Engaging with your audience through promotional posts on social networking sites, direct messages, and even through comments & replies turns the platform into a source of self-promotion for many businesses.

Creates word of mouth

Word of mouth is powerful. And now with social media, word of mouth is instant. Almost 80% of consumers would trust an online review as much as personal recommendations.

Reducing marketing and promotional costs

Social media marketing (SMM) is a kind of internet marketing which involves use of social media sites, blogs and online videos to promote or market a product or business service. It goes through a promotional campaign which shows your products and services, the benefits they provide and the likes.

Reporting and analytics

With social media tracking and analytics tools, you can see the full impact of your social media activities, from follows to engagements right through to purchases. This provides a clear picture of how your campaigns are working, giving you actionable insights into which ones are going to deliver results for you.

Humanize your brand

One of the greatest benefits for businesses of using social media is the ability to create real human connections. For example, communicating with customers via Twitter allows you to have fun and build relationships with individuals – all while improving customer service, driving sales and increasing brand awareness.

Impact of social media marketing on small business

Social media marketing is a great way for small businesses to reach out to their target audience and generate leads. With the increasing number of social media platforms on the internet, it has become easier for small businesses to market their products in different ways.

The biggest advantage of social media marketing is that it allows small businesses to be more personal with their customers than ever before.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn allow you to interact with your customers directly by replying to comments or asking them questions. Social networks also give you an opportunity to share photos, videos and links related to your business which can help you build trust among potential customers who may not know much about your business yet but would like to learn more about it through these posts.

Are you looking to optimize your business with an award-winning social media management agency that can help drive leads, build brand awareness, and attract valuable customers? Maybe you just have some basic questions about digital marketing! Contact us today to get started.

 

social-media-trends

9 Social Media Trends You Need to Know for 2022

Expert Tips For 9 Social Media Trends You Need to Know for 2022

If you’re like most small business owners, you’re probably trying to keep up with the latest social media trends. But keeping up with social media changes can be hard – especially if you don’t know what to expect in the future.

But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the top social media trends that are expected to dominate in 2022. So, whether you’re just starting out on social media or looking to evolve your strategy, read on for some valuable insights! 

  1. Social Retailing

It’s not enough to post and ghost anymore (if it ever was), and users are all about social commerce this year. Brands need to create a full experience around their product or service – livestreams, shoppable buttons, influencer campaigns. It’s not exactly new, but it definitely will be taken up another notch in 2022.

  1. Customer Service Goes Social Again

For many, customer service has taken a back seat to a lot of the fun and flash of social media. Use 2022 to get back to authentically connecting with your customers when they have an issue or when they just need a little communication with a brand. Don’t forget that social servicing is how many brands built their following in the first place back when social media was still a wild, wild west!

  1. 3. Hiring from Social Platforms

It’s a Gen-Z world now, and even recruiting is turning to social platforms. Finding your new team members through avenues like TikTok marketing will depend on you being upfront about your mission, values, company culture, and the human element of your brand. Whether B2B or B2C, take the opportunity to solidify your branding and appeal to the next generation of the workforce.

  1. Brands Showcasing Their Human Side

Consumers today prefer looking at brands holistically to make sure they align with more than just the great products. Offer a human side to your company by showcasing the personality and points of view that your company values.

  1. Accountability

Brands are being taken to task more and more for the promises they’ve made – environmental, social, cultural – and those same brands better be backing them up with their actions. Consumers vote every single day with their dollars. So, make sure you’re listening and responding to the conversations around your brand on social platforms with sincerity when they come at you with those receipts.

  1. Brand Authenticity

If it isn’t clear yet from this roundup, authenticity is the new way of the future. Consumers are far more attuned to when they’re being sold to, and fake connections just won’t cut it anymore. Meet users’ skepticism with transparency about your company and its values. Empathize with their heightened awareness of social issues and use social media to show them you’re aware, too.

  1. User-Generated TikTok Vids

UGC or User Generated Content is still the pinnacle of social content, and TikTok is the place with the most social currency. Use it to build brand awareness and support the sense of authenticity and accountability around your company culture through shortform videos on the platform. Run contests, repost and share, and just generally show appreciation for your customers who participate in creating content around your brand.

  1. LinkedIn has it’s Influencer moment

It seems each platform has its own distinct slice of the social influencer pie, and LinkedIn is the next spot to get the highlight! In 2022, LinkedIn has begun focusing on creators, especially with the rise of Work from Home culture. This will be the spot for developing your personal professional brand through thought leadership and engagement potential.

  1. #NoFilter

“Perfect” can be so boring. Posting social content without first curating filters and effects has been slowly growing over the last few years, and we think it’s time for the shift to go mainstream. In-the-moment authenticity is the key to engaging a modern audience in a way that will prioritize genuine connections over “perfection”. 

That’s it for our roundup of the top social media trends to keep an eye on for 2022. Of course, things are always changing in the world of social media, so don’t be surprised if some of these predictions change by the time next year rolls around. But as of right now, these are the trends we think will be most important to watch.  If you want help staying ahead of the curve and ensuring your company’s social media is on-trend, contact Agency Partner today. We have years of experience helping businesses just like yours make the most out of social media and stay ahead of changes in this ever-evolving industry.