top 8 reasons why social media is a must for small business

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA?

TOP 8 REASONS WHY SOCIAL MEDIA IS A MUST FOR SMALL BUSINESS

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? “Social Media is an online platform

that connects people to chat, to share and receive information or content.”

TOP 8 REASONS WHY SOCIAL

MEDIA IS A MUST

Community 1Social Media allows you to build online communities, and to reach out to untapped client demographics. People enjoy being part of a community with similar interests and passions. Community Fans | Followers | Friends are like your Brand Ambassadors. Small businesses often grow their business from small circles of loyal customers and clients.

“Community strength is a very powerful

branding force, and social media offers exactly this kind of

relationship-building opportunity.”

Velly Angelova likeablemedia

Connection 2Connection to clients and customers is crucial for businesses. Social Media allows businesses to gain insight into client’s likes, needs and wants. Businesses can build relationships with new clients, gain trust and deepen their connection with existing ones.

“Everyday billions of people are connecting

online with their friends, colleagues,

clients and their communities .”

#Hootsuite

Brand Exposure 3Using multiple platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Google+, Twitter and Pinterest etc, businesses can amplify their brand message to more prospects, and grow their reach. Social media allows businesses to broaden their appeal, promote products and services through the viral nature of content sharing online.

“92 percent of marketers say their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses. If you’re not using social media to

its best potential for your brand, you could be missing out on a huge

opportunity to build awareness for your startup..”

#2014 Social Media

Marketing Report

Online Presence 4Social Media helps businesses create a digital footprint. With helpful, useful and relevant content distributed via social network channels, businesses can reach a wider audience of people, untapped and ready to be engaged. Social media allows businesses to be found by the millions of online searchers and consumers.

#Facebook Research by

StatisticBrain 1..1.2014

Increase Revenue Leads

5

Social media has transformed the purchase habits of consumers. People see your posts and hear about your business from their friends. Social media is your online 24/7 Business Development Manager. People look to social sites to learn more about products and services.

#Facebook Research by

StatisticBrain 1..1.2014

Every 20 minutes on Facebook:

Conversation 6Unlike traditional marketing, social media allows businesses to engage in two-way conversations directly with their customers and clients. Businesses should leverage off social media to learn about their customers through meaningful dialogue and conversation. Social media is an effective listening, discussing, understanding and an engaging tool businesses cannot do without.

“To reach today’s consumers; businesses must

follow consumers to their new communication channel

of choice: social media..”

#socialekho blogspot

Customer Service 7

Social media can be a powerful tool to serve as the first defense for businesses to promptly turn unhappy customers into satisfied ones. Businesses can pro-actively listen to their customer’s questions, reviews, opinions, and initiate conversations with them to resolve issues. Using social media for customer service can help reduce cost and wait times, lesson load on other platforms & increase customer feedback, decease response time, improve customer satisfaction.

“To reach today’s consumers;

businesses must follow consumers

to their new communication

channel of choice: social media..”

#BRW publication, October 2013

“It is a huge mistake to only let marketing run [social

media]; companies that are not looking at it as a

customer service channel will be left behind and find more

and more cases of their brand being diminished

because they’re not responding to consumer requests on a real-time

basis.”

“Consumers want to speak to companies on what channel, what time and the way they want to and when you try to steer any consumer to do it your way not their

way, you lose your customer base”

Education 8

The way we do business as a whole has changed. The power is in the hands of the people who search online everyday seeking content that will empower them, inform them and educate them to aid in their purchasing decision. Social media allows businesses to create online information or content that is educational, helpful, useful and relevant which aims to solve prospect’s problems, issues or challenges to convert them into customers and clients.

#StatisticBrain 26.12.2013

Statistics on YouTube:

TOP 8 REASONS WHY SOCIAL MEDIA IS A MUST

jenny@collaborationcafe.com.au

BY JENNY LEE-KOKSAL.

@jennyleekoksal

Founder & Enthusiastic Social Media Explorer at CollaborationCafe, Blogger, Social Media Coach, Visual Content Designer, Presenter, Visual Data Storyteller & Trainer. My goal is to empower and educate businesses to harness the power of social media to easily connect with more people, customers, clients and prospects to grow strong and sustainable relationship-based businesses.

www.collaborationcafe.com.au