What Can Social Media Do To Small Businesses?

August 31, 2011 10:39 pm // Author: David Moceri

Right now, there are a lot of buzz about social media for small businesses. The World Wide Web revolution has changed communication and commerce because hundreds of millions of people are now Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter users.

If you ask small businesses what is the number 1 source of their business, most of them will say “word-of-mouth” and referrals. What many businesses do not know is how they can monetize in a way that it is going to improve their business. In fact, if word-of-mouth is an essential aspect in getting and retaining their customers, increasing the social media presence is just the way to go.

However, social media are more than just a Facebook page. Socializing is not only about making new friends, prospects, customers and business contacts. You and HeyGoTo can make a strategy to leverage social media in a method that works. If you look at it, the average Facebook user has over 150 friends. If you truly give them a compelling reason to follow, their friends will be exposed to you. However, you must have a strategy in place to be able to develop awareness which will help you get repeat business.

Many people set up a Facebook account and continuously send promotional offers. Social media are not about talking. By adding value and engaging your customers, you will be providing them with valuable information to build customer and retention loyalty.

Communication tool for Government

While the most common use of the social media as a communication tool for government is to report weather information and road projects announcement, North Carolina and Tennessee have created social media handbooks to educate their employees. Even government leader New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo is now social media leaders in his attempt to talk to people.

The government is not a fan of social media adoption. Indeed, this will change as government employees become more adept at using it. While they know that their presence in the social media is imminent, putting policies to protect their communication channels and social media interaction should be in place.

Social Media Use

Studies show that American consumers prefer peer views over expert advice, and social media use without realizing that social networking is a pathway towards becoming a trusted peer. While word-of-mouth remains ideal for small businesses, social media play a vital part by giving customers a wider voice for their recommendations.

Majority of the small businesses felt that social media is unnecessary. Those who are already executing social media marketing campaigns are at an advantage because they will be in front of the rapidly growing market. Facebook was cited as the most commonly used network followed by LinkedIn because they are effective at increasing business.

Understanding the Different Networks

Understanding the individual networks will help you decide which one is best for you and your business. Set up a business page on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. You may upload videos on YouTube, create a blog and put up information that will captivate your audience and use twitter to connect your visitors to your blog. Don’t spend your time leveraging on Facebook if your customers are not there.

With so many social media channels to choose from, you can always find the one you want and focus on building an audience. You can’t build a community overnight, so start now. Take advantage of the social media to reach an astonishing number of people to make connections and build relationships. The social media tools are there to help you, and it will eventually pay off if you consider it as part of your business. Don’t open an account and forget about it. You have to be consistent in studying and managing your account to stay on top of it.

What Can Social Media Do To Small Businesses? Get ahead with your competitor and respond faster to queries by making social media an integral part of your daily diet.