Social media marketing changed the game for small businesses. For years we watched small businesses close because they didn’t have the huge marketing budgets needed for television, radio or even local newspapers.

With social media small business owners can:

1. Build brand recognition - Posting on social media platforms helps build your brand, but brand is more than your logo or your company colors. It is about your story, your message. A well developed brand helps to get your story in front of your customers.
 

2. Show your commitment to customer service - Social media is your first and sometimes last opportunity to show your commitment to the customer. First, because before your customer walks through your door you are giving them value with your posts. You are posting tips and hints in your industry. You are showing them ways in which you can help them. Last, because if they have had a good or a bad experience you have the ability to track that on social media through reviews. The way you respond to a customer’s review can make the difference between never seeing them again and creating a loyal customer for life.
 

3. Increase website traffic - When done correctly, your social media page will generate click-throughs to your website and with the right content on your website and the proper calls to action, these click-throughs become conversions.

4. Build a community - Social media is a perfect way to bring your customers together. With increased engagement you can create the sense of a team or community. This community then becomes a salesforce for you and your brand.

5. Make yourself the expert - Chances are your competitor is not on social media and if they are, too often they are busy shouting about the latest promotion they want to push. When you use social media correctly, you show your customer your expertise. You offer them tips and tricks that will help them. You become the source they go to when they want to know something about your industry. And finally, you become the person they call when they need help.

But, social media is only the beginning of a marketing plan. Marketing isn’t one thing, it’s everything. At Ann’s Social Media & Marketing, we help you combine social media with an array of digital marketing tools to create content, manage reviews, update and manage your website and create newsletter marketing campaigns that pull it all together.