Social media has become a proven and very important factor in the growth of various small businesses today.

There are many reasons behind this promising method of marketing, but primarily it’s because social media serves the purpose of bringing people together, establishing relationships and it’s also a promotional and educational tool that informs and engages consumers on the services and products that businesses are selling.

Majority of companies have noticed this significance and are utilizing social media to increase their awareness and revenue.

The more popular platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and YouTube.

In fact, there’s a high chance that your competitors are on social media, which means that you need to be. And if your small business is already is on various social media platforms, you need to make sure you’re doing it right.

Here are several reasons why small businesses can dominate social media, and why yours should be on it

Small businesses are a part of the Community

Small businesses tend to connect on a deeper level with their community. They care deeply about the town they are operating in and should communicate this across their social media channels to impact their business. They are driven by putting the #communityfirst.

Unfortunately, if you’re a bigger business, it’s much harder to connect with communities on this type of level. Smaller businesses have the upper-hand in local popularity and can optimize on this advantage by posting about themselves, but also the scenery of their town, local events, other local businesses, taking part in community fundraisers, etc.

Because small businesses are all about community, they are also more likely to partner with one another for giveaways and contest events. If you haven’t noticed, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are great platforms to hold these types of sweepstakes, or at least advertise them.

Promoting contests on social media extend the reach and are free advertising vs. radio, print, etc. And holding social media contests are quick, attract entrants and also capture new followers on each channel which means more potential entrants for the next contest; contests online increase engagement, shares and mentions across channels.

Brands that hold social media contests usually have very strategic entry rules. For example, on Instagram, many businesses will have you follow their account first and post some sort of comment or a tag a friend in the comments below for higher engagement and post reach numbers (remember, if one of your friends likes a comment on that businesses accounts, it will show up on their friends’ feeds).

Small Businesses on Social Media Attract Brand Loyalty

Social media allows your business to not only showcase your products and services, but the team behind the curtains. Clients get to see who they’d be working with or buying their products from, which truly goes a long way.

It’s a way to show your brand personality, showcase your core values and what your overall mission is.

Viewers will feel an immediate connection to the brands they share similar likes and values with and will most likely keep coming to them over competing businesses.

Since small businesses are usually based in 1-few locations, it’s very easy to obtain behind the scenes photos, video testimonials, in-process instructions, and so much more.

Quick Response Rates Matter

Another thing about small businesses is that they have a better likelihood to respond quickly on their social media platforms when customers and potential customers reach out to them on social media, which goes a long way.

Businesses that can respond to questions or problems immediately online develop a good reputation with their community and customers will be more enticed to shop somewhere with better customer service.

Utilize Social Media and New Customers May Appear

Through exploring hashtags and locations across social media platforms, you can find customers that you never knew existed. Guess what? The same is true for when you’re using specific hashtags and locations on your posts – you’ll be able to reach customers that you never knew existed. It’s a very strong tactic for small businesses to gain local followers, more exposure, and brand loyalty.

You never know whose feed you’ll end up on, so make sure to make the language and visuals strong.

You can also reach potential customers by joining groups or on features such as Instagram Stories. Those are the free options.

If you want to try even further to reach a large group of people in a quick way, paid social ads are a great option. Certain platforms like Instagram make it very affordable and easy to setup paid ads that reach a decent amount of users.

The ROI of Social Media is Undeniable

Small businesses that use social media paid ads have seen more effective results than those who use Google AdWords.

This is because paid social ads cost significantly less than Google AdWords; the average cost per click on Google Adwords is between $1 and $2 and based on the keyword you select and target, you might end up paying over $25-$50 for a single click in the end.

These social ads are also more segmented. You can choose the type of audience you want on Facebook anywhere from their age group to the things your potential customers might like.

Did you know that you can immediately see how your posts are performing?

From there you can easily gage how your brand awareness has changed and if it’s affected your revenue. What can your small business do to test its ROI from their social following? One thing that your small business could do is offer a coupon that can only be activated if they follow your accounts, share it, like it and print it, etc., and then see how many sales you’ve made from that alone at the end of the promotion.

Many businesses link their content and news in their Instagram bios for posts to lead to their website or post these links directly in the copy for their Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter channels. It’s effective and super beneficial. In addition, the more likes and shares on social media that your business has, the higher probability and opportunities that people have to see your content and potentially link to it.

The better your content and promotion strategy, the better chance you have, which is awesome for small businesses and correlated to their SEO advancements.

And those are reasons are just the beginning

Social media is a marketing phenomenon for small businesses that is here to stay, so it’s important that your business takes advantage of it!

Are you a small business that needs help optimizing your social media channels? We can help. Learn more about Splendor Design, here.