Using Social Media for Small Businesses

Starting a company or even managing a small one is, among other things, a lesson in tradeoffs.  Using scarce resources in one area decreases what can be used in other areas.  As a result, maximizing what you have for the least cost becomes of paramount importance.

 

As it relates to building a customer base, one inexpensive way to make a better impact is to provide customers with material that they find interesting and relevant on social media.  Inundating customers with information about product features and benefits when other companies are following the same approach is not, nowadays, an effective way to differentiate your company or build customer loyalty.  Providing a forum in social media that discusses customers’ interests, however, helps marketers have better conversations with customers, which over time builds trust and rapport.  According to Steven Strauss, author of The Small Business Bible, firms should use social media to post content that addresses customers’ problems 80% of the time and use the remaining 20% to discuss firm related topics.

 

Another potential consideration involves sharing posts that customers may place online.  In particular, developing relationships with significant influencers can help “encourage a sense of community within your social networks, boost your brand exposure, and help you earn your followers' trust” according to http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/228574.  For example, a good practice is to share and follow Facebook and Pinterest posts and pins from those that have large followings that are of interest to customers and that relate to your company.

 

Using these techniques can ultimately boost the effectiveness of organic search results.  Bigger and more tightly knit groups can produce higher rankings in searches for a particular firm that helped create and foster this community.  Consequently, paid advertisement could become of less importance in a search engine marketing strategy.  A natural following in which customers come to you reduces costs and will clearly increase profitability.  The aim, though, should be creating an inviting social environment that provides more benefits than what your product alone offers.