Social media has changed our lives. Not too long ago, businesses both big and small were subjected to the drudgery of snail mail, fax machines and long queues at telephone call centres. Social media has changed the way we live, interact and do business. It seems almost everyone around us has a social media presence on one social platform or the other. However, if you are a small business owner and are wondering whether to get on the social media bandwagon or not, this article is for you.
Here are 3 benefits of social media to help you make up your mind:
1. Your business ABSOLUTELY needs a social media presence. Social media gives your business access to previously uncharted territory. If done right, social media will give your business reach and exposure in the shortest period of time. It will give you credibility and help you discern trends and patterns pertaining to your business and you will be able to iterate and scale based on those trends and patterns.
2. Each social media platform has its own unique features. An understanding of these features will help you leverage on the features of each social media platform and help you create a captive market on each. Platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are visual in nature so if you’re in the event management, photography, arts and crafts, food catering business and the likes, you’d do well to have a presence on such platforms. Depending on your budget and time available to you, Twitter and Facebook are critical must haves in your social media armoury. The beauty of social media is that you can integrate all three platforms to share the same content at different times to different audiences.
3. As a small business owner, one of your primary aims is to keep costs down and increase visibility. Social media does this for you. The big three- Facebook, Twitter and Instagram- are free and set up is a matter of minutes. Twitter offers you instant engagement. Facebook gives you the ability to create pages for your business while Instagram lets you show the visual side of your business. As your business grows, do consider engaging the services of a social media manager. The investment will eventually pay off in the long run.
Social media can help your business grow faster than you ever imagined. What are you waiting for?
About the author: Roman Ajiboye is a freelance writer who loves books, social media and the web. His articles have appeared on thescoopng.com and BlossomNnodim.com. He writes opinion pieces via medium.com/@HammedAjiboye, personal essays on his blog, strictlyroman.wordpress.com and tweets via @HammedAjiboye
