Social media for small businesses – why is it important?

Social media is an integral part of many of our lives. It’s how we communicate, share information, and connect with others. Social media for small businesses is one way to promote their products and services while building relationships with users; eventually leading consumers to their website. While there are many different social media platforms for people to create accounts and join, there are six platforms that are important when it comes to exposure for small businesses. 

The six major social media platforms that small businesses should use are: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest. Each platform offers different features and benefits. Let’s talk about how each of these platforms can help small businesses with their social media presence.

Facebook

Did you know that people on average spend 33 minutes a day on Facebook? That is higher than any other social media platform; thus, making it valuable time for your small business to post and engage with users.

With more than 2.91 billion users, small business owners can promote their business through:

• Creating a Facebook Business Page 
• Creating paid advertisements and campaigns

What is a Facebook Business Page and why is it important?

A Facebook Business Page is a free resource for small businesses that can help them connect with customers and grow their presence online. There are a few benefits that come with creating a business profile:

1. Making your business contact information easily accessible to all users. In fact, the WP Propulsion platform can do this for you when you join.
2. If a business owner creates a Facebook Business Page, they have access to audience data (insights, demographics, etc.). This kind of information can help businesses plan and execute effective campaigns for their specific audience. 
3. Facebook Business Pages are free and free means saving money! This is a budget-savvy way to help small businesses make money without going over budget.
4. Creating a business page and linking your website to it can help drive traffic to your site. Users will read about your business and click on the link provided on Facebook so they can learn more. Ultimately, Facebook is just a sneak peek into what the website and the business actually have to offer.

Twitter

Twitter is a micro-blogging site where users can follow other people who tweet similar content as them. Users can see what those people are saying and allow them to stay up to date with what others are doing online. This would be a look into real-time opinions and perspectives of different users all across the country and small business owners would be smart to benefit from this social media platform.

This app, on average, has about 500 million tweets posted daily, giving every user a large amount of information to filter through in a short amount of time. In addition, business owners should practice caution when filtering through the information they would like to use; as most times, it can be considered biased, inaccurate, or even sometimes hurtful. 

Did you know that 54% of Twitter’s audience are more likely to purchase new products. That’s a lot of people your business can reach with just using one social media platform! 

There are a couple of ways small businesses can use Twitter’s platform to their advantage:

1. Create a Twitter business profile and use the same information in your Twitter profile that you used in your Google Business profile, so your information is the most accurate and reliable for any user searching for your business. 
2. Use hashtags (#) – they can help filter the tweets that you post so that it reaches the intended audience.
3. Host and participate in conversations – While this can be an intimidating task, participating or striking up conversations with users can help build your customer base while also showing people that there is an actual person behind the brand. 
4. Create a goal to become a verified account – That little blue checkmark can put your business above the rest and give your business the credibility it needs to show users that you are the real deal. 

LinkedIn

Did you know that there are 58 million companies on LinkedIn and 810 million users total? That’s literally millions of opportunities to connect with users online.

LinkedIn is a platform for small businesses to connect with others and share important content with users. This is one of the top social media platforms business owners could use to promote their business while connecting with other businesses across the world. There are a couple of things business professionals can do to effectively use this platform: 

1. Create a company page
2. Create or join LinkedIn groups/pages that pertain to your business
3. Use Showcase pages on LinkedIn

When a business owner wants to create a company page they will want to add pertinent information for users who may be searching for a product or service you can provide. Make sure to select your business type – there are four to choose from – then add company details and the logo to present your brand to the public. 

Once you create your company profile, small businesses should join or create other groups that may pertain to their business or what they stand for. Social director at Online Optimism, Taylor Kincaid, said that LinkedIn groups are a great place to build an engaged community that is interested in what your company has to offer; simply understood, the more pages you create or join on LinkedIn make you more engaged within the community while users are engaged with your business. Remember, engagement with other users on LinkedIn is key!

Instagram

Did you know that 90% of Instagram users follow at least one business? That sounds like the perfect opportunity for small business owners to create a business page on the platform and start gaining some followers!

Instagram is a free app that lets people share photos and short videos with friends, family, and other users. Users can add filters, stickers, and other effects to their photos before posting them. The main thing small businesses can use Instagram for is to depict their business with engaging and high-quality content. There are a couple of ways small businesses can use Instagram to their advantage:

1. Set up an Instagram business account 
2. Add and optimize your link within the bio of your profile – The famous saying we have heard at one time or another, “the link is in my bio”. This is something small that businesses can do to connect their business directly to their social media. Users can easily click on the link in the bio so they can see the website and what they have to offer.
3. Use geotagging when posting – Every time a small business posts a picture or video pertaining to their products or services, they should add a geotag to the photo directly. (Important note: geotags only work if you have a physical location available)
4. Create and advertise highlights on your profile – See the example below to see how highlights are used for a business. Freddy’s has five different highlights they use to let users and customers know about different aspects of their business, so other businesses could benefit from using highlights to give users information about the business. 

YouTube

Did you know that YouTube has more than 2 billion users worldwide and drives more than 30 million daily visits? That makes it a great platform for small businesses looking to market with video content. 

There’s a lot of things a small business owner can do in regards to building a channel – creating and customizing videos, gaining followers and also promoting their brand; however, there’s not a lot of leeway in things you can do on the platform itself. YouTube is for users who want to create and promote video content specifically so use this platform to visually represent your brand to users all over the world. You never know, your channel can give users a sneak peek into the products or services you provide, and you might even be the answer they have been looking for!

If you want additional information on how to use YouTube for your small business, take a look at this helpful guide: https://www.headwaycapital.com/blog/amp/small-business-guide-to-youtube-marketing/ 

Pinterest

Did you know that advertisers can reach more than 200 million people on Pinterest? This gives small businesses the perfect opportunity to reach many different audiences using just one platform. Pinterest is essentially their own search engine that is a great way to boost organic search results to different websites.

Let’s ask ourselves some questions: Why is Pinterest a good social media platform to use? What is “Pinterest Marketing”?

Pinterest Marketing is a tactic used by businesses to create and promote social media marketing strategies in order to reach new audiences and grow brand awareness. This style of marketing helps businesses with three major goals:

1. Reaches a new audience 
2. Drives more traffic to your website or online store 
3. Encourages different conversions that your offer (newsletter, email list, purchases, etc.)

Pinterest, being a platform that shares primarily visual content, gives businesses the opportunity to represent their brand through the use of images and videos. Being able to describe your brand in words is easy, but learning how to depict your brand with visual graphics can be a challenging task. Here are some tips that you can use to better depict your brand through the use of visuals:

1. Make sure your images are available across different devices. Around 82% of Pinterest users browse the social media platform on their mobile devices so make sure the images you pin or post can be seen effectively on multiple devices (laptop, cell phone, etc.)
2. Consider image and video quality! Avoid pixelation and aim for the highest quality possible.
3. Create good descriptions to add context to your images! This can help improve SEO while also encouraging users to click on available links.
4. Branding is important but always make sure what you post or pin is tasteful! All content on your profile should be directly related to your brand or its message.
5. When posting, try switching between different formatted images (Images, short videos, and carousels)

“The great thing about social media was how it gave a voice to the voiceless” – Joe Ronson

Social media for small businesses is one way a business can promote their brand quickly and effectively to people all across the globe. Small businesses should take the time to create profiles and make engaging posts to help increase brand awareness and increase sales. Social media isn’t the only aspect that a small business should focus on but it’s the best way to make your business stand out. After all, users normally engage with brands they know so make sure that’s a goal you work towards!