5 Reasons Small Organizations Need Social Media
With so many different outlets and formats, creating a social media strategy can feel overwhelming. Before writing it off, it’s important to consider the benefits and opportunities afforded to you through social media. Here are 5 reasons small organizations should use social media:
Exposure: If your website is your digital storefront, social media is your highway billboard. It gives your passive audience the chance to subtly drive by and get an idea of who you are and what you do before committing to a purchase.
Social media is your opportunity to quickly share your contact information, put a face to your name through images, develop your brand personality, share local events, and more. Consider each channel valuable real estate that allows you to quickly and efficiently build awareness among your target audience.
- Engagement: Social media is inherently relationship-based. In contrast to the one-sided nature of your website, social media creates an opportunity to dialogue with your customers. As the saying goes, “people buy from people!” Consider each one of your social media outlets an opportunity to engage with customers and authentically share your personality and values.
By asking and answering questions in your posts, responding to direct messages, or using hashtags to reach new audiences, your customers receive the warm digital handshake needed to solidify your trust-based relationship with them. - Education: Continuing on the value of engagement, social media creates an opportunity to both educate and learn from your customers. Within a social network, customers are able to directly share their feedback and experience with you in a way that provides valuable qualitative data you won’t get anywhere else. Educate yourself by interacting directly with your target audience! Learn what they value and are seeking in goods and services. You’ll be surprised at the compliments and constructive criticism you might receive through your social media channels.In a crowded marketplace, it’s getting much more challenging to get someone to respond and share candid feedback with you from online surveys. Seek to learn from your customers on social media so you understand what does or does not resonate with them in the buying cycle.You can also educate your customers on the value of your product or service by consistently sharing high-quality, informative content. Don’t miss this informal opportunity to spread knowledge and awareness about your cause or your brand. You can also share curated news from other outlets that might interest your customers and further add value to them.
- Efficiency: Have you ever received a coupon booklet in the mail, full of offers from businesses you’ve never heard of nor are interested in? It could be a discount from the neighborhood mattress store or an offer to clean your air ducts… regardless, the odds of one of those coupons being a service you need at that particular moment are slim to none.In contrast, social media is a highly efficient way to target customers that are most qualified to make a purchase from you at some point. This is all thanks to advanced data and targeting techniques available through social media. You can fine-tune your target audience based on demographics, location, past purchase behavior, website searches, and more to make the best use of your time and money.With targeted ads, you’re not just throwing money into the wind and hoping it sticks. You’re offering a product or service to your audience that is relevant and valuable to them. Ads don’t necessarily have to be a product promotion; you can also use this valuable space for lead generation. Introduce yourself to prospective customers by offering a free trial of your product, a download of your most popular ebook, an invitation to a webinar, etc.
- Competitive Edge: As a small organization, gaining awareness is just half the battle; setting yourself apart from others in your industry is a whole other challenge. Social media gives you the opportunity to communicate who you are in a way that further establishes and strengthens your brand among your target audience. Consistently sharing updates, quotes, powerful images, and more keeps your audience excited and engaged with your business or service.
Unlike large corporations, you are able to authentically connect with your customers and share the unique attributes of your brand. Let’s use nail salons as an example. There might be one hundred nail salons in a 20-mile radius; the one that goes outside of its bubble to connect with customers and communicate its professionalism, high-quality products, and more is more likely to gain long-term customers than one that stays impersonal and limits itself to street-level exposure.
An active social presence also builds your credibility. If you have a Facebook page but haven’t updated it since 2015, that’s a red light for many first-time customers. In contrast, consistently updating your social media sites shows that you are interested and engaged with your business and your customers. Even in the most saturated industries, social media can help differentiate one small business from another in many different ways.
All said, we know that social media can be an overwhelming aspect of business management. We encourage you to not let the intimidation factor prevent you from reaping the benefits of social!
Click here to learn more about selecting the right social media outlet for your target market, effective content planning for social, scheduling ideas, and more.