Your Business Needs a Social Media Presence

Times are a-changin' folks! I don’t know if you’ve heard, but radio advertisements and newspaper columns are not how people get the word out anymore. Social media is where it’s at. Most people get their daily news, pop culture updates, and funny cat video fix through social media. In fact, the average person spends 147 minutes on social media every day (Source: Statista). That’s over two hours! (Admit it, you’ve lost track of time doing the never-ending scrolling too) It is for this reason that establishing a social media presence for your business is a must.

Don't be like grandma! Get with the changing times and start marketing your business on social media!

Here are the three main reasons why having a social media presence will help your business succeed in the long run:

• Brings you directly to the target market

  • Social media algorithms are getting smarter by the day, putting content that individual users are most likely to enjoy right in front of their eyes. Even without paid ads, you will be able to reach your ideal consumer base through the strategic use of social media

• Creates community and personifies the brand

  • Often times brands become islands when they push out content without engaging with their audience. Social media gives your company a chance to open a dialogue with customers, potential and existing, to do things like answer questions and start conversations.

• IT'S FREE

  • Yup, you read that right. Creating a social media account costs zero dollars. And contrary to what you may have heard, you do not have to pay for ads to get the word our. With the right hashtags, posting times, and engagement tactics, you can generate considerable organic growth.

Why haven't you made a social media account for your business yet??

Since people are on social media anyway, you may as well use it to your advantage to get the word out about your business. Think of it like this: Say you are an avocado farmer (call be a textbook Zellenial, but it was the first thing that came to mind) with one of those stands by the road. You could put a lot of effort into making a fancy sign with bright colors and pretty fonts. You could decorate your avocado stand with those cute string lights and a pretty canopy. You could shout “AVOCADOS FOR SALE” at each car that passes by until you lose your voice. But even though you are using all those resources, you would probably only attract a couple of customers a day. Why? Because no one was looking for avocados on the side of the road. Not enough people were driving by to appreciate the sign and the string lights. In other words, you were putting your efforts into something that no one would see. That’s how many traditional marketing strategies work (sort of). They throw out a huge net hoping to catch just a couple fish. Though that may be what you're comfortable with, it is a waste of precious resources.

Social media, on the other hand, allows you to reach your ideal customer directly. It’s like if your avocado stand could magically pop up in front of every house with a twenty-something making avocado toast or a soccer mom preparing guacamole for Taco Tuesday. You are bringing your message to the people who want, or even need, to hear it. And the best part is, it's free. Creating an account, posting regular content, engaging with potential customers, and partnering with other businesses does not cost you anything (other than time, but something's gotta give, right?) As your social media accounts become established, you (and your friendly neighborhood social media expert *points at self) can decide if paid advertisements are the right move. But just to be clear, you do not have to pay for ads to succeed on social media.

So there you have, a brief yet hopefully understandable explanation on how your business could benefit from having a social media presence. If you found this article helpful or have any question or comments, please leave them down below! I'd love to start a conversation with all you cool cats and kittens. See you next week!