“Does my small business need social media?”
If you have asked yourself this question, you are thinking in the right direction. Honestly, sometimes the answer is no. Most of the time? The Grass Roots Media team strongly believes answer is YES.
{are you really surprised?}
Allow us to explain. In the past we have shared that social media is like one giant party - a party where your customers, clients, and competition are spending their time. So why should YOUR small business show up at this social media party?
1. Proof of life
When you show up to the social media party, people know you and your business is alive, relevant and well. Though social media does NOT define the validity of your small business, if potential customers don’t know you exist or can’t find a digital footprint online, it is easy for them to perceive that the business and what they offer is dated or inactive.
2. Low cost opportunity to connect with your past, present, potential and NEW customers
Introvert or extrovert - love it or hate it - as a business, this digital party can be a simple way to engage in two-way conversations with past, present and potential customers. Use your time on social media to share your brand, tell your story, share your messages, build relationships, and to learn about others and how you can work together.
Additionally, think about this: when you are at an event and you see a trusted friend positively engaging with someone, you automatically trust that person a bit more. The same goes with the social media party. If an individual connects with your content, some of their friends can automatically see that connection resulting in an easy, affordable way to connect with new customers.
3. Ease of taking the relationship to the next level.
So you have shown up at the party and are mingling. You introduce yourself to someone and after hearing what you do, they say, “Oh yeah, I have heard about you before! I totally meant to give you a call.” Now, rather than simply being a name in the back recesses of their memory, your business has a face and regular reminders about you and what you offer. You are able to create a deeper connection to an audience you’ve never been able to access before digital marketing.
4. Opportunity to tell your story - with and without words
When someone shows up to a real-life-party, everything they wear, act, or says tells a little about their story.
The same goes for your social presence - your photos, how you engage with others, your tone of voice online, how often you post, and what you choose to post about. It all tells a story about you and your brand.
5. You can conduct valuable research
If you show up to a real-life-party, you can quickly understand what people are interested in by what they have to ask and how they respond to you and your stories.
The same goes for social media. Now, don’t be scared off by this. This is a great space to gather valuable business insight. What are people responding to? What do they like/dislike? What is your competition doing? You can use this knowledge for future business decisions.
Nervous about how to deal with trolls and people who share negative reviews about your business? Watch this space. We will share more about that in the coming weeks.
If you are still unsure if social media is right for you, be sure to give us a squawk for a free 30-minute chat with Chelsea to learn if social media is the best fit for you and your small business!
Trista Burn is an American-born-Kiwi-by-marriage communications specialist.
A dairy farmer’s daughter and a legacy deeply rooted in ag, Trista firmly believes in the value of agvocating for the primary industries and sharing their stories with consumers. In other words - the heartbeat of GRM.
Other fun facts about Trista, is she was the Washington State Dairy Princess and Ambassador for a year. Yes, tiara, banner and all #soamerican. Home made Apple Pie, Mexican food, soft chocolate chip cookies and coffee are the way to her heart. She is NOT a dog lover but one affectionate GSP pup named Harry has wiggled his way into her heart and she’s not sure how that happened.
