Social media has changed the way small businesses engage with customers, promote their products and increase brand awareness, but many small businesses still shy away from an online presence. Here are a few quick and easy strategies to get your small businesses some buzz and even sales online.
Start Small
Building an online presence takes time, and while it might seem like a daunting task, the sooner you get started the easier it will be. Every business needs some kind of web presence, whether it’s a website, a blog, a Facebook page or all of the above.
Boost Your Online Presence
Once your small business is up and running on a few social platforms the next challenge is attracting web traffic. While blogs and social media accounts will help customers who are already familiar with your business engage and connect with it more easily, however, it will not help you find new customers. You will need to invest in search engine optimisation (SEO).
Engage With Your Online Community
Now that your business has traffic on its social media channels it’s important that the messaging is consistent and aligned with the business’s values, culture and brand identity. Social media is a great reputation management tool, allowing brands to keep an eye on what users say about their business. When customers ask a question or leave comments, be sure to answer in a timely manner. If consumers leave complaints, address them politely, thank users for their input and consider their opinion moving forward.
Turning Followers into Customers
Building a strong online following is important for branding and promotion, but in order to really get the most out of social media small businesses need to turn those followers into active customers. The best way to do that online is through an eCommerce store. Online stores give consumers a way to quickly and easily move from a social media page to an online checkout page. It also allows companies to make sales 24/7, even outside of the office environment. Having a mobile eCommerce store will even allow consumers to shop on the go.
Companies like Fly High Media specialise in helping small businesses and start-ups with limited budgets market their services and products using social media.
