All businesses, especially small businesses, must endeavor to understand and maximize their use of social media to grow their business.
While many business owners may be quick to dismiss social media as part of their marketing, social media offers almost many possibilities for engaging with customers – both existing and new.
Here are six ideas to get you started on maximizing your use of social media.
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- Run a Contest
One of the easiest ways to create buzz around your business is to run a contest on your social channels. Are you a restaurant? Ask your followers to choose the next dessert you add to your menu and offer the winner a free dinner. If you’re a local dog grooming business, ask for submissions for the cutest dog – winner gets a month’s worth of grooming services!
Running a contest will give you instant popularity on social channels among your already loyal fans and their friends. You don’t have to give away much and you stand to gain a lot by getting people excited about your business and the potential of winning.
- Get Reviews
Positive reviews are crucial for small businesses. Local businesses such as restaurants, coffee shops and auto shops can benefit from the endorsement of happy customers.
Encourage your customers to leave positive reviews about your business on social platforms like Yelp, Google+ or Facebook. Reviews will go a long way in helping you gain new business. It even matters when it comes to ranking for local searches.
- Give Something Away
Everyone loves freebies. An easy way to get people in the door is to give something away. We’re not saying give the house away – just something to get people to get excited about your business.
If you’re a local yogurt shop give free yogurt to the first 25 people who show up for a special event or date. If it’s a holiday, give something away for those showing true holiday spirit. A restaurant or bar? Free appetizer with drink purchase.
The opportunities are endless. A small giveaway will get people in the door and get them to spend.
- Provide Exclusive Offers
A great way to keep your followers and fans engaged is to provide them a reason to keep coming back to your website or social profiles. Providing exclusive offers for Facebook fans or the like is an instant way to reward your fans and followers. Not only will they continue to be loyal, but they will continue to be long-time customers.
Offer special coupon codes or products just for your social followers and you’ll soon start growing your reach on social platforms.
- Encourage Sharing
There’s no better testimonial than a happy customer enjoying your product or service. Encourage your customers to share their experience with your business or product on social media.
If you’re a local shoe boutique, encourage your customers to share photos of their new purchases. A hair salon? How about that great new haircut? A restaurant? How about that awesome burger photo?
Great engagement with your existing customers is a great way to let other potential customers know just how much your customers love your service or product.
- Say Thanks
Your customers are the reason you’re in business. Thank them every opportunity you can! Share handwritten thank you notes or say thanks to your customers for an anniversary or successful event.
Show customers you appreciate them thanking them when they leave a positive review about your business or products or when they share their satisfaction with your services or products with friends. Not only will they feel great about doing business with you, but everyone on social media will see it too!
Social Media for Business – Unlimited Possibilities
Social media offers business owners a multitude of opportunities to engage, endorse, and encourage future purchases and customers. Rather than shying away from social media, small businesses should embrace social media as one of the greatest and most inexpensive tools for reaching new customers and building loyalty.
These six strategies are just the beginning of what you can do with social media!
