5 Reasons Your Local Business Should Use Social Media

It’s 2012, do you know where your customers are? The days of billboard and direct mail are fading fast. Even television ads are taking a hit. Social media is now the most crucial part of the savvy consumer’s  life and should be a major part of every business’ marketing plan.

Social media is connecting people and businesses in ways previously unimagined. For good or for bad, it is becoming the driving force of the internet and the world. So, let’s go through a few reasons your business should capitalize on the benefits of social media.

1. Social Media Numbers Are Exploding

Facebook boasts over 800 million users, 300,000 new Twitter accounts are created everyday and YouTube boasts more than 2 billion page view per day. And the numbers keep increasing. 69% of American adults use Social Media on a regular basis. If that’s where your customers are, that’s where your business needs to be.

2. Customers Check Social Media Before Making Buying Decisions

When mothers are looking for a doctor or dentist referral, they no longer look in the yellow pages. Instead, they put out a question on Facebook or Twitter. The answers that they get from their friends influences whether or not they go with a particular business or brand.

56% of consumers say that they are more likely recommend a brand after becoming a fan on Facebook. Your presence on social media will influence and boost the word of mouth recommendations your business receives.

3. Customers are Ignoring Old and Traditional Forms of Marketing.

Nobody is looking at your billboard anymore. These days, customers are reading their texts and social media sites while they drive. They are not even looking at the road, much less at the billboards! Everyone now has TiVo and DVR and they are fast-forwarding through all the commercials. Technology is changing how customers interact with businesses. The average person spends 55 minutes on Facebook at day. If your page is in their news feed, guess what? They are looking at you!

4. Social Media Keeps You In Constant Contact With Your Customers

One of the biggest challenges with a website is how to get people to come and take a look at all the awesome stuff you have on it. With social media, this problem is taken care of. Your customers are already on Facebook and Twitter, so all you have to do is get them to like your Facebook page or follow you on Twitter and you can be in constant contact with them, reminding them why they should do business with you.

5. Social Media Helps You Know What Your Customers Are Thinking

After sitting down to a meal at a restaurant, customers are posting their thoughts on service and quality on social media sites complete with pictures. With social media you can find out the temperature of the market and how customers or potential customers feel about your brand or business.

In the past, these discussions took place in living rooms where you were not privy to what customers were saying about you. Now, customers are expressing how they feel about your brand on social media networks where you can listen in and even join in and respond to concern. Not only that, you can thank and reward loyal customers if they put in a good word for you.

What Next?

Is your business maximizing the power of social media? Have questions about social media? Leave me a comment!