If you’ve been running your own business for a while without using social media of any kind and you’ve been doing just fine, you might be thinking, why would I want to be on any of that now if I haven’t needed it before? And while it’s true that many businesses have done ‘just fine’ without engaging at all on any social media platforms, there is more to social media than meets the eye. In fact, social media used correctly can help to grow your business in ways that might even surprise you! Read on to find out the 5 ways that social media can be used as a strategic tool for your business:

Sharing, sharing, sharing!

People love to share everything on their social media accounts, from pictures of their food, to accounts of their most favorite business-transactions, so simply by having a presence on the social media accounts that your base is primarily located on, you dramatically increase the scope of ways your customers have of sharing what they like about you to their friends and family. The more that people associate positive images with your brand and see people sharing your brand, your business will continue to grow as a result.

Feedback opportunities 

When you have social media accounts that allow your customers to engage with you and leave feedback about their interactions with your business and product, it creates a positive and useful dynamic that was hard to have without social media. Moreover, by encouraging your customers to leave comments and feedback, the trust they have in your business will increase as you respond timely to those feedback comments.

Grow your reputation in the industry 

Let’s face it; word gets around fast on social media (both good and bad), so if you have something positive to share about your business, say some really inspiring customer testimonials that get shared throughout the Facebook community for example, you’d be surprised by how much of an impact that can have on your brand’s reputation.

Ideal way to showcase your products and services

There are few better ways to showcase the handwork and dedication you put into your products than through social media channels, like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. This is for a variety of reasons, but for now let’s focus on the simple fact that these outlets allow you to get a picture or a video of your product or service in front of potentially thousands of people in less than 30 seconds! With a simple picture that you take from your phone, you can craft a unique message to a targeted audience with the goal of engaging them on a certain topic. Strategies like these repeated over time are proven to grow businesses of every size.

Everything happens online, so get involved!

Social media gives you such a variety of ways to interact with and connect to your clients and customers, and with the amount of purchasing that people do online today, it’s safe to say that most of the people on social media platforms are familiar with online shopping and researching companies online. That’s why it’s vital for your company to be engaged online on the social media platforms where your customer base/audience is currently spending their time.

Similarly, social media makes it easier for customers to purchase directly from your company while using their accounts. Take for example, Facebook’s, ‘buy now’ button that allows for customers to make a purchase directly off the Facebook page of the business they are visiting with their saved credit card information on their computer or phone. And the technology only continues to advance each year in terms of how engaged customers can become with businesses they support!

Written by Cassie Sohn