Andrew Exler Consulting + Growth10: Why Your Business Should Be On Social Media
What do you think when you hear about social media? Do you immediately think about the benefits social media provides to individuals & businesses or do you often think about people who say they are on social media too much and need to take a temporary social media hiatus? Just as the internet could be a dark, scary place, there are many positives to the internet. The same goes for social media, especially as it relates to your business.
In partnership with Growth10 (G10), I was thrilled to spend a quick 10-minutes with Co-Founder, Tom Healy, discussing why businesses need to be on social media. Growth10 is the #1 community for entrepreneurs and as their mission states, Growth10 wants to help entrepreneurs grow faster and have a greater impact on the world. As part of your G10 membership, you will be providing a needs-based scholarship for an entrepreneur to be in the G10 Community. I am a proud member & contributor of the Growth10 community and I invite you to test it out with a 7-day free trial! You won’t regret it!
If I asked you right now to think of your favorite major brands you could quickly search and find their social media pages across various platforms with top quality marketing, graphics & consistent engagement. However, if I asked you if you’ve seen your favorite small business on social media, what would you say? Have you seen the local mom & pop shop in your neighborhood on Facebook or are you realizing that you only know about them because you grew up in the area? Social media is just as important to small, local businesses as it is to the corporate giants.
Here’s why:
Meet Your Target Market Where They Are
Listen, It’s 2020. RIGHT NOW is the time to increase your brand awareness & meet consumers where they are, online. Physical mailings and in-person promotion are wonderful but if you aren’t online giving your consumers a 24/7 chance to interact with your business in some capacity, you are missing a major opportunity.
Crisis Communication
At minimum, an online presence is a NEED, not a WANT when an emergency arises. Though the definition of a “crisis” significantly varies from business to business, you need to be able to communicate things on the fly with minimal barriers. It is much easier to post to a live-feed on a platform like Facebook or Instagram than to send an email and hope people open it.
Humanize Your Brand
Did you know there is a real human (or multiple) behind the accounts of your favorite businesses? I’m only half-kidding because some people forget to humanize their brands. You don’t want to be a robot. How is a robot going to interact with consumers and create special relationships to assist in driving sales & engagements? This is very industry-dependent, but a major key to developing your businesses social media is to have a personality and stay consistent with it. Are you a fun & joking personality that your followers love or are you a serious personality that provides important information on an as-needed basis? Is it possible to be both?
Market Research + Understanding Your Competitors
Being on social media gives you the chance to keep an eye on your competition. This does not mean you take exactly what they are doing successfully and copy it, but it’s not always necessary to recreate the wheel. Ask yourself a few things when eyeing your competitors:
What are they doing that works and how can you compare?
Where do you know you have the advantage and how can you capitalize on that advantage?
Your answers to those questions will give you a natural step-ahead over those who do not have a well-established online presence.
Partnership Opportunities
The beauty of social media is that while you can keep an eye on your competition, you can also create cross-promotions to benefit yourself and other local businesses that you love! What better way to enhance your brand than to partner with other local businesses to support each other? Maybe you own a flower shop and provide flowers for storefronts in exchange for a service they offer or you are a restaurant providing meals to a local marketing agency who assists in running your website. Next, you can share and promote your partnership across your social media platforms to engage your partners audience & expand your reach.
Know Your Audience
One of my favorite things about having my business on social media is being able to engage directly with my audience and see what they are up to. What better chance to engage personally with your favorite customers or clients? Did one of your regulars just post that they had a baby? Send them a nice note or small gift to show your appreciation. Send a birthday wish their way. Do you have a loyal client who has been with you since day 1? Now is your chance to recognize them in your “client of the month” post! Utilize the power of social media to directly engage with your target audience.
These are just a few small but important things to consider when asking yourself, “why should my business be on social media?”. Do you want to enhance your social media presence for your business? Contact me today!
- Andrew