Why is social media so important to your small business?

Social media marketing remains the easiest and cheapest way to promote your business and introduce yourself to potential clients. It’s become the indicator of “success” for many business owners. But why? When did we give our measurement of success over to an algorithm we don’t understand? 

Let’s take a look.

When you start your own business, you’re constantly told to “post about it on social media”, but nobody tells you why. It’s the one bit of advice that isn’t very helpful when you’re already feeling overwhelmed.

The truth is, it’s not about becoming an influencer. It’s about growing your audience. It’s about getting your message in front of your target audience. It’s the top level for your sales funnel that gets your message in front of a large number of people who can begin to travel down the know -> like -> trust path.

On average, it takes 7 points of contact before someone remembers your name. It can take up to 21 points of contact before they understand what you do, and up to 49 (!) points of contact before they trust you enough to buy from you.

49 touch points with someone before they are ready to buy sounds ludicrous! It sounds like an impossible task to a new business owner. How on earth are you to achieve that simply, quickly, and effectively so that you can get that much-needed cash flowing into your business?!

The answer is simple: regular and consistent posting on social media. 

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Most of us will, at some point in our lives, have created at least one post on social media. Whether it’s sharing a meme with our friends, or checking in at the pub, or ranting about something that has annoyed us. The problem that most people have is not “how” to post, it’s the why behind the post. We know we need to post with purpose, but our brains throw up all the reasons why we can’t.

When you start your business, each post suddenly becomes a business marketing decision, and we apply a lot of pressure to ourselves, because now every post has the potential to earn us customers, but it also has the potential to turn customers away. That’s the last thing we want, right?

It’s a daunting task!

That’s where I can come in. It’s my job to help make all of that seem so simple… because social media marketing should be simple, easy and effective. Think about how many people already like you; your friends, your family, your (now ex) colleagues… They like you because they got to know you. 

That’s what social media marketing is all about: helping more people get to know you online so that they can like you, trust you and buy from you. It builds your connections so that people recommend you because they trust you and allows you to “get your name out there” (which is a really nonsensical phrase in my opinion).

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Just like many small business owners will discover how essential networking is when they first start out, getting your social media marketing right is the best thing you can do to grow your business reputation. 

Social media marketing is essential for businesses; it can be the key to unlocking your next client. Let’s face it, we all want more customers, more business, and to grow our reputation. The most effective way we can do that is to use social media marketing.

If you’re a business owner looking to grow online, what’s holding you back from using social media?