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Making Social Media Work for Your Business
by Grace Northrop
Posted: Jun 02, 2017
Posted: Jun 02, 2017
Today’s consumers are increasingly using social media and search to establish ‘relationships’ with businesses, research products and ultimately make buying decisions. Businesses that are seeing results are adding resources to their online marketing plans to connect with this audience and boost revenues. A recent study found that 94% of small businesses use social media as a marketing tool and 81% use it to to drive growth. As social media replaces word-of-mouth marketing, it is critical for small businesses to integrate a social media plan into their overall marketing strategies. Consider the following:
- 80% of internet users visit social media sites and blogs
- 70% of people trust online reviews by strangers
- 90% of people trust online reviews by people they know
- 89% of consumers expect businesses to have a website, regardless of size
- 97% of consumers search for local businesses online
- 90% of mobile searchers took action within 24 hours
- 61% called a local business after searching online
- Which social media channels should your business be on?
- How can you leverage your mailing lists to drive business on social media?
- Should your business have a blog?
- How does social media drive revenue?
- How will social media integrate with your existing marketing plan?
- Inns and B&Bs use Facebook advertising to target specific demographics. For example, a small inn could advertise to have a promotion appear on the news feeds of women between ages 35-60, who live within 500 miles of Pittsburgh area, and who are interested in ‘travel’ or ‘bed and breakfast.’
- Restaurants and cafes use Twitter to identify when someone is using specific keywords near their store. For example, a restaurant could target people within a 5 mile radius, who mention the word ‘hungry’ or ‘lunch,’ responding directly to that person with a special or recommendation.
- Retail stores use Pinterest to set up a visually appealing portfolio of their products, taking advantage of ‘Rich Pins’ to drive people directly to their website for purchase. Merchants also add ‘PinIt’ buttons on products right on their website, enabling customers to easily Pin products to their personal ‘wish lists.’
Grace can be bribed with pepperoni rolls and frozen Cokes. Grace has been with the the Reimagine team since 2013. She enjoys learning about all different types of businesses and helping them progress on their digital journey.