Top 10 Reasons Why Small Business Owners Need Social Media

In this latest instalment of my Expert Series I am delighted to welcome Jason Ramsey as a guest with his thoughts on why small business owners should be actively involved in social media.

You can find out more about Jason, a man with a passion for business and social media, by connecting with him on Twitter, Google+, Linkedin and Facebook.

Top 10 Reasons Why Small Business Owners Need Social Media

Many people know that there are many benefits to using social media, but most people don’t. Statistics of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and now Google + users continue to grow daily. Most of these people are individuals though, not businesses.  New ways to establish your brand as an authority in your niche don’t come along very often. This is why social media is great way to help you grow your business.

It all boils down to making the decision to do it. Once you do that, then you can commit to a plan of action and really start the learning process about what social media can do for your business. If you’re still having trouble trying to decide, you should read the rest of this post to see 10 great reasons why you should start using social media in your business today.

1. Social Media is Easy

Social media can be accessed from anywhere. You can promote your business while sitting in the doctor’s office, in the line for lunch, or while you wait to pick your kids up from school straight from your phone. Take pictures or video on your phone as products go through your plant, and upload them instantly to sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Give customers fresh insight on what happens behind the scenes on the product they are buying from you. When you put something on the internet for your customers to see it doesn’t need to have hours of editing, or lots of dollars spent on production, the main goal here is to be original and represent your brand in a positive way. Most customers feel under produced content is more honest when it is uploaded to these sites.

2. It’s Free

These two words are music to a business owners ears. Of course, we all know by now not many things in life are free, and social media is no different. Perhaps a better way to put it would be to say that you don’t have to go out and hire a consultant or worse a firm to run your businesses social media account. Most small businesses already have employees that are using social media.

They can be utilized to help you learn how to use the different sites out there. You can also let them help you post the things you want to gain more visibility about your business. This empowers your workers and makes them feel even more part of the team. The main thing to remember is that you want to find the voice for your brand and make sure if you have multiple people posting to your business account that they are all on the same page. Be careful and don’t over delegate. To get the best engagement YOU must stay involved as well.

3. Anyone Can Do It

Don’t be misled by the so called “experts” out there. You don’t need years of experience in marketing or a college degree in advertising, although both of those would be nice, to do social media marketing.

All you need is a willingness to learn, and the time each day to really engage with other real people on the sites your using to promote your business. You’ll be surprised how fast people take an interest in your business, when they find out you will share things and really interact with them.

4. It’s The Future

When you wrote your business plan, I’m sure it contained things that you predicted would happen in the future. We make best estimates, and try to come up with real numbers. This can be applied here as well. Regardless of who says social media is a fad, the people are saying otherwise.

Google + opened up this summer and signed up 5 million users the first week! No one can argue this point when you see that Facebook served a trillion page views during the month of June alone, according to Google, which released data last week. No matter what your business is, if you want to be around 5 years from now, you will start using social media.

5. Make More Business to Business Relationships

Ever wonder how certain people always find the best connections? Go online and you’ll see. Visit LinkedIn and browse some people in your field, chances are there are many people you’ve never met that may show you a way to make your product better. You’ve heard the saying “it’s more about who you know, than what you know”.

It may not be true all the time, but it is sometimes. You need to be meeting more people who share common interests in your industry, and you need to meet them now, not tomorrow. You never know who can give you a better deal on something you’re already buying.

6. Your Customers Are Already There

We all have something to sell, and no matter what it is, people who want to buy it are using social media. There are millions of eyes on these sites every day. Why not engage them? There may be people out there that will never become a customer unless they see you are a forward thinking business.

I had a friend who owns his own photography company tell me just the other day that a new client made sure he had a Facebook page before she hired him. She said that she knew if he didn’t, that she wouldn’t even consider his work for this project. Everyone needs new customers, no matter where they come from.

7. Give Your Company a Voice

I talk with business owners all the time, and most of them are great people that run fantastic companies. Chances are, even some of their existing customers don’t know that. Ask yourself these questions.

Do we have good customer service? Do our customers know we appreciate them? Do our customers know we enjoy serving them? If you’re unsure about any of these you need to start using social media. It lets you tell your businesses story in your own words, and have conversations about it with prospects that could become customers.

8. Gain a Competitive Advantage

Do you have competitors? Are they using social media? Are they good at it? Have you even checked? If you want to compete, especially in small business, you need every advantage possible, and you don’t need me to tell you that.

If your competition is using social media and you aren’t, I guarantee they are getting new customers that you aren’t, period. If they aren’t using it yet, they will be, so why not go ahead and establish your business as the leader in these online communities?

9. You Can Add Value to Your Product or Service

Have you ever bought something, and then had a problem but couldn’t get an email answered or talk to a real person on the phone? I’m sure no one reading this has that issue with their own business, but your new customer doesn’t know that. When someone is considering buying something from you, it gives them a sense of security when they know they can go online and publicly leave a comment or post something about your company.

When they see your business is socially connected they feel like you have nothing to hide. Plus, you can give them tips about to how to use your products, on sites they are already spending time. This will make your product or service more valuable to your customer.

10. There is Always More to Learn

The only people who stop learning are the ones who already know it all. Do you know any of those people? I think we all do. Please don’t be one of them. If a business owner ever tells you “well, this is the way we’ve done things for years”, be scared for them. Nothing ever stays the same; it’s a fundamental law in this universe. Things are either getting better, or they are getting worse.

I know you want them to get better. One way to ensure that is to engage in social media, and I mean really engage. Meet people who can help you continue to learn about the ever changing marketplace. Take what you learn, apply it, and odds are your business will thrive. Social media can be hard work, but it can also be rewarding beyond what you could ever imagine, so start setting up accounts, and get your business noticed in a good way!

Many thanks to Jason for his informative post. What do you think? Should social media have a place in the plans of every small businesses? What have your experiences been like and what advice do you have for business owners. We would love to hear your thoughts!

Jason is a small business owner with a passion for social media, and helping other small business owners achieve their goals. He has worked in the beauty and fashion industry for the past 8 years and helps people going through hair loss on a daily basis. He is also co-founder  at Wig Superstore.com. If you’d like to connect with him on twitter he is @Jason__Ramsey. He also also writes about beauty, fashion, and hair for the Wig Superstore Blog .

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