3 Reasons Why Small Businesses Need Social Media

You run a small business. And maybe it's just you. You're the accountant, cashier, stocker, manager--the jack of all trades. And you know else that makes you? The marketer for your business. But marketing isn't your thing: running a business is. And you've found success letting your business grow naturally. So, as the one wearing too many hats already, why look at alternate marketing tactics? But that is exactly why small businesses need social media. Specifically, that is why your small business needs to include social media in your marketing plan.

Answer this question honestly: what is the best way to spread information about your small business?

If your answer is, in fact, "word of mouth," you fit in well with 85% of other small business owners.

And you would not be wrong! Word of mouth is a powerful tool for businesses because people are more likely to purchase a product from a company they know, and hearing positive information from a trusted source brings them one step closer to knowing your business. Plus, it's organic.

So if it has work this far, why knock it? Why try something new?

Because those 85% of small business owners view word of mouth as their best marketing tactic.

That leaves a lot of space in the marketing world of small businesses open for you. And social media is a really natural extension to word of mouth marketing. It doesn't take much to get started, and a well-implemented plan doesn't cost you much time and also doesn't have to cost you a dime.

There are plenty of reasons why small businesses need social media, but let's dive into three big ones.

Give people a platform to praise.

Social media is the next step in a word of mouth marketing strategy.

(And, by the way, that is what you are working with right now: a word of mouth marketing strategy. It sounds like a scary word, but you're doing it right now! You've strategized at any level of thought about how you want to market your business and implemented it. So--way to go! Go you!)

By putting content online, you are giving your raving fans a chance to let people know that you are pretty dang great.

When you start social media or want to grow your audience, let people who like you know that you're online. Post signs in your physical location and include it in your email newsletter. As a small business owner, your sphere is also really important. So let people you have personal connections with know you're online. It's the first step to getting people on your social media who will make themselves known as your raving fans.

Your audience doesn't have to be huge. Even if it's just a few dozen folks and every post gets one like and one comment, it is a start. Even if that comment is just your grandma letting you know you're great, it is a start.

This is the beginning of your social proof.

This is basically letting people know that your product or service is great because other people think it is.

So, as you start to build your audience and start posting content about what you do or what you sell, you will start to see engagement from your raving fans. This is the part where it becomes a natural extension from word of mouth marketing: you are giving people a platform to praise you.

These people are already talking about you. They are telling others about you. So, by giving them a platform to use their voice, you are putting their validating comments in front of people who are already interested in your business because they are already looking at your content.

So if people are ready to talk about your business, let them do it in front of everyone who is far enough in their purchase decision to be researching your business.

(Also, these people most likely would never have met in person! So letting these raving fans broadcast their praise to hundreds or thousands of strangers is a huge reason why small businesses need social media.)

Organically grow your reach.

As you start to rack up comments on your posts--because we know that you have raving fans and you are posting content they want to engage with--you will start to expand your reach.

Facebook runs on an algorithm that shows stories to people's friends who they 1) engage with often and 2) interact with similar things.

So let's say you are running a page for your restaurant and you post about food, but your only followers are a few dozen friends and family members. When you post the photo of your new dish and your cousin Sally comments on it, even something as simple as, "Yum!" that post will now show up in her friends' newsfeeds.

So that friend whom she is constantly messaging? Your food is in front of her. Her friend who interacts with other restaurant pages? He gets to see your spaghetti. And that is probably the most powerful thing about social media: it puts your posts in front of people like to engage with it.

(Reminder: Facebook is a business and you are their client, even though you are not paying to use it. You pay with your information, your time, and your clicks. Every time you click on something, Facebook is able to better identify what you want to interact with which means they can better target you with ads. And they make money when you click on an ad. The real estate of your timeline is scarce, your attention is short and easily pulled away, and they need to keep you engaged. So Facebook's goal is to always put content in front of people who want to engage with it. Which is great for you!)

Give your brand a voice.

Your audience is growing--congratulations! By regularly posting engaging content and encouraging likes, comments, and shares, you've begun to organically reach more and more people. Your followers are starting to subconsciously know and recognize something about your business: your brand voice.

Your brand voice is the way your business is known by people. And it has a really big impact on who is following you.

Does your brand speak encouragement and positivity?

Does your brand speak with wit and sarcasm?

Does your brand speak informationally?

Think about people you know in your life: they all have a unique way of being. Some people are naturally witty and sarcastic, some are naturally abundantly loving, and some are naturally very encouraging. These natural ways of being are what draws people to one another.

Brands also have these ways of being, although they are less natural. Often, a business's voice is shaped deeply by the owners, employees, and culture.

Think about well known brands like Chick Fil A, known for an abundance of politeness and kindness. Their social media speaks to this.

Think about a brand like Wendy's, known as being a sass master on Twitter. Their writer is witty and sarcastic, but it works for them.

What do these voices do for these brands? They help foster a community of raving fans. They help personify the brand and encourage people to relate to it.

You have a leg up in this because you are a small business who likely already has a some kind of reputation. For someone like a real estate agent or a lawyer, their approach may be to come across as a "no-nonsense, I will fight for you" persona, whereas a child's daycare would probably want to come at it more along the lines of educational and encouraging. Alternatively, they know they are marketing to parents, so they might try to be witty to appeal to tired moms.

Whatever brand voice you decide is best and most natural for your business, it will help people connect with your brand. And there is immense power in a brand relationship.

Social media is a hugely beneficial tool for building that relationship because it allows you to speak directly to your clients and customers.

There are so many reasons why small businesses need social media, so why aren't you utilizing it?

You have this incredible tool available for free at your fingertips to reach more people and build brand relationships. And your peers are not utilizing it because they are not investing their time to read about what could benefit their business. They aren't investing their time to know why small businesses need social media.

They are trusting traditional word of mouth marketing. They aren't taking it to the next level.

But you can.

Because now you know.

So get started today.