Importance of Social Media Marketing for Your Local Business

Importance of Social Media Marketing for Your Local Business Marketing your local business is no easy task… don’t overlook the importance of social media marketing to deliver a better brand experience to your customer.

One of the most important things for any company is marketing.

You want to be heard and you want to get your name out there.

This is especially a complex issue for local business.

Local marketing has become increasingly difficult. Even a decade ago, marketing a local business wasn’t that difficult. Everybody knew you, you are close by, and a small investment for an advertisement in a local newspaper, a banner here or there, and you’re good to go. Now, everybody is competing, people are using serious marketing tactics, and it seems everybody has perfect SEO for their website, optimal reach, and outstanding connections.

We don’t want to rain on your parade, but you need to focus your marketing efforts as well.

One of the best ways to do so is through social media.

Now, the expression goes “jack of all trades, master of none” for good reason. As a local business, you want to be a master. This is where social media kicks in. You will get more bang for your buck if you invest more into social media marketing, rather than getting the best global marketing set up you can. Using social media marketing for a small business is pretty similar to a large one. The difference here is that it’s easier to use, and that it’s much more effective.

Social Media is a better and more important investment, when it comes to marketing, than most other types.

Focus on the community

Small businesses are inherently tied to their communities.

They always favor quality over quantity. The connection a small business has to the individuals in its community cannot be compared to the weak ties a mega-corporation has with its consumers. People are aware of this. It’s even hammered down further by the fact that it’s easier to find the face behind the business when small companies are concerned.

Social media strengthens this.

You will have a better connection with the community because, first of all, you will have fewer customers when compared to an international corporation. This comes handy with social media. It will be much easier to sift through the comments on any image or post, and actually provide decent answers.

The actual setup of your social media profiles and pages can be a bit more specific. Instead of worrying whether you will offend anyone, you can put photos of landmarks, local traditions and inside-jokes…

Essentially, it’s much easier, and much more effective, to connect with your community and customer base with social media.

You can even host events on Facebook, and take part in local community efforts. Whether its charity, or a small local festival, you can inform the community of these events, and take part in them, through social media platforms.

Personalization

Having a small business means you can personalize and have a very deep one-on-one session with a customer.

Social media will allow you to take this one step further. You can have an entire conversation with an individual, without worrying whether you’re wasting your time. Since you rely on a smaller customer base, you can dedicate yourself to a Facebook chat with a potential client completely.

It also allows you to figure out the needs of an ambiguous client, and actually provide them with slightly customized goods or services, if that is in your best interest.

You can show real authenticity

Real authenticity may sound redundant, but anyone who has seen a corporate social media profile will tell you different.

A company needs to show that it’s trustworthy, that there are real people behind the whole thing. Customers want to know whether a business actually values them. This can be achieved through social media.

You want to make a customized social media profile, a profile that seems it wasn’t factory made. This is impossible to achieve by a big company, but local business can do just that. Setting up social media for restaurants that are exclusively local is easier and more real than doing the same for a restaurant chain. When you see photos of chefs and waiters on social media platform of a local business, you can be sure that they are real, and not just hired actors who stand there smiling awkwardly. Reviews made by visitors are definitely real – you would know, these people probably live across the street.

Conclusion

Social media is a valuable tool for local businesses. Their reach is not as wide as the reach from big corporations, and that is a good thing. As a local business owner, you will have more room to personalize, to actually make a connection – to be more social. Contact with your local community will be easier, and more effective. The same goes for presenting, and keeping, authenticity. Social media marketing allows a local business to have a very strong impact, with a very low investment, both in terms of money and time.

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by Chris London of Pixel Productions Inc. The Everything Design Company