Three reasons your business needs to be on social media

Marketing is traditionally a difficult part of running a business. Getting enough exposure while maintaining the image you want to portray is no small feat.

However, we now have a marketing tool that allows us free access to our key demographics, connects to our customers on a personal level and is intuitive and easy to use. It is also completely free to get started.

Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat have transformed the way we connect with our customers. If you aren’t on social media, your business isn’t going to reach its full potential. But you may not be convinced, so here are some strong reasons why it is essential to use social media as a marketing tool for your business.

1. It’s personal

Business is about people.

Our goal is to provide customers with products and services that empower them to live life a little better.

Social media is the perfect place to share this desire with people in a personal way. By sharing stories and celebrating other customer’s success, it can provide confidence in your product that people might not get anywhere else.

Instagram makes it possible for you to be your own enthusiastic self. It gives authenticity to your brand, which allows admirers and customers to relate to your business in a personalised way.

By becoming a consistent part of their social circles, your brand can have a large impact and influence on whatever demographic you supply.

2. It inspires

As small businesses, whether it be retail, hospitality or technology, it is impossible to compete with large corporations by playing their game.

Social media allows small businesses to play to their strength: inspiration. Releasing a product or service, inspired by you, on a platform as personal as social media, actually makes you stand out in the industry.

About nine million Australians use Instagram regularly, and six million of those users are aged 29-40. Instagram gives you access to a range of demographics that your brand will interest and inspire. Hashtags and other helpful features of the app make it even easier to connect with people who need the products or services you provide.

The current Australian retail environment is becoming more internet-based day by day.

But this isn’t a bad thing. In fact, this is great news for small businesses. Major corporations have a monopoly on selling an extensive range of items, but Instagram and social media have allowed small businesses to focus on specific, inventive and niche products.

In short, Instagram inspires creative business.

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A post shared by Infamous® | Matching Family Swimwear (@infamous_swim)

3. It’s easy

Today, our kids are learning to swipe an iPad screen before they learn to turn a page in a book. Technology, the internet and social media are becoming a part of us, and how we communicate, relax and work. This means, for most people, it’s easy.

Scrolling through Instagram is second nature, ads on Facebook are no longer questioned, and we spend time with people online.

The ease of social media makes it a goldmine for small businesses. Once you have a niche business idea, exposing it to the right people on Instagram will mean relaxing as you watch your product market itself.

Once a person clicks ‘follow’, you have a customer who is seeing your product daily. Every time someone tags my brand in their photo at the beach, their friends see my brand at its best. Don’t underestimate the power of ‘the gram’.

Where to begin

Sign up! Create an Instagram or Facebook page for your business and begin creating some interesting content.

The greatest thing about social media is you can build a presence without paying a cent.

As your following builds, you can start to think about placing paid advertisements.

But overall, have fun with it! Connecting with your customers in such a personal way is something to be cherished.

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