That’s where we come in. We’re a social media marketing company that specializes in helping small businesses grow their customer base and increase sales. We do this by managing your social media accounts for you, so you don’t have to worry about it.

We know how important it is for small businesses to focus on what they do best, which is why we take care of the social media marketing for you. You can focus on running your business while we take care of the social media marketing for you.

If you’re a business owner, chances are you’ve already considered using social media marketing to help get the word out about your business. In fact, many small business owners are using sites like Facebook, Twitter, Linked, In, Pinterest, and Instagram to help grow their businesses. And if you are still standing on the social sidelines, there’s never been a better time to get started.

But even more important than the exposure, it provides you with the opportunity to grow relationships with your target audience. Your fans, followers, and connections are people who know your organization, have likely done business with you in the past, and will be most likely to tell their friends about you.You don’t need to be a dedicated reader of tech blogs or an expert in online marketing to know that social media is really popular among consumers.

For most small businesses, Facebook — which has 2. 32 billion monthly active users — is the jumping-off point for getting started with social media marketing. With its extensive reach and dynamic functionality, there are very few businesses that couldn’t benefit from having a presence on Facebook. And starting there will make it easier when you want to try something new.

Take advantage of the low-cost advertising features offered by the social networks to promote your content and special offers. Most social media advertising is cheaper than traditional advertising, so you don’t have to spend a lot of money to reach more people, increase your audience, and grow your business. Social media defies age barriers.

While the majority of that percentage are aged 18-29, a substantial amount is attributed to other ages that use social media as well, including 34% of Americans 65 and older. So, no matter how young or old your target audience may be, chances are most of them are already logging on and waiting for you to get started.

Ask your customers to share their thoughts, questions, and ideas to get to know them better. You can respond just as fast, without having to pick up the phone or worry the customer isn’t seeing your response. One thing you have to know about social media users is that when they say they are on social media, they are really on social media.

While a customer may visit your store once a week, they could see your social media posts in their feed multiple times during the week. Social media sites are becoming the go-to place for consumers who want to learn more about a business. That’s because these sites allow businesses to offer the most up-to-date information about anything from products, services, or upcoming events.

Providing stellar customer service is likely already a top priority for your small business. But along with the two-way communication that social media provides, it also offers a unique opportunity to step up your customer service game and provide instant gratification to your target audience and active users. This will allow you to showcase just how much you care about providing a memorable experience and will ensure that no customer inquiry goes unnoticed.

Businesses that engage with customer service requests via social media earn 20-40 percent more revenue per customer, according to Bain and Company. Social media platforms have completely changed the game when it comes to how small businesses think of email marketing. Sharing your email newsletter across your social networks can open your content up to a whole new audience and generate the type of buzz you’ve been looking for.

Together, these two powerful tools have reshaped the marketing landscape and have really leveled the playing field for small businesses trying to better connect with current customers and reach new audiences for their business. Today, more than half of all Americans are smartphone users and more and more businesses are offering mobile-friendly experiences.

Most major social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram, offer free mobile apps that let business owners manage their presence on-the-go. More importantly, these apps let customers connect to their favorite sites wherever they are. These users aren’t just sharing updates from their own lives, they’re searching for businesses, products, and services, and connecting with brands through their social channels.

See how social media marketing can work for your business. Check out our Social Media Quickstarter to learn the ins and outs of the major social media networks..

Social media allows even the smallest business to interact with the wider world. Social media allows you to create a dynamic online presence and establish a dialogue with a wide audience - including existing customers, new prospects, your competitors and suppliers. 1. What you want to achieve Strengthen communication with existing customers You can communicate with customers frequently for a minimal cost.

You can use social media to learn more about your customers, and they can get a greater understanding of you and your business. Your customers can tell you what they like and don't like about your business, products and services - and you can respond. A strong social media plan can stop complaints escalating and can publicly show that you are addressing them.

Reach new customers Selecting social media channels used by potential customers can provide valuable exposure for your business at a lower cost than many traditional customer acquisition methods. Careful use of social media provides can generate word-of-mouth recommendations for your business. Social media can drive traffic to your website, including potential customers who may not otherwise have found your business online.

Analytics tools allow you to monitor the effectiveness of your social media activity. Raise your profile You can raise your business profile or the profile of individuals within your business. If you are in a market where differentiating between competitors is difficult, using social media to add a personal element to your marketing messages can help you to stand out.

Improve your reputation If you use social media to generate customer feedback - and you are seen to act on it - you can establish yourself as a service-led, customer-focused business. The easier it is for customers to communicate with you, the more highly they will regard you. Honesty and integrity in your use of social media are paramount.

Network with peers Social media networking allows you to more easily keep existing relationships warm without leaving your desk. You can keep in touch with all parts of your supply chain in a relatively informal environment. You can source new suppliers more effectively by using word-of-mouth recommendations through social media.

2. Social media platforms Twitter Twitter allows instant, public communication. You can publish short comments and links to web pages, blogs and images. This allows people to publicly respond, encouraging conversation. By providing links you can boost traffic to your website. You can also retweet posts that grab your attention.

It’s a place to show your best side - sharing knowledge, responding to comments or queries and building relationships. Facebook Facebook allows you to show the human face of your business by sharing news and content and being friendly and helpful. Encourage your audience to post content and provide feedback and deal with complaints promptly.

Instagram Instagram, owned by Facebook, allows users to share images and short video clips. You can improve your clips and images with filters and other tools. Hashtags allow you to promote your content more widely. It's well worth encouraging customers to upload their own clips and images about your brand.

You can post a personal profile or one for your business, and invite colleagues, peers and even competitors to join your network. Be careful not to overtly sell; Linked, In is a forum where you should share content and support others to raise your profile. Encourage contacts to endorse you and provide testimonials and do the same for them.

You "pin" images to boards and encourage others to repin them. Rich Pins allow you to display product information, including price and delivery details, and provide links to your website. Encourage users to pin your images and repin other people's images to raise your profile. Snapchat Snapchat is a mobile messaging app that allows you to send videos and pictures.

Snaps disappear from the site once they've been viewed, but by adding them to stories, they're displayed for 24 hours. Blogging Blogs allow you to write in more depth on subjects that support your marketing effort and which will appeal to your audience. The best blogs use a direct and chatty tone of voice and offer interesting opinions.

Blogs should focus on one topic, they need a compelling heading and a lively opening and should be aimed at your target reader. Blogging provides another route for potential customers to find you. Bookmarking and information-sharing tools Social bookmarking and information-sharing tools can help you create a buzz about your business - particularly new product or service launches.

Mix and match to meet your objectives There may be one social media site that would work best for your business but the chances are you'll need to use a combination of different channels. However, you could spread yourself too thin if you try to use all the available social media sites to promote your business.

3. Time and resources Bear in mind the time commitment Managing an effective social media presence for your business will require time and dedication. Regular updates and timely responses are essential - otherwise visitors won't come back. For example, if someone makes a complaint on a social media site and you don't address it for a week, your reputation will be hurt.

Make sure you have the time and resources to make your social media presence lively, vibrant and up-to-date. Give staff responsibility, but manage it If you have staff, consider how they can help your social media marketing. They may be able to add character to your social media activities. For example, your production manager could blog about how projects are progressing.

Keep it in perspective Remember social media is just one part of your marketing plan and allocate resources accordingly. Set aside dedicated times each day to monitor and manage your social media. If staff are active on your social media accounts, make sure they don't spend more time on it than necessary.

Social media in your marketing plan Use social media to support your other marketing activites Social media is most effective as an integral part of your marketing plan. It can turbo-charge your other online and offline marketing - alerting a wide audience to new products, services, offers and events. Always promote your recent activity on your social media sites - such as blogs, success stories and case studies.

Understand where your customers are Like any successful form of marketing, you must target your efforts towards the channels that your customers or potential customers are using. For example, if you sell specialist foods it may be worth looking at social media that covers local food groups or cookery courses.

If your customers are already using Twitter or Facebook, for example, that is where you should create your own presence. If you are trying to connect with a younger audience, make sure you know which social network is the flavour of the month. This can change rapidly, so you will need to keep a close eye on trends.

You need to accept this will happen. It is best if you have a clear idea how you are going to handle problems that crop up. Timely and honest response is essential. Simply ignoring any negative or controversial comments will damage your reputation. 5. Measure, review, revise Set targets - but be patient Like other online tools, social media benefits from being highly measurable.