The average social media user spends over three hours a day on social media sites. 70% of Instagram users say they use the site for product discovery, and 76% of consumers buy products they have seen in social media posts. This gives you an audience to talk to and sell to. By being active on social media, you’re going to help customers find you, and help yourself find customers.

Did you know that 37%* of people prefer to use social media to contact a business about a customer service issue? Whether the issue is good or bad, using social media will help you reply and where necessary resolve customer issues quickly and directly. Positive public feedback can be re-shared to your own social media accounts which saves you time creating content. When customers see you responding to feedback, they’ll know you care about them and are more likely to stay loyal.

You can attract new followers online every day by posting great content. Use hashtags in your content that relate to your industry and location to make your content more discoverable, and you’ll more easily connect with customers who your business might be relevant to. Ask your followers to share your posts and engage in relevant online conversations to increase your own visibility and discoverability. Engaging in other people’s and businesses’ conversations by liking, commenting and sharing saves you time creating your own posts, and when people see you doing it for them, they’ll also return the favour and bang your drum for you.

Social media allows you to connect with customers on a human and personal level. People buy from people so by being active on social media and having online conversations, you’re helping people get to know you, as well as your business. Be authentic, warm and human. Let people see the team that will be serving them with photographs or even video if they are comfortable. Tell people why you love certain products and services. Before you know it, your audience will start to see you and your business as a friend they want to support.

Marketing is time-consuming and costly and often requires specialist skill sets. By being active on social media, you are already present in the same places your customers are hanging out online so you have an audience you can talk to. Creating social media posts is quicker and more cost effective than printing leaflets and you don’t need a professional designer. The positive feedback and interactions you’ll get from customers can be re-shared as glowing recommendations helping you generate positive word of mouth.

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