Social Media and Small Business in 2015
2015 will be here before you know it. Many will be watching the ball drop in Times Square- most from their televisions- while singing “Auld Lang Syne” in less than a month.
Usually, small business owners have already started developing their plans for the next year by December, but in case you haven’t yet, here are some trends that can help maximize marketing efforts.
Social Media and Consumer Spending- This year, both Facebook and Twitter rolled out a new feature that allowed users to purchase items directly from status updates and tweets. These “buy” buttons not only make it incredibly easy for consumers to shop online, but they also make it easier for small businesses to track revenue earned from social media more accurately.
Social Media Ads- Facebook has started and will continue to limit the number of posts that fans can see, so demand for targeted advertising will rise. Of course, along with the rise in demand will be a rise in cost. Facebook ads have increased 10% since 2013, and will most likely continue to rise in the upcoming year. Small business owners will want to look at advertising options on both Facebook and Twitter to gain more exposure.
Pictures on Social Media- Instagram, a social media site that focuses only on pictures and has over 20 million followers, will be key to small businesses. Images have been used in advertising since before the camera was invented, so it’s no secret that a good picture sells. With this particular social network, companies are able to post pictures and videos to flaunt their products and services. New to the network is the ability to pay for 15-second video ads that can be specifically targeted to specific groups of people.
Social Media and Millennials- Leaders West Digital Marketing Journal says that there are 76 million millennials in the US, and they make up 27 percent of the population. 63 percent of them have at least a bachelors’ degree, and 46 percent report that they rely on social media when making purchases online. This group is extremely influential. A small business would be remiss to ignore them.
Social Media and Customer Service- Many of us have seen negative reviews on sites like Facebook. Customers have a voice- and a loud one at that- due to social media. Any customer can say what they want on social networking sites, and others are listening. You need to be listening as well. Be sure to keep track of what is being said about your business on social media sites, and respond to unhappy customers quickly.
Do you have any tips or ideas to share regarding social media in the year 2015? We’d love to hear from you.
