Member Article

How small businesses can ‘tweet their way to success’

Not a day goes by when we don’t hear about a new Twitter hashtag trend or receive a photo album a friend might have shared on Facebook. In fact, according to research from the Office for National Statistics, over half of the UK population uses social media[1]. From a business perspective, the opportunity to engage with such a large audience could be the making of a small business – from attracting new customers to extending great customer service online.

Adding to this sentiment, we recently conducted a study amongst 1,500 UK consumers and found that they would be far more likely to shop and spend money with local businesses, if those businesses did more to market themselves on social media sites. We found that currently, only 34 per cent of Brits follow small businesses on Twitter or Facebook. However, should small businesses do more to encourage customers to interact with them on social media, this figure could rise to 70 per cent.

The opportunity is clear. Whether that means bars and restaurants tweeting about drinks promotions and their daily special, or local cafes offering a discount code for Facebook fans, every independent business has the potential to benefit from marketing their services.

Against this backdrop, here are some top tips on how to harness the power of social media:

Define your strategy

The first step is to define the role of social media within the business, whether this is Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. It’s important to establish the function of that channel – whether this is to inform, educate or drive sales. Consider tone of voice and ensure the business’s personality comes through.

Plan ahead

Once set-up on social media, it’s important to ensure that channels are maintained. Consider drafting a social media schedule of tweets / posts which can be distributed throughout the week. We’d recommend aligning these to local and topical events in your region, such a festivals and markets which will help highlight your business’s relevance to the local community.

Listen, don’t just talk

Facebook and Twitter are two-way platforms, so small businesses need to use them for listening to customers as well as pushing out content. A mixture of proactive and reactive content will help create conversations and build relationships with customers and more importantly entice potential new customers. This will also help increase brand loyalty.

Visibly promote

A business’s social media footprint must be visible beyond the realm of ‘the internet’. Simple steps like promoting the businesses social media presence via in-store signage, having Twitter handles and Facebook profiles on business cards and company websites will help to maximise visibility.

Consider branding

Social media is an extension of a business and it’s important that the brand is reflected on platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Use company logos and colour schemes to ensure consistency . This won’t require a great level of financial commitment, but will go a long way to giving your social media platforms a professional ‘look and feel’.

Taking the first steps may seem daunting to some, but it’s a relatively simple process to set up and manage a social media account. The rewards from engaging with customers online at a time when more and more companies are moving their core business onto digital platforms, and when consumers are increasingly looking for shopping information

[1] *Office for National Statistics: Social Networking: The UK as a Leader in Europe, 2013

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Phil Scholes .