The world of small businesses has grown immensely in the past decade. With the introduction of the internet the world has been united in a way that makes commerce, marketing, and advertising thrive in a way like never before. Social media has once again been a revolution that has made the world of small businesses change like no one could have ever imagined. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are the new ways of marketing. Gone are the days of simply having a website or email address. Social media is now the gateway to a successful business. Even if a business is already successful, you can’t ignore the incredible potential of social media.
With so many people using social media, and even more people getting smart phones each day, the audience you can reach and have in the palms of people’s hands is shocking. Brand visibility is the number one priority of any small business. A business can have the best product or offer the best service, but in the long run if no one knows about what you have to offer you will go nowhere and success will always elude you. Utilizing social media in an effective way through having things go viral, proper advertisement placement and having exposure to the right people is something that is not priceless, in fact it has a very concrete price. The price is success versus failure.
In business the principle, “You need to spend money to make money”, is usually true. Social media is a very niche category of the internet that paying someone to manage for you often pays off from in the long run. As a poster, content provider, or blogger, having someone who is dedicated to fielding questions, offering opinions, and showing off your goods has an enormous benefit. Social media sites are always changing as well so having someone who is up to speed on ever single little aspect is a priceless quality.
The domino effect with social media is that if one person sees something and it moves them in a way that is emotional, mental, or ad driven then the spreading of that message will be seen by more people than a business could have ever hoped for in the past. This is especially important with small businesses since the consumer base is limited and getting the news out there is the most important thing for growth.