Over the last few years, and following the rise of the digital era, technology has become central to modern-day approaches across a range of different aspects of running a business, including advertising, marketing and promotions. With many managers and business owners embracing the influence that contemporary technology and innovative social media platforms are having on prospective consumers, there are many potential routes to future growth.
As a result of that, we’re going to look at whether social media and its ever-rising popularity can be an effective tool for small businesses, while also considering how specific aspects of different platforms have already proved successful in other growing markets.
Creating Positive Customer Relations
For many small businesses, generating and maintaining a positive consumer base is a necessity. Before the digital era, interacting with customers was both more costly and timely. However, due to the cost-effective nature of current and upcoming social media platforms – with many of them operate on a free sign-up basis – receiving feedback and engaging in regular interactions has never been easier. Additionally, several social media platforms promote a unique and customer-friendly approach to engagement, which, in turn, leads to the development of positive customer relations. While it’s the businesses prerogative on how they wish to approach interactions, the ability to use emojis, GIFs and images to communicate your message allows for the creation of a light-hearted feel around the business. Those with the willingness and resources to put more into it have recently been turning to customising chatbots, there to serve customers around the clock.
Typically, companies using digital marketing strategies are obsessed with sales, with many dreaming of the instant impacts that using social media may have. Although aiming to achieve a high number of sales should be an overriding objective, the key for many small businesses is to engage rather than sell. As Twitter, for example, averaged 330 million monthly active users in the first quarter of 2019, the platform promotes direct communication and customer feedback. Moreover, as more people being to engage with your business, visibility across the service is likely to increase.
Advertising and How Promotions Have Been Successful
Aside from the potential to build a growing relationship with customers, social media platforms can be a highly effective tool in relation to both advertising and marketing. As touched upon earlier, as many platforms are free to use, businesses can save money when it comes to advertising through the ability to create public, non-restrictive pages. Moreover, Facebook allows for its users to set up advertising campaigns that are based around numerous factors including their budget and objectives.
Furthermore, another aspect of digital marketing that has already proved highly successful in building a consumer base is promotions. While platforms such as Twitter offer promotions, their wider market impact suggests that they can be an extremely useful tool for small businesses. In the online casino sector, offers have long been as a way of ensuring repeat custom. Platforms such as Paddy Power offer a wide array of promotions across many of their popular slot games including Bonanza, Twin Spin and Wolf Bridge, which, in turn, creates an environment that customers wish to return to. Engaging customers via your social media accounts can offer a similar experience.
Social Media Can Help Growth
Although this doesn’t guarantee instant success, social media platforms provide numerous avenues for gradual business growth. From creating positive relationships with consumers to effective advertisements and promotions, the potential for development appears greater than ever before.