Get savvy with your social media

As entrepreneurs we all know the importance of connecting with customers on a regular basis, and for many of us, that means harnessing the power of social media. Yet it appears that there are still lots of small businesses out there completely underestimating what social media can do for their business and brands. The US research company, Clutch, has just published its 2017 Small Business Social Media Survey, aimed at providing data-driven findings and tips to help small to medium-sized businesses increase their social media prowess. It came up with some interesting findings. The survey’s respondents included 40% of companies with 10 or fewer employees, 27% with 11-50 employees, 25% with 51-250 employees, and 8% with 251-500 employees. What was astonishing from the findings is that 24% of small businesses don’t use social media at all, and some small to medium sized businesses are extremely lax when it comes to keeping their social media platforms updated. All of which points to small businesses missing out on the opportunity to grow their businesses through continual customer engagement in the social media space. Other findings were that less than half of those small businesses surveyed were actively updating their social media presence on a daily basis, meaning that customers quickly lose interest if there is no new information to keep them connected and engaged. Based on this data, of the companies with a social presence, about one-third of them aren’t using social media enough, and as a result, they’re allowing their customers to wait too long by only visiting weekly, at best. So the take out from this latest survey is that it’s great to have social media as part of your marketing and brand strategy, but it’s only as good as the work you put in to keep the content fresh and engaging for your customers. Like anything, it takes consistent effort and hard work.