5 Reasons a Local Business Owner Should be Involved in Social Media

There are many reasons that every local business should be involved in local social media.  I’ve found that if it takes more than five reasons, then they are afraid of what they don’t understand, or are fearful of change.  To go beyond five you are just reaffirming to someone who believes in what you are talking about and being that most of you already believe being that you’re on a social network why waste the time going beyond the five.  Because you understand, you can come up with a lot more by the time you’re finished reading this!

Reasons to participate in local social media

1. It’s where your customers and potential customers are at! Today your customers and potential customers are spread out like never before.  Hundreds of television channels, too many radio stations, not enough readership in print for the cost and social media.  Of the above options, social media provides the most cost effective way to talk to your customers and should be a part of your mix.
2. Word of mouth! Word of mouth is still the most powerful form of advertising and social media is all about “World of Mouth!”
3. The future. Running a business is always about a balancing act of taking care of today while looking ahead to tomorrow.  Social media is going to morph and change over the next three years just has it has the past three years.  Social media forms and apps are going to come and go, by being a part of it now your business will be able to adapt to the changes more quickly.  Being ahead in business is usually better than being behind.
4. Customer service. Ever wonder why the phone doesn’t ring as much as it used too?  People communicate differently today.  Individuals are much more apt to communicate via social media tools than to pick up the phone.  Positive response or maybe a bad experience they had with your business needs to be appreciated or find a way to resolve the problem.  Social media today is proving to be a very valuable tool to communicate with individuals after they have used your services.
5. Being local. You don’t always have to look at the massive numbers worldwide that some social media networks have, like Facebook surpassing 500 million, look at how many people in your community are involved.  While the “Big Boys” are taking advantage of social networking worldwide you have a tool that sometimes can be the difference.  You’re local.  You’re part of your community!  You can talk about local events local happenings and with local social media, it’s not about what company can spend the most like in traditional advertising it’s who uses it the best!