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Over the past few years, millions of small businesses across the country have likely found out that social media can be a huge driver of success in a local area. And for those that have already invested heavily in such efforts, the good news is that they’re likely to continue paying off for some time to come.
The fact of the matter is that social media use is only likely to expand in the coming year, meaning that smaller companies that have put in the legwork to get ahead of the competition on these sites could have a strong basis for growth throughout 2015, and probably beyond, according to a report from the Miami Herald. This may be particularly true when it comes to marketing to millennials, because 68 percent of them say that they’re at least somewhat likely to buy a product they’ve seen posted by a friend on such a site. That may be especially important as Facebook and Twitter continue to make their instant-buy buttons more ubiquitous next year.
Meanwhile, it should also be noted that the best ways to market to people on social media sites these days is not using flashy phrases and discounts, necessarily, but rather by getting visual, the report said. Companies that produce short videos or attractive pictures highlighting the benefits of a product or service they offer might find that those create more shopper interest than previously tried and true methods of marketing.
What else is coming?
Meanwhile, it seems as though a large and growing number of companies are also using social media to do some routine customer service, the report said. This makes a lot of sense, because in many cases this is the most visible way in which consumers know they can reach a company with questions, comments, or concerns, and likewise having a good approach here can help small businesses look like they’re on top of any issues that might arise, with care and compassion that larger competitors might not be able to match.
Owners who want to make sure their firms are best positioned to take advantage of everything social media has to offer in 2015 might want to do a bit of legwork beforehand to cut their various ongoing costs so they have more in the budget to devote to these efforts. For instance, finding more affordable small business insurance – including policies for liability insurance – could save them significant amounts of money over the course of a year.
