Social media has changed the world immensely. The many evils of social media are often highlighted by skeptics though it has been nothing short of a boon for small business owners. Not only has it given smaller businesses the chance to improve their visibility in front of their target customers, it has also allowed customers to voice their feedback and recommend a business to their friends through a single click. We examine the three biggest ways in which the social media revolution has affected small businesses.
1. It has brought back the “family owned store” feeling
Anyone who remembers visiting a small, family-owned store in the time before social media surely remembers the sense of warmth that shopping at such stores brought. You could interact with the business’ owner, chat with the sales people about all kinds of things and even tell them more or less honestly if you didn’t like something about their products or services. As family-owned small stores disappeared, that kind of customer service disappeared too. However, thanks to social media, customers today can communicate just as honestly with a small business and get one-on-one attention that isn’t possible to get through business’ websites and e-stores.
2. It has improved customers’ trust for smaller businesses
Before social media came along, a small business had to pay a lot to lease and maintain a store. Today, a lot of small businesses are operating out of their owners’ kitchens, living rooms and garages with e-stores handling the business front. Even though home-based businesses had been in existence before, the presence of these businesses on social media have made them appear a lot more trustworthy than before.
3. It has reduced marketing budgets for small businesses
One of the biggest impacts that social media has had on small businesses is that its use has reduced the marketing budget by much. Before social media came along, small businesses had to pay a lot to create flyers, posters, launch promotional events and buy ad space in newspapers and on billboards all of which represented a big chunk of money. However, with the advent of social media, smaller businesses simply need to create a social media profile and have customers like, add or follow their business page online to advertise their products and services. For a small business with restricted budgets to work with, this represents huge savings which has improved profit percentages for them by a lot.
