Social media - is your business on board?

With the development of the internet in the last decade and the increased use of smart phones and tablets in recent years, the way people communicate with each other has changed, and social media has evolved through channels such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Many business owners are now using social media to grow their businesses. If you own a business but are not yet utilising social media to grow and attract new clients/customers, you need to seriously consider embracing this change. Here are the reasons why:

1. Your clients/customers are already out there

According to Facebook and Twitter there are around 34 million users in the UK and LinkedIn has nearly 11 million users. This creates a target audience that you can potentially reach that no other medium has ever offered.

These days, people are turning to social media to feed their passions, research products and services and make business connections. Not every social media user will be interested in your business, but many will. Being active on social media has attracted new clients and increased sales for thousands of product and serviced based businesses.

Social media allows you to stay connected with your customers and prospects. It puts you in front of your target audience on a daily basis, so that when they are ready to make a purchase, you will be in there thoughts. Reaching out to your target audience on a consistent basis through social media creates a bond between the customer and yourself and shows that you value them. This will in turn create loyalty which will ensure your competitors will struggle to prise away your customers.

2. It’s free & easy

Marketing costs are often one of the biggest expenses of any business and often there is little return for the time or money spent on them. The most powerful social media sites are free to register. You can have conversations with your clients, announce promotions and special events, answer questions, provide service and gather testimonials and referrals.

Armstrong Watson, as a business strategy, have embraced social media and we can share our experiences to help you develop the use of social media in your business. You can follow us on Twitter @armstrongwatson or on LinkedIn. We also have Gary Alison and Scott Henderson in Dumfries willing to engage with you online. Please visit Twitter and follow @garyalisonuk or @AW_ScottH.

Gary Alison, Corporate Audit Assistant