Boss Lady

5 ways social media can reduce business costs

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Marketing, customer service, and finding new recruits for your business can be an expensive expenditure, but it doesn’t have to be. In today’s computer age, most consumers spend more time online than they do with traditional marketing venues, such as newspapers or even television. Cut back on your business expenses while getting more leads by utilizing social media.

Online ads

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms serve as a way to market without paying a dime, if you don’t want to. Send out a tweet or post about your latest products, events, or sales to your followers. It’s more likely they’ll see a tweet than an expensive ad in the local paper. If a post on Facebook does well, you have the option of paying to sponsor the post so that it reaches more people. Sponsoring a post usually costs just a few dollars, which is still going to be much more cost effective than traditional marketing, and will likely get you more leads.

Customer Service

Social media sites are a great way to provide customer service without spending as much as you would for customer service via phone. Depending on the size of your business, hire one or several employees to respond to comments and messages. Social media doesn’t cost anything to use, saving you from having to pay for multiple phone lines and answering services. If used effectively, using social media can cut down on the number of employees you need for customer service, saving you more money.

Recruiting

Taking out ads in the local paper or printing out flyers when you need to hire isn’t the most cost effective way to find new recruits. Save yourself money by posting online when you have a job opening. Use your online networks to get the word out, while potentially reaching more people than you would with a newspaper advertisement.

Keep in touch

Brand recognition is an important part of running a business. Consumers tend to gravitate towards brands that they recognize, rather than an untested, unknown entity. Keep in touch with your customers and build your brand recognition using social media. Put out regular Facebook posts and tweets to keep your business fresh in people’s mind and grow a bigger audience. This is also a great way to get free feedback on what customers want and expect from your business. Use your social media accounts to build a community of consumers, and then offer special coupons or discount codes for being a follower to entice them to make a purchase. Shoppers love a discount, and you can use that to bring customers back time and time again, instead of always having to find new customers.

Utilize ratings

When choosing where to shop or what restaurant to visit, consumers absolutely look at reviews. The more positive reviews you have, the better. A few bad reviews won’t break your business, in fact, it legitimizes the system, but a lack of positive reviews or any reviews altogether could be keeping potential customers away.

If you have an online store that sells multiple items, consider adding a feature to sort products by review. This will allow customers to buy items with confidence, and give you an easy way to see which products are underperforming. Good reviews are also an easy way to connect with your social media followers. Share reviews full of praise on your Facebook page, and thank your customers for taking the time to review your product. You can incentivize customers to leave reviews by offering a coupon code for each review. When customers receive some sort of deal, they often leave a positive review.

About Layla Fenston

Layla Fenston is a writer behind eVoice Australia – a premier provider of virtual telecommunications solutions in Australia. Passionate about helping others achieve success in their careers, Layla regularly writes about small business and entrepreneurship.

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