How many times have you heard someone say, “There’s nothing good on social media.” How many of your friends have actually deleted any of their accounts? Despite the complaints, in this article, you’ll find five stories that demonstrate the importance of social media.
1. Social Media Helps Businesses with Advocacy
Wooster Glass Company is an established business in Wooster, Ohio. The glaziers repair and replace automotive glass; build custom mirrors; fabricate storefronts; design COVID-19 barriers; and a lot of other glass work. The company has built a lot of goodwill since Ralph Jones founded it in 1947. Jones became very involved in the community, sponsoring youth and adult sports teams, and participating in organizations the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Wooster, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, the Wayne County Humane Society, and other philanthropic endeavors.
When I began working with the company in 2018 on social media, President Kathy Long didn’t want to inundate people with posts about the company. She held to a “less is more” philosophy. Also, she wanted to make sure we highlighted other groups. This became important shortly after the pandemic started. Long and Vice President Pat Neyhart wanted the Wooster Glass Facebook page to promote local restaurants that had been unable to have customers dine in and could only offer take-out. They also wanted to raise awareness about the Humane Society.
Wooster Glass was able to continue to build goodwill by taking to social media and focusing on the advocacy of others hurt by the pandemic. The importance of social media for businesses can be seen in doing advocacy work.
2. Social Media Helps Companies Stay Top of Mind
When I launched Wooster Media Group LLC in January 2018, someone told me I should create a print piece and insert it into a newsletter sent to business leaders. While I might one day do it, I decided against it. Why? Wooster Media Group provides digital marketing services: Search engine optimization consulting; custom content creation; and social media management. Nearly everything we do or design gets posted digitally, whether on a website, a blog, a video hosting site, or an email.
Instead of print, I focused on advertising on Facebook. I spent an average of a buck a day for two months to promote the Wooster Media Group Facebook page. The Facebook ads helped the company get in front of a lot of eyes, and the advertising provided top-of-mind awareness. This led to new business in the first six months after the launch.
Sometimes finding the time to post information on the Wooster Media page can be difficult. However, I need to keep in mind the importance of social media. I’m making more of an effort to continue to build on the awareness. It works. I’m getting more inquiries via Facebook Messenger. The importance of social media can be seen in companies remaining relevant.
3. Social Media Allows Businesses to Connect with Customers
I joined Twitter in December 2008, when I worked for a local newspaper. I loved it. Thought it was great. Later, joined Facebook. I discovered people engaged with me more on Facebook, so I sort of abandoned Twitter. But, since launching the business, I have experienced better connections on Twitter, especially as it relates to the SEO/digital marketing space.
I have also witnessed firsthand how brands use Twitter to connect with customers and how industry experts share insights with newbies. When I needed to upgrade my work computer, I purchased it online from a national chain. The sale ended up going sideways. I posted something on Twitter, and the company reached out to me. Here is what I wrote to the company in a DM with some editing:
So, this was really bizarre. Let me just say I like [your company.] My criticism is with the process, not with the company or the workers. I wanted to buy a laptop online. It told me if I used my … card and spent more than $499 I could get 12 mos same as cash. I would not place the order until I received confirmation from the live chat CSR that it would happen automatically. I placed the order, but I never got an option to select 12 mos. same as cash. I reached out via Live Chat, I was given a number to call to speak with someone. I called the number and there was no option to talk to a person. I hit zero for the operator, and I was told it was not a valid option. I hit zero again, and it ultimately transferred to a live person. She couldn’t help, sent me to another call center. She couldn’t help me and sent me to another call center. She couldn’t help get my payment changed to 12 mos same as cash. She told me I had to go to the store. So, I spent more than 30 minutes on Live Chat and on the phone, only to be told I had to drive to the store in Wooster, Ohio. [The] Assistant Manager … was great and got me taken care of, but I pretty much lost my afternoon. If the whole process wasn’t so stupid and bizarre, I would be mad. I could only laugh. There was really no one to direct my anger because all of your CSRs were great. I like [your company,] but today the process just wasted so much of my time. I own my own business, so it cut into my productivity. On the other hand, I think I got a good computer at a good price. Thanks for reaching out.
Bobby Warren in a direct message on Twitter
I had a great exchange with someone from the company and received a small gift card for my troubles. The gift card didn’t compensate me for all the time I lost, but it served as a nice gesture. And, it demonstrates another way social media is important for business: It allows a single customer to approach a big chain and receive personalized attention.
4. Social media can help a company reach a wider audience
Medina Glass Company, a sister company to Wooster Glass, was producing COVID-19 barriers out of Plexiglass to help businesses comply with state mandates during the pandemic. An email was sent to the local newspaper to a reporter who had written about the pandemic. A few weeks went by, and Medina Glass heard nothing from the reporter. Eventually, another writer reached out and wrote the story.
We shared the story on the Medina Glass Facebook page in the morning, and someone at a Cleveland TV station saw it. A reporter came out that very afternoon to shoot and produce a piece about how the company made the coronavirus shields.
The company has a reach of hundreds on its Facebook page; the newspaper likely has a reach of thousands; and the TV station upped the reach to hundreds of thousands, if not a million or so.
While you cannot plan on posting to Facebook and getting television coverage, it would not have happened to Medina Glass if it had ignored social media because some people only see the bad. The importance of social media can be seen in this instance by reaching a wider audience without having to spend money on advertising.
5. Social media can help you grow your business
Brent Gargasz, owner of Farm Fired Pizzas, a mobile, wood-fired pizza operation, is very active on Twitter. It’s how I “met” him, and it led to use meeting in real life. As a pizza snob (see how many posts I’ve written about pizza on my wife’s blog), I am always interested in good pizza. What surprised me about Brent’s Twitter account was how many of my acquaintances in the FinCon community connected with him. I didn’t realize the link until I started researching Brent for this blog post. Brent and his wife, Katelyn, were featured in Acorns’ blog because of their accomplishment to get debt-free. The FinCon community is made up of personal finance bloggers.
While I did want to try Brent’s pizza (and get some Double Zero flour he didn’t need), I wanted to speak to him a little bit about what fueled his business growth. Brent attributed his company’s success to social media. He started a mobile pizza unit in Ohio in January. That’s winter in Ohio. Yet, he was able to grow Farm Fired Pizzas not only in the winter but throughout the spring and summer, too.
A number of things came together to foster the growth of the start-up:
- Photos of his pizza were shared by others on a popular foodie Facebook page
- He began sharing photos from events on that Facebook page
- He posted to his own Facebook page
- He made a lot of connections on Twitter
Brent attributed much of the success of Farm Fired Pizza to social media and to having a good product. Brent saw the importance of social media, and because of his presence, the activity resulted in increased sales.
Do your company’s efforts reflect the importance of social media?
While it’s easy to dismiss social media due to controversial posts, people spend a lot of time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. If your company does not have a presence on these networks, then you can potentially be missing out on a lot of sales or opportunities to build goodwill in your area.
These are just some of the ways small businesses tap into the positive aspects of social media networks. If you’re finally ready to step up your social media game, then let’s talk. Schedule your free consultation today.