A report from AYTM Market Research suggests that consumers are using SMBs’ social media marketing campaigns to decide where to buy. Aside from greater access to content and improved engagement with companies, more than 62 percent of respondents said exposure to a business’ extended social network has proved beneficial to see which products and services offer the most value.
More than half of consumers said they actively follow SMBs they buy from on social networks. While just 9 percent said social content shared by accounts they follow or otherwise engage with regularly impacts purchases they make, more than 46 percent said they interact with content and 18.9 percent said they’ve made at least one purchase due to social. As more consumers begin clicking links and engaging with companies on social networks, they’re more likely to convert.
In general, SMBs can use social media to expand their overall presence on the web. Many have found they increase prospect awareness of individual products and services. Additionally, as small businesses develop their social visibility more successfully, they’ll identify new prospects.
As social campaigns mature, it’s critical that SMBs employ a customer service element as part of their interactive strategy. ContentLEAD reported that just 44 percent of customer service-related Tweets are answered by businesses.