Social media marketing is the new, well, the new marketing – and for small businesses it’s a must have.

With more than three billion people using social media across the world, if you’re not using it, you’re missing out on a fast, effective way to reach almost half the world’s population.

Here’s our top four ways that social media can help you connect, engage, and grow your business:

Get engaged

No we’re not talking put a ring on it, we’re just saying get to know your customers by engaging with them daily. Social media is your channel of communication – you can ask them what they want, what they like, whether they think improvements need to be made, respond to their comments and questions, or just plain have a good natter!

Beep, beep! Boost traffic

Yeah you can direct people to your website, lets face it most people have a social media account that they are likely to check daily (hourly, by the minute?) so this is a great way to send your website their way by putting it right in front of them. You can use social media to direct web sales, encourage people to browse, or just plain boost the SEO of your site itself. Sharing education content gives people a reason to click and visit, providing the opportunity to convert visitors into customers.

Build a brand

Similar to Build-A-Bear, you pick the bits you want to make a cool funky look for your business. You may not have a shop front, you may be a roving handyman, or fitness instructor, how else can you show people what you do and what you represent? A slick logo, a witty tone of voice and a great strategy for reaching the right audience on social media is the best way to promote who you are and what you do.

Access all areas

These days people are scared of picking up the phone and having a conversation. Fact. They aren’t scared however, to slide into your DMs from time to time. They may not want to phone you, and will probably be too scared to just text you directly, but there’s no issues in jumping into your Facebook or Instagram inbox – social media encourages direct contact, that isn’t over personal and is much simpler than email.