The Impact of Social Media on Small Business

Despite the relative youth of social media, it has quickly become an invaluable resource for businesses. Regardless of the size of a business, from a locally owned boutique to the largest international corporations, social networking sites are changing the way business is done. In fact, the vast majority of companies are choosing to use this type of marketing to improve transparency and visibility and create new relationships with their customers. Without question, social media levels the marketing playing field by allowing all organizations with even the smallest budgets reach out to a large audience of potential clients.

Never is the impact of SEM more clear than through the reach of the social networking service, Facebook. Consider that Facebook was developed by a college student in late 2003 but already has more than 600 million active users today. Unlike any previous media, television, radio, or newspapers, Facebook gives business owners an unprecedented opportunity to reach customers around the world.
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But this type of marketing does not only help companies to reach customers, it helps companies to build relationships with customers. Traditional media was a one-way relationship. Advertisements were displayed and taken in to varying degrees, but customers had little opportunity to interact. Today, social platforms gives companies and their customers more meaningful interaction which in turn promotes stronger connections. In fact, this is a highly effective method of expanding a brand beyond the confines of standard advertising. With social media, companies reach an international audience, one that then has the opportunity to interact in more meaningful ways. Customers can easily share their experiences with their friends, taking the notion of "word-of-mouth" to a global level.

Furthermore, social media augments the traditional company-customer relationship by shifting from selling as a focus to connecting as a focus. The context of customer relationships has shifted. Businesses can use Facebook to post about how they can help customers rather than what they have to sell customers. As a result, new clients are more engaged and develop a closer connection to the people and personality of a company.

Perhaps most importantly, Facebook and, makes a company ubiquitous. An email address and customer service phone number do not satisfy today's customers. Communicating through these means is much more restrictive than through social websites. Customers seek more choice in their means of communication, which is why many companies are turning to social media like Twitter and Facebook. Indeed, gone are the days when companies are found in the phone book. The internet has become the leading method of connecting with businesses and now SEM has become an indispensable means of reaching customers. In short, social media not only makes it easier to connect with potential clients but also makes it easier for those clients to connect with your business.
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VN Web Group is Vancouver web design and Internet marketing company. For more information on Web Design Vancouver and SEO in Vancouver, please visit http://www.vnwebsolutions.ca/ or call toll free: 800.401.0907


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