Social media, in all its various shapes and sizes, has been around for at least a decade now but some Northern Ireland businesses still struggle to grasp the potential of these channels.

If this feels like you, don’t worry! It’s never too late to start and the reality is that the Internet, and subsequently social media, is still in its infancy so you haven’t missed the party.

Here we’ll briefly explain some of the positives of using social media and what it could mean for your business.

Exposure on a Budget

Everyone tries to pit digital media against traditional (local newspapers, leaflets etc.) but the reality is there is a time and a place for everything.

The one massive advantage social media has is scale. With channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat you can easily and quickly spread your message throughout Northern Ireland, the rest of the UK and Ireland and further afield if you want!

With £5, £10, £20 and so on you can access thousands of people AND you can target key demographics so you get to stretch that small business budget even further.

What’s not to like?

Opportunity

Nowadays your business is no longer confined to the high street or neighborhood you operate in.

If you use channels like Twitter and Instagram you can reach literally anyone with the right type of searching and intelligent use of hashtags.

Just imagine you sold men’s football boots and wanted to get your name out there but didn’t have much of a budget. Check out the image below! Twitter is free to download and use, and all the search cost was time, effort and thought!

Connection

Years ago many small businesses said they would have jumped at the chance to have the opportunity to connect with so many potential customers, to listen to their opinions and to constantly test things.

With social media we have all these options just waiting to be used yet so many businesses out there either ignore the opportunities, ignore their customers or both!

Each comment on social media from a customer, or potential customer, should be seen as an opportunity to reinforce a connection. Even an initially bad comment can turn into a PR coup with the right response.

On top of that channels like Snapchat and Instagram, with their “story” features, allows businesses the opportunity to give customers a real insight behind the scenes. Check out Irish fresh fruit and veg providers Nudie Foods (nudiefoods) for a great example of how to do it right.

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Are you using social media for your business? If not, why not?