The current world pandemic COVID-19 has hugely affected the health and the economic sectors, especially the small business entrepreneurs. Due to the movement restrictions, there is a lack of physical connection between the business owners and the customers.
So, how can small businesses thrive and maintain a good relationship with their customers? Well, the only marketing strategy that the business owners can benefit from is social media marketing. This is because almost everyone has a smartphone, which makes it easy to reach out to multiple people at ones.
1. Create brand awareness.
Even if the physical shop is closed, your customers need to know that you are still operating and can buy from you. So, use the various social media platforms to inform your customers about the available products and how they can order online for deliveries.
Considering that most people have free time on their hands, you can take advantage of the situation and create more brand awareness. Invest in excellent social media advertising tools to attract more customers to your brand.
2. It is cheap to market on social media.
Social media stands as the cheapest marketing platform all over the world. Although if you are a beginner, you may spend some money to hire an excellent social media developer to create you a platform, those who are already on social media, don’t need to spend any money to market their product. Social media marketing entails two methods which are the paid AD marketing and self-sales marketing.
The paid ADs involve partnering with other brands or social media influencers to help you bring your brand in the know, especially if they have a large following. In this case, you may need to pay, which depends on how famous the influencer is. Free sales marketing is where you use your platforms for marketing the products and services. You can use hashtags to boost awareness on Instagram or tag your friends.
3. Enables one to engage with the customers.
Some social media channels like Facebook and Instagram allows you to interact with your customers live which is a great deal as it helps the customers get excellent clarity about your brand. Having regular conversations with your customers boosts their confidence in your products, and it is a way of keeping them loyal to the products.
For example, if you deal with skincare products, hold live Instagram live interactions videos, and teach your customers about your products and how to use them. If you are a fitness guru, create videos, or invite your audience to live workout sessions.
Here are 9 Best Facebook Video Ad Examples Of 2020 (So Far)
4. Helps improve brand loyalty.
With social media platforms during this pandemic period, the customers are satisfied because they know where to get you if they require purchasing one of your products. Therefore, social media creates the business owner’s presence and a safe platform where the customers can easily reach them whenever need be. This, in return, will strengthen your relationship with your current customers and help to retain them.
However, as a business owner, you need to avail yourself whenever the customers need you. The customers view social media as the most comfortable place to connect and engage with the business and learn more about it. Take this opportunity and take your clients through a journey on your brand what more they can expect from you.
5. Social media can help strengthen your brand.
If your customers can rely on you during these tough times in terms of delivery and excellent products or services, this is a bonus to creating your brand authority. Customers love dealing with brands that are active and reliable. If they send you a message, you should reply on time and offer the right solution.
This, in return, creates trust between the customers and your brand, and in the long run, these customers will bring more people to buy from you.
Here are a few social media marketing ideas to help you along the way.
Conclusion
Social Media Marketing during the pandemic is an excellent option for small business owners since it helps to create more awareness of the brand and generate more customers. There are multiple social media platforms that you can use, and they are free to sign up. Invest in well- structured social media platforms and be active as well. So, are social media marketing reliable during the COVID-19 pandemic, well, the answer is yes!
