How social media can reinvigorate small businesses

2018 proved to be one of the toughest years in memory for the high street – with 2,622 shop closures for the first half alone. Despite this; there is a silver lining – emerging figures for 2019 claim that store openings have risen by 4.1%.

Alongside new experiential high street offerings – smaller brands are establishing themselves in the more traditional categories that have previously endured heavy closures.

Small Business Saturday

On the 7th of December; we’re encouraged to shop small and support these local businesses. “Small Business Saturday” was originally founded by American Express in the US in 2010, the shopping holiday has since become a huge success in the UK. Over £700 million was spent with small businesses across the country last year!

There is one intrinsic ingredient to success for smaller scale companies; a firm digital presence. But how can a social media campaign reinvigorate your business for the new decade?

Building a digital community

Only 53% of small businesses say that they actively use social media; the remainder claim that they don’t have the bandwidth, resources, time, money or energy. These excuses are simply void; engaging with the consumer should be of the highest priority. Social media helps you build brand awareness, increase your customer base and establish a rapport with current buyers.

Small businesses tend to be more community and individual focused; thus, going beyond the boring corporate look will work in your favour. Attaining authenticity by instilling your brand with personality will allow audiences to connect with the product.

By encouraging reviews, customer photographs and general comments; you can construct a dialog between the business and your target audience. Messenger services provided on each social platform can also be an integral mechanism in reaching the consumer – more customer respect and appreciation can be harnessed via timely responses.

Cost-effective advertising

Social media is also the cheapest way to advertise – even though you can pay to enhance each service’s potential; most widely used social networks are free. If you want to sponsor certain posts, you can target those within a specific radius relative to your business – thus, providing a highly effective and very economical solution to marketing.

Joint marketing efforts

Teaming up with neighbouring businesses is also a great way to raise brand awareness. An example being; a company that offers a free discount coupon for another business upon purchase, encourages sales whilst also generating public interest in the other local venture.

What’s trending?

Large organisations also hold social media events that allow smaller businesses to piggyback on to attain nationwide attention. From the aforementioned “Small Business Saturday”, to the weekly occurring “UKBizHour” or the popular “SmallBizHour” hashtags – there a many are fantastic methods at attaining a wider online audience.

If you’re wanting to expand your social network and build brand awareness for your business; get in contact with Cordis. Using our varying expertise, we can communicate your brand to 21st century audiences. Whether you’re looking for a strong social media strategy, a striking website, aesthetic promotional material or a bespoke events programme to drive footfall; Cordis can help you!

#SmallBusinessSaturday