I was recently speaking with a small business owner in the hospitality industry about using social media as a cheap and effective form of promotion in order to increase customers and profits. Their response was they don’t like Facebook.

No worries, I said, don’t have a personal profile but take full advantage of it for your business – you’d be mad not to!

This is why:

• It doesn’t matter how good your business, product, service, or deal is if no-one knows about it.
• If you’re a business that relies on positive word-of-mouth and personal recommendations (two of the best ways to get new business), a social media presence is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase your profile to gain more customers, clients and sales.
• Social media allows people to tag and promote your organisation in posts and recommendations.
• It helps you stay on the radar of customers you already have, and reach a whole new audience.  
• It allows you to keep people up-to-date about what you do, what you offer, and how you can benefit them.
• It has an immediacy and intimacy that traditional advertising lacks, allowing you to build a two-way relationship with your audience.
• Used well, it can be one of your best and cheapest business promotion tools.

Don’t be scared of social media. Be smart and use it to your advantage, particularly if your competitors aren’t.