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Whilst for many, social media has become part of our everyday lives, for businesses it’s a free tool which takes nothing more than a little skill and time investment. With endless opportunities to grow your business, if you’re not using it as part of your marketing strategy, why not? Businesses of all shapes and sizes utilise social media but the pet industry is at a particular advantage - not only can it be used as a marketing tool, but also an educational tool. The best bit - pet photos are always a winner to capture attention.
Increase brand awareness
Being present on social media is an opportunity to put your brand in front of your target audience when they are susceptible to taking your messaging on board. It’s another avenue to educate customers and potential customers, not only potentially leading to sales, but repeat sales in the form of loyalty.
Engagement
By posting and interacting with your community online, you are, in turn, building trust. It can also be a useful tool for answering FAQs and bringing a personal touch to your business. Customers often provide free advertising when they receive a great service/product, which is yet another free marketing opportunity to capitalise on. This is called user-generated content (UGC). By reposting UGC, you can show your appreciation for your customers and give them a sense of community, even communicating with them directly to build relationships. The flip side? Customers are also quick to publicly criticise when they are not happy - sometimes warranted and sometimes not. By addressing concerns and feedback head-on, you are not only potentially improving satisfaction but also perception.
Hashtags
Placing relevant hashtags at the end of your post is an effective way to reach a wider audience on social media. You can increase the visibility of the content you are posting and reach potential customers who otherwise may not be aware of you.
Paid advertising
Having a social media presence can also open up other, more targeted, advertising opportunities in the form of ‘paid advertising’. You can not just promote your business but also use this method to advertise special offers and offer incentives, for example. The best bit? You can narrow down your audience by various criteria, meaning you are not wasting valuable budget on targeting people who are highly unlikely to purchase from your business.
Collaborations
Rising in popularity is collaborating with another business or person. This could involve sharing each other’s content, hosting giveaways, partnering on a joint promotion, or even paying an influencer to use and promote your product. By working with other businesses or influencers, you can tap into their audience, build credibility and potentially gain new customers, alongside growing your community. There is power in numbers and mutual support.
Increase website traffic
Your website is your online shop window. Whilst some smaller businesses operate without a website, for most it’s becoming a necessity. Social media is a platform to share links and redirect your audience to your website. By consistently posting engaging and relevant content, you can drive traffic back to your website, potentially growing your business through sales. It also, therefore, provides further marketing opportunities, such as encouraging visitors to sign up for your newsletter and enabling data collection. There are further free tools available online, such as Linktree, which allows you to have multiple links, all centralised in one, fully branded, we’d like to add, place.
If you have yet to jump on the social media bandwagon or are struggling to know where to start, feel free to drop us a message. We’re happy to chat!
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