Benefits of Social Media for Small Businesses

Prepared forShari WeissSan Francisco State University

Prepared byMercedes A. RawlykBusiness Administration 16San Francisco State University

April 7, 2015

Table of Contents

Executive Summaryiv

Introduction1

Background.1Purpose..1Significance...1Scope.1Organization..1

Findings.2

Pinterest.2Overview.2Users2Business Overview..3Twitter4Overview.4Users4Business Overview..5Facebook6Overview.6Users6Business Overview..7

Conclusions and Recommendations...8

Work Cited Page.9

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List of Figures

Figure 12

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Executive Summary

Small businesses can benefit from participating in the use of social media like Pinterest, Twitter, or Facebook. Following this in depth study that has been conducted in this report can generate sales that a company has not seen before. There is existing evidence demonstrating that creating an active business account on these sites will actually benefit the business for the long run.

The conclusion that any business will benefit from following the specific instructions in this report is based on the data supplied.

Analysis of the data revealed benefits of three social media platforms:

Pinterest. This specific platform generates a huge amount of spending due to the fact that most users start looking for ideas on what to buy here before any other site.

Twitter. This platform generates the feedback and opinions of customers, which can be used to spread and expand any brand.

Facebook. Similar to Pinterest, this platform generates facts on what millions of people are currently interested in.

On the basis of these findings, it is recommended that small businesses obtain all three accounts due to the fact that they offer different benefits. They also offer an inside look on different audiences. Small businesses would increase sales revenue significantly, possibly create new jobs, and thus expand their company hitting all desired goals for the future.

ivINTRODUCTION

Background

In todays digital era, social media is seemingly surpassing old traditional marketing tactics. For those who are unfamiliar with it, social media is websites and applications that enable users to create and share content, as well as participate in social networking. Many businesses turn their back on such a tool because of intimidation. The lack of knowledge on what these sites can do for companies has hindered the business world as a whole. Benefits that come from demonstrating their image to the world have not been realized. Companies fear what their image will mean to billions of people and refuse to put in effort. If a better understanding was given then small businesses would create social media accounts and begin a road to success.

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to recommend a plan that ensures small businesses to be active and visible on social media sites.

Significance

Compared to other resources social media is the best way to promote a brand. The point to grasp is that billions of people use these sites. This means that billions of customers and potential customers will have access to brand accounts. Businesses are given an opportunity to obtain a unique tool that gives them information on what people want, and their feedback. This specific information can change the future of any business. The key essentials of success are laid out on the table when using these sites. A company can increase sales as well as bring in new customers.

Scope

The objective of this project is to examine benefits of three social media platforms: Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. The story behind this project is that in order to be successful, small businesses need to participate on these sites. These businesses need to promote themselves in the best way possible. Each of the three platforms has different advantages, disadvantages, and limitations. This is the prime example as to why companies need to be on several different sites because they offer different things to the table. Regardless of the differences, the outcome that needs to be reached is to target all audiences for each platform. This outcome is responsible for generating revenue. Without profit there is no business to be run. This project will change the future.

Organization

In this report there will be a variety of useful information about Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. Statistics and graphics will be present to demonstrate why each platform is important in todays era. Lastly, a conclusion of final thoughts and recommendations will be given.

1FINDINGS

70% of Pinterest Users are There for Shopping Inspiration

OverviewPinterest is a well-known social media site that can be used for several personal and business purposes. This site allows users to do different tasks that consists of uploading, saving, and sorting through media content.

UsersIn the last year, Pinterest went from being a site of choice for hipsters and moms to an essential marketing tool. Pinterest has more than twelve millions users in the United States, and more than two hundred thousand users in the UK. This site has become the third most popular in terms of traffic. Pinterest user base is up 237% since 2012. The popularity of this site is going to continue to rise, which is why businesses need to be taking full advantage on what is occurring. Business brands could have this many users at their fingertips. What better way to introduce an info graphic that will summarize the significance of Pinterest.

Figure 1

2Business OverviewMany pinterest users are on the site to get an idea of what they potentially want to buy. These ideas typically turn into an actual sale. People around the globe spend more money, more often, and more items then the other five popular social media sites. Pinterest also provides information on what is trending and what customers want. Their recent update now allows businesses to check analytics. These web analytics provide huge amounts of data, shows how many people have pinned to their account, how many people saw the pins, and how many people clicked out of the pin. This site drives loads of traffic and money. Pinterest lays the groundwork to selling advertisement. By having a Pinterest account companies can work consumers in their favor and drive sales. Companies can promote their brand, offer discounts, and accomplish goals. As Pinterest continues to innovate itself, it also gives businesses an opportunity to expand and drive sales. Here is a pie chart that displays the fact the pinterest is the best platform to be on, compared to Facebook and Twitter. This chart shows the percentage of ecommerce sharing in the last year.

Figure 2

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78% Of Brands/Companies Using Twitter Outsell Their Competition

OverviewWith over 645,750,00 users to date, Twitter is a powerful social media platform that can generate success to a brand or company. It allows millions of people to communicate, share, and leave opinions regarding satisfactory and improvements desired by the consumers. Twitter allows users to favorite or retweet anything that another user has mentioned. Twitter offers a different benefit than Facebook and Pinterest. It gives the fastest responses to customers and outlook on their opinions. To summarize just how important these retweets are for businesses, here is a bar graph to show the significance of why businesses should tweet.

Figure 3

UsersOut of the millions of users, 284 million are active on a monthly basis. 49% of monthly Twitter users follow brands or companies, which means that by creating an account a company can assess specific information. In aspect Twitter users are 3 times more likely to follow a business or brand than a Facebook user. This is a prime example as to why a business should participate on more than one social media site. 41% of Twitter users provide opinions about products or services while 19% seek customer support. In regards to the other side of Twitter users, them being the brand or company, 34% of marketers use Twitter to successfully generate leads. Twitter was the fastest growing network and has generated a high amount of growth within the last couple of years. With so much opportunity and leads free of charge, there is no reason a business should not participate on this site.

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Business OverviewThe benefit to Twitter is that it is all based on communication. Consumers may feel free to leave feedback or share information regarding your brand or company. This creates leads. In a sense, it is as if the customers do all the work by sharing your name and products with others, by retweeting about your company. When referencing to the chart above, on a weekly average, close to 4 million consumers speak in reference or pass along information to brands. This is over 4 million people of opportunity and over 4 million chances of getting your name and brand out, to not only exceed in sales but to became a world-wide name that consumers want in their households.

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90% of All Social Media Users Use Facebook

OverviewFacebook set the bar high for what we call social media. This site was created in 2004 and knocked MySpace out of the water. Facebook is a social network site that has made it easy for users to connect with just about anyone they please. Almost everyone has a Facebook account simply because it was the first unique site that offered many benefits for users.

UsersFacebook has 1.15 billion users and 700 million daily users. There are children, adults, and elderly that use Facebook. The average median for Facebook friends is one hundred and fifty-five. The average median that users considered Facebook friends as actual friends is fifty. Facebook is different because it allows you to connect with friends, family, people from your past, businesses, and so on. This is an important and unique factor because this site offers consumers to see what their friends are interested in, talking about, and what is trending. Here is a grid that summarizes exactly who uses Facebook.

Figure 4

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Business OverviewThe main benefit that businesses can get from having an account of Facebook, is somewhat similar to Pinterest. By having an account businesses can see firsthand what is trending and popular in regards to brands, products, or services. Due to the amount of users Facebook brings in a lot of traffic to benefit from. Facebook generates approximately 36 posts a month, 150 billion friend connections, and 1.13 trillion Facebook likes. Another key essential to using Facebook is feedback. Not only are businesses get ideas on how to best serve customers, but they are also given an opportunity to change things that customers are fond of. Youre building a relationship with your customers. They trust you. Sixty-seven percent of business-to-business markets have generated leads simply by accessing Facebook accounts. A business cannot go wrong with creating and using a Facebook account.

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Conclusions and Recommendations

Analysis of the three specific social media platforms Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook leads to the following conclusions and recommendations:

1. Before setting up an account do numerous amounts of research on each of these sites. Grasp an idea and a better understanding of what an image on these sites needs to look like.

2. To drive revenue and success, small businesses need to engage in at least one of these sites if not all three. Take into consideration that the more the merrier. Each site brings different benefits to the table.

On the basis of these findings, a recommendation to small businesses is to inherit a marketing team. There should be separate teams for each social media platform. The benefits that come from each platform strongly suggest a positive impact for the future of any business.

This project demonstrates the significance of being a part of social media sites. Therefore, concludes this report.

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