Do you have a small business and you have not bought into the social media craze? You are sadly in risk of losing your customers. This is the time to be online, staying online with valuable content that meets your audiences’ information needs. Information is becoming the pillar of every society; little wonder leading countries spend a lot to support the information and communication sector; these leading nations know the importance and power of information technology in this century, they are aware that the society with the updated information becomes the leading nation because others follow without a choice.

So what are you waiting for? As a business owner you have been complaining of how poor the economy is but you forget some businesses are still flourishing, well success are for those open to change in this 21st century. Honestly, you have yourself to blame not the government. With the fast development of technology and strong online marketing buzz, people of all age grades are all online via mobile phones or systems, hence it is only logical they patronize the company or brand(your competitor) that engages them with the right content.

Now, it is assume you know the importance of staying online and updated. Good! This is not enough, you need to have this knowledge: knowing how to locate your target audience, having them in the right social media platform, engaging them and diligently promoting your service is going to produce the ‘magical profit’ you have been aiming.  If you don’t engage your audience with qualitative content you risk losing your customers. Socially savvy entrepreneurs know that it’s all about engaging the right audiences with valuable content.

Promotion and engagement are really two sides of the same coin. Engagement is rooted in consistently sharing insight and providing value every time you connect with a customer. This establishes credibility while building trust and inspiring customers to tell their friends about you. Promotion extends your engagement efforts by presenting a valuable offer that’s based on your customers’ interests and needs. Social media amplifies your efforts so you can be found and engage a wider audience to grow your business.

Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn. Facebook allows you to create a business page.  Make sure you read the rules for businesses first. You can even ‘create a page’ through your personal account, if your business allows you to do so. That makes it easy for small business owners to manage it. On LinkedIn, every employee becomes your best advocate.

It’s important to have quality content on your social media pages before you start adding friends and followers (engaging and promoting). When you try to find friends, they’re going to look at the page to see if they want to follow you. So you need to give them a reason to follow you first. Provide valuable information about the industry. Post pictures of your business or people enjoying your business. On YouTube and Instagram, post videos and pictures of your business, customer experiences, and encourage customers to make their own. Share insightful content with your followers on Facebook and Twitter as well.