Social Media Referrals Drive Small Business Growth

This really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has ever given any thought to business marketing in Florida or anywhere else for that matter. Consumers are more likely to trust a recommendation from a friend or acquaintance than advertising when it comes to trying a new product or service. To be specific, they are 71% more likely according to a recent survey of potential customers.

The consumers we are targeting with our tactics for business marketing in Florida are not stupid. That is one thing that is unfortunately overlooked by many amateur (and some less reputable professional) marketers who try to ‘pull a fast one’ with their advertising techniques.

In today’s ever connected society if you promise A in your advertising and then offer B when the consumer shows up, they’re not just going to make a scene and not comeback like they might have 10 years ago. Not even close. What they’re going to do is tell everyone on all of their social media networks exactly what happened and you’re going to possibly lose hundreds of potential customers which can be a the killing blow for a struggling small business.

However, social media isn’t all doom and gloom. Look at the opposite of the previous example. If a consumer enters your business and has an amazing experience they’re going to react exactly the same way as they did with the bad experience. The difference being, you just got a positive message spread to hundreds of potential customers and it didn’t cost you a dime of your south Florida business marketing budget.

The above examples, setting a reach of hundreds of points of contact, are referring to the most common social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. However, there are bigger fish out there as far as a good or bad review goes. Many tourists rely on sites such as Yelp and Urban Spoon to find where the best businesses to visit on their vacation are. Now imagine that the customer who had the amazing experience at your small business is an avid Yelp user. Forget hundreds of potential customers hearing about it now we’re talking thousands of people suddenly thinking they should check out your shop.

It’s a fact as old as business marketing in Florida; people trust their friends and family more than paid advertising spokespeople. Fortunately for you, modern technology has expanded the number of ‘friends’ people have many times over and allows you to get the message out there without spending big money for small returns.