Which business types benefit from Social Media?

It’s a question I’m often asked and whilst 99% of business can benefit from social media, there are types that come up time and time again as being massively beneficial

Here are 6 Business Types That Benefit The Most From Social Media

1. Restaurants / Bars
Look at the regeneration of any town in the UK and the food and drink offering will be at the heart of it

In our home town Altrincham Market is on the lips of every journalist and blogger across the North West, but the foodie scene is much bigger than one venue and across Greater Altrincham from Broadheath to Timperley to Hale you’ll see foodie businesses and bars thriving

With a couple of notable exceptions that simply aren’t active on social media the businesses that are doing well are the ones that are active on social media and showcase the best of what they do

Social Media and foodie business have had strong growth over the past few years – it’s visual, it’s an experience people want to soak up and it’s something people want to talk about

It’s also a massively saturated market and the businesses that people talk on social media are the ones that are active in real life

For a restaurant or bar you simply can’t afford not to talked about and at the front of people’s minds on Social Media

2. Retailers
There’s been a lot of talk about death of the high street to the point where retail is often the only type of business town teams and local councils will get behind and support

The high street is morphing, the way people shop is changing and yet one of the problems that is rarely talked about independent retailers is lack of marketing and lack of customer service

The focus is always on parking, out of town shopping centres and rents and rates

People will spend local with independent retailers if they know you exist, your price point is right and the customer service is excellent

Social Media is a wonderful tool to show off what you offer instore, but the biggest difference between an indie and Next / River Island / H&M et all is you can have a personality and customer rapport

Broadcasting like the big boys simply won’t work for independent retailers. You need to enhance the customer journey with outstanding engagement and customer service like we used to have in person before TescoTowns took over

Used the right way social media is your friend

Dabbling and broadcasting once a day or once a week and the results from social media simply won’t be big enough to make an impact

3. Health & Fitness
Budget Gyms, Boutique Gyms, Personal Trainers, Health Bars and Supplement Shops

You can’t help but notice the rise of the health and fitness industry over the past few years

At the peak of social media success you only have to look at the success of Social Media celebrity like Joe Wicks (The Body Coach)

At a local level you can look at the fact that my local gym has 19 PT’s each competing for customers

Joe Wicks broke through the social media noise by producing more content, at a faster rate and of a higher quality that the competition

Like the restaurant and bar market, health and fitness is a saturated market that only the best break through on social media

4. Professional Services
Here’s the truth – professional services or B2B businesses can win big with Social Media

Think solicitors, accountants, marketing companies, IT companies, office supplies companies, printers and so on – they all have the DNA of social media in them through years and years of face to face networking meetings

They understand the concept of givers gain.

They understand the concept of USP and having an elevator pitch

And every type of business needs their services

Despite all of this many of these firms simply dabble with social media rather than have a social media strategy aligned with their business plans

That’s why when a professional services firm does social media well they stand out so much and win

5. Tradesmen
Electricians, Painters & Decorators, Plumbers, Builders, Window Companies, Joiners, Handy men

Every single day there’s a goldmine waiting for you Social Media. On facebook it’s literally like reaching the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow every single day

There’s been a seismic shift from traditional marketing for tradesmen like the Yellow Pages through to hyper local facebook groups, online reviews and google

Literally my mother who is 72 years old doesn’t even use the yellow pages any longer for Tradesmen. It all comes through personal recommendations or reviews on the web

If you want to read a clear sign of how social media has changed business for tradesmen read our case studies with IGR Electric and The Window Company here

6. Charity
Are charities businesses?

Not technically, but just as many public services are being run like businesses so are local charities

I have a love / hate relationship with charities and social media

I love social media for charities because it helps raise awareness about issues and helps charities raise much needed funds

I hate social media for charities because the digital divide often means a small group of local charities / community organisations receive the majority of funding due to lack of awaress of other local charities

So social media is massively beneficial for local charities – but there is a massive need for charities to skill up and get word out there about what they do

If you’d like to discuss whether social media is suitable for your business and which is the best way to progress – get in touch below

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Look at our Social Media Training and Social Media Management services

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Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk

Alex

Alex McCann is owner of Altrincham HQ – a social media management and training company based in Altrincham, Cheshire that has worked with 100s of local business developing their social media strategy. Alex has 350+ LinkedIn testimonials and is ranked number 1 for Social Media Marketing in the UK via independent customer reviews on Freeindex.