Let’s be clear. We think social media is a must these days for Every. Type. Of. Business. There are some businesses, however, for which social media is not only a must, but the sole, main or most effective form of communication for reaching their clients and customers. Put another way, without social media, there may not be much of a business. Here are a few types of businesses that require social media to function.
Food trucks
When you’re a food truck, you’re always on the move. Unless your customers are actively following you around all day in their vehicles or happen to stumble upon you walking, they won’t know where you’re going to be. That’s where social media comes in.
Food trucks benefit from using social media to communicate to their fans what their weekly schedule is-i.e., where they’re going to be on what day. Since this is something that can change on the fly depending on weather and other circumstances, the immediacy of and quick ability to update social media comes in handy.
Service-based businesses that are mobile
The theme of mobility also comes into play in our next example. If you’re selling a product or performing a service on the move sans storefront, then social media is your central hub for connecting with customers—to make announcements, offer specials, etc.
Taking some examples from our own lives with types of businesses our staff has patronized, we’re thinking mobile car washing/detailing, mobile spray tanning/beauty services, lawn care…you get the picture. Many of these businesses even conduct their bookings through built-in features on platforms like Facebook, for example.
Service-based businesses with frequently-changing schedules
Again, with needing to let customers know information on the fly, another one of our types of businesses that require social media to function is ones whose schedules change often. This differs from the category above because maybe they do operate a storefront, but that need to let people know about updates that change frequently is what ranks them in this blog.
Example: a hair stylist, who may have a certain number of time slots left available in a given week that he or she is trying to fill. He/she posts on social to generate interest in those available time slots.
Online boutiques/retail
You have your website, but most customers aren’t clicking to your site as soon as they roll out of bed in the morning. They are clicking to social media. Many online retail businesses mirror their website offerings on social, which is a good strategy.
Taking it a step further, you may not even have a website. These days, through social media shop functions offered by platforms like Facebook, it’s possible to run the ecommerce side of your business entirely through social media itself.
Start-ups
Small, start-up businesses should rely heavily on social media! Maybe you’re too small to have a storefront, and you’re working out of your home. Or maybe you’re just working out of your home because you want to. Either way, social media is a free resource for generating brand followers and pushing your products and services.
Summary
We can’t say it enough: we believe every business should be on social media in some capacity. However, we’re shining a spotlight on these types of businesses that require social media to function. Social media’s immediacy and fast-consuming nature poise it as the perfect place to broadcast content for these brands that are essentially cultivating their followings remotely or online.
McNutt & Partners is a full-service advertising and digital marketing agency. Contact us today for your marketing needs! Call 334-521-1010, or visit our contact page.
