Using Social Media

More and more small businesses are using social media each day to generate new business and connect with customers. Social media has become an essential marketing tool for lots of businesses. The big problem for lots of companies such as Switch Hitch is that they are not taking full advantage of the benefits that social media has to offer. Social media is improving each day and social media networks like Facebook and Twitter are constantly creating new opportunities to reach customers. Social media is great because it’s inexpensive, easy to use, the customers use it, and it does not take a lot of time. 96 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 35 are on a social media website. The majority of Switch Hitch’s customers are going to be within this age range so it is important for Switch Hitch to become involved in Social Media.

The first and most important strategy that I would recommend for Switch Hitch would be to establish a Facebook account. Facebook is the leader in social media and more than 9 million small businesses are currently using Facebook. The average user on Facebook has 130 friends and Facebook usage is up 40 percent from last year. On average, there are 3.5 billion pieces of content shared each week on Facebook including 6.5 billion photos which are uploaded each month. Facebook is more personal than many other social media sites which is good for building relationships with your customers. Facebook will help Switch Hitch to exceed their customer’s expectations, develop customer/brand loyalty, and connect with a wider range of people.

Switch Hitch needs to create a Facebook page which includes a description of the company/product along with pictures and videos. Switch Hitch needs to mention things like the ‘Life-time warranty” and “ease of use.” The Facebook page needs to include links that will allow the customer to go directly to the company website to purchase the product. Facebook’s social plugins such as the like button, share button, and the comment box, allow customers to share their experiences with others on Facebook.

The book uses a good example of a company called ModCloth. ModCloth uses the share plugin on their Facebook page so that when someone makes a purchase from them, that person can immediately post a picture and description of the product that they purchased for all of their friends to see. I think that Switch Hitch should use the same approach. When someone makes a purchase then that person can share their experience on Facebook. They can also post a picture or video of the hitch for their friends to see. This type of social media advertisement could really help to boost sales and most importantly it’s free advertisement. Imagine all of the money that Switch Hitch could save.

Lots of Switch Hitch’s competition such as “etrailer” and the “hitchstore” are already involved in various types of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. One way that