Using social media for business can be a great way to generate social engagement with potential customers and develop your brand personality.
A considered, well-crafted social media presence expands your business’ digital reach, demonstrates a professional business attitude and helps to reach a wider target audience. Some of the key benefits of using Social Media for business are;
Increase Brand Awareness
With over half of the world’s population using social media, platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter a natural place to reach new and highly targeted potential customers. In a recent study, 83% of Instagram users say they discover new products on the platform.
Target Marketing
Social media ads are a relatively inexpensive way to promote your business and distribute content. They also offer powerful targeting options so you can reach a custom audience and make the very most of your budget. With ad targeting options including demographic information, geography, language, and even online behaviours, you can craft specific messages that best speak to different groups of potential customers, and only pay for the exact viewers you want to reach.
Savvy marketers have embraced this key benefit of social media for business: by 2022, advertisers are expected to spend over $56 billion on promoting products over social platforms.
Develop your brand personality
The ability to create real human connections is one of the key benefits of social media for business. Introduce your followers to the people who make up your company and showcase how existing customers are using and benefiting from your products. Social networks allow you to interact directly with customers and fans, and likewise give them the chance to interact directly with your brand.
Unlike traditional media, which offers only one-way communication, social media is a two-way street. This authenticity builds trust. Trust, in turn, builds marketing receptiveness and drives new business.
Better Customer Communications
Social Media offers another channel to communicate with customers. Social media customer service is a growing practice of using social tools to resolve customer questions or concerns. Social customer support is highly effective because it allows customers to reach you in a way that is convenient for them on the platforms they already use. Also, it helps businesses to manage customer expectations and avoid frustrations with longer waiting times associated with email or telephone.
Some platforms like Facebook Messenger offer real-time chat functionality which can help you to provide improved support for service issues and support-related requests.
Demonstrate your expertise
Before committing to a purchase, over 90% of customers will conduct some form of online research. Customers look to established brands for insights and information… and there’s no better place to share that information than social media! Posting on social channels is a great way to get your smart, well-researched content in front of new people, proving your expertise and growing your audience.
No matter what industry your business is in, social media offers the opportunity to establish your brand as a thought leader or a go-to source for information on topics related to your industry or niche.
Again, this all helps to build trust, reliability and reputation.
Increase Web Traffic
Social media posts and adverts are key ways to drive traffic to your website. Sharing great content from your blog or website to your social channels is a great way to connect with potential customers. This is also measurable by using Analytics to collect data on your page visits and click-throughs.
Boost Sales
Your social accounts are a critical part of your sales funnel—the process through which a new contact becomes a customer.
As the number of people using social media continues to grow and social sales tools evolve, aligning your marketing efforts with social networks will become increasingly important for product search and eCommerce.
Drive Trends & Demand
As people start liking, commenting on, and sharing your social posts, your content is exposed to new audiences – their friends and followers. It only takes a few favorable shares from the right influencers to get something trending.
“Going viral” takes this concept one step further and can turn your product into an overnight success! As people share your content with their networks, and their networks follow suit, your content spreads exponentially across the internet, potentially getting thousands or even millions of shares.
This exposure is especially beneficial because, in a world where there is far more content than any one person could ever consume, a friend’s social share acts as a kind of pre-screening and recommendation.
By having a social media strategy, you will be better-positioned to take advantage of these kinds of marketing opportunities.
Reputation Management
Your customers are already talking about you on social media. If you and your team are observant, you can pick up on important social posts about your brand to highlight the positive and promptly address potentially problematic situations before they develop into a major issue.
Is someone saying something about your business that’s not true? Be sure to share your side of the story in a polite, professional way.
Someone singing your praises? Send them plenty of thanks and draw attention to their kind words.
Crisis Communications
All businesses – big or small, face having to deal with a potential crisis. For example – has your business been affected by extreme weather conditions? Are you facing critical supply chain issues? Has COVID limited your ability to trade? These situations and more require you to keep customers informed and can alter how you do business.
Social media provides a helpful and direct communications channel when it comes to responding to crises. Maintaining well-run social accounts and having a plan in place can help make sure you’re present and ready to engage if the worst occurs.
Understand your customers
Social media generates a huge amount of data about your customers in real-time. You can use that information to make smarter business decisions. All of the major social networks offer analytics that provide demographic information about the people interacting with your account. This can help you tailor your social media marketing strategy to better speak to your real audience.
Social media provides a helpful and direct communications channel when it comes to responding to crises. Maintaining well-run social accounts and having a plan in place can help make sure you’re present and ready to engage if the worst occurs.
Industry Awareness
In the online world, things move fast and you can’t afford to be left behind. Keeping a virtual ear to the ground and an eye on your competition is a way to stay informed about changes to your industry that could affect the way you do business.
Reporting and Analytics
It is always a challenge for marketers to prove return on investment. But with social media tracking and analytics tools, you can see the full impact of your social media activities, from follows to engagements right through to purchases.
The main social media platforms used for business include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Depending on your product or service, your brand strategy and target audience, some social media platforms might be more appropriate than others.
I can provide guidance on social media marketing best-practices which can form an important part of your business’ overall digital strategy.
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