Social media is now a necessary tool that businesses and organizations should learn to leverage.
Rewind to a few years ago, and you will find most organizations and business owners to be on the fence about using social media for their business. Skeptical business owners figured that platforms like Facebook and Twitter’s popularity will die off faster than they can put an online strategy in place–a very valid concern. After all, if you’re going to invest your business’ resources (whether it’s time, people or money), it is fair to expect some sort of return of investment, right?
If you still need convincing, here are some of the most practical reasons why your business need social media.
1. Social Media is Free
For the most part, social media applications are free to use. You do not have to shell out hundreds of dollars to start your business or organization’s profile on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest or Instragram. So why not take advantage of the free space?
2. Attract Attention and Increase Awareness
According to Pew Research Center 74% of online adults use social media.1 This makes social media a great way to get as many eyeballs looking at your business and business messaging. Following, friending and connecting with prospects, customers and industry leaders can help build your business’ exposure.
“With as little as 6 hoursper week, the vast majority of marketers (95%+) indicated their social media efforts increased exposure for their business.”2
3. Foster Connections with Customers and Leads
Real interactions with your customers ANd potential customers make your business feel more human–approachable and friendly. Remember that people like to do business with other people rather than faceless corporations. Build quality connections with your audience by being helpful and adding value to their experience and they will remember you!
“Of those who have been using social media for at least a year, 69% found it useful for building a loyal fanbase.”2
4. Great Listening Tool
Social media is not just for shameless self-promotion, it is also a great tool to listen in to what your loyal customers (and top competitors!) are up to. This gives you valuable insight when strategizing for an upcoming campaign or service.
Alternatively, you could monitor what others are saying about you, your business or a specific campaign. Are they singing praises? You could thank them through retweets, likes or comments to show that you appreciate their support for your business. Or is disgruntled customer complaining about a bad experience with your service? This is an opportunity to acknowledge their complaints and learn about what improvement in your service.
While joining social media platforms are free, many businesses (especially small businesses) are scared of the initial cost of starting and implementing worthwhile social media marketing campaigns. However, the benefits reaped from great social media efforts far outweigh the cost. In fact, more than half of small businesses with 10 employees or less reported spending less on marketing expenses just by spending 6 hours a week on social media efforts!2
Sources:
- http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/
- http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/SocialMediaMarketingIndustryReport2014.pdf
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