Even though there are literally billions of users on social media, many businesses and people still don’t think social media platforms are viable marketing tools, or even worth any consideration at all. Of course, that’s absolute nonsense, and here are some reasons why.
1. Know your audience
Sun Tzu said ‘know your enemy’ (among other things), but in this case it’s ‘know your audience’. It’s a no-brainer that your audience needs to see your business, but for the best results, it works the other way around as well. Whether you’re marketing a product, a service, or simply trying to raise awareness of your brand, social media can help you get information on both your existing audience and your potential audience, as well. There’s a wealth of tools available that can break down the statistics on your customers, helping you to understand your target audience and improve your marketing. In addition to that, many tools and apps let you tailor your social media posts and who sees them based on specific parameters, which means that unlike conventional marketing methods, you can target specific groups with excellent precision.
2. Friends with businesses
In the digital age, it is extremely important as a business that you have a friendly face, especially when dealing with customers, and social media is the perfect place to do so. It will remind your customers that your company is full of human beings, who care about their concerns. If you lack the resources or know-how to do so yourself, there are plenty of digital marketing companies who can help. If you do decide to take the reins of your own social media empire, it is important that you don’t just fill it with sales pitches, or it will alienate your audience. Instead, consider posting a mixture of sales-related posts, interesting ‘behind-the-scenes’ posts of the industry and more light-hearted posts designed to engage and interest your audience. This will make them more likely to pay attention to your business, as well as make them more loyal to your company or brand. A good sense of humour is a must!
3. Jammed with traffic!
One of the best ways social media can help a business, whether it’s large or small, is by increasing the company’s own website traffic. Obviously, if used well, social media will help direct people onto your own website, but on top of that, the more shares and links you get on social media, the higher your website will be on search rankings! This will of course make you more visible and consequently fetch you more profits (potentially, anyway). You might be surprised to learn that this is even more effective with blogs. Companies with blogs have been found to get 55% more traffic and 70% more leads than those without them, and google has a dedicated search engine just for finding blogs.
4. Cost effective content
One of the biggest advantages to using social media for business is the fact that social media marketing is significantly cheaper than traditional marketing. You can reach a wide audience and run a variety of campaigns with guaranteed audience interaction for a fraction of the cost of other methods.
5. Problem solving
Building on the earlier points about customer loyalty and relationships, being on social media and having access to your customers’ comments and feedback in real time allow you to respond to any issues or complaints that may arise. So long as you handle the situation with grace and tact, it will massively limit the damage, and can even end up looking good for you, even if you were initially at fault. A good example of this is how O2 reacted during their nationwide network outage, back in 2012:
By responding to tweets personally and with humour, they turned their customers’ general mood from anger to happiness as can be seen on this helpful graph:
Good customer service, especially when it’s public, is an excellent way to generate approval and attention for your company. Remember that potential customers will always be drawn to a company with demonstrably good customer service!
6. I spy…
Another advantage about social media’s public nature is that you can keep an eye on the actions and marketing of your competitors. Have they posted something that seems to draw in fans or drive them away? Take note and incorporate it into your marketing strategy. Use your acquired information to offer a service or product that your competitors are lacking. Of course, this works both ways, so make sure you don’t post any important information that you don’t want getting out!
In Conclusion
These are just some of the many reasons for your business to be actively using social media. As well as giving you a greater presence online, it is also an excellent way to interact with, and provide services for, your customers.
