10 MAJOR REASONS YOU NEED SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR BUSINESS
76% of consumers will search for a business online before physically visiting the business. The importance of online presence for a business cannot be emphasized enough. Being online means you can be found on the internet, through search engines, or on any social media platform.
Social media plays a big role in connecting consumers to businesses. Facebook and Instagram have over 200 million businesses each. There are over 20 social media platforms that a business can use, but remember, before signing up to any of these platforms, you have to know where your customers are. You don’t need to be on all of these platforms. As a business why should you join social media platforms? The benefits of joining these platforms are infinite. In this article, we will outline some of the main benefits you can get by simply being part of the online community.
1. Brand Awareness
The majority of people use more than one channel. The main aim of businesses being on social media is to increase brand awareness. With a large number of users, the chances of new users discovering your business are very high. 83% of people surveyed said to have discovered new businesses on Instagram.
Social media algorithms can really help you get in front of new audiences. For example, if you went on Instagram to search for shoe vendors, the next time you refresh the application you will notice a change in suggestions where Instagram will show you other shoe vendors, shoe-related pages, and ADs. This happens a lot with the majority of social media platforms.
2. Competition
In the business world, competition is healthy. Every business wants to have a big chunk of the market share. Your competitors are on social media, so why aren’t you? Join social media to have an edge over your competitors.
Use these platforms to see what your competitors are up to, what content they post, content ideas, and how they interact with their audience.
The majority of social media platforms now have insights that allow you to see how your content is performing. From the insights, you can compare your business against your competitors and see how they are performing. In Meta for business, you can add competitors and see how much they post, the number of new followers and the number of followers they have.
3. Build Customer Rapport
Social media gives your business a chance to interact with customers on a not-so-serious basis. This gives you a chance to humanize your business and in return, it gets easier for customers to approach you. Building a rapport with your customers nurtures trust that forms a returning customer base. Give your customers a feel of interacting with individuals rather than a business.
In this example, you can see how KFC is interacting with customers on a light note.
If this was an Email, KFC would have probably ignored since it is used to handle more professional matter.
On social media, interact in a creative and warm way.
4. Get Seen
There is a famous saying that goes, ‘Out of sight, out of mind’. This goes for businesses too. The more you post, the more engagement you get, the more your audience sees you and when it’s time for a consumer to purchase, they will remember you easily. Post more frequently but always remember, quality over quantity. Quality, relatable and informative content will have your audience coming back for more and engaging with you. Social media algorithms favour content that gets engagements and the more engagements you get, the more the social platforms will show your content to a larger audience.
5. Advertisement
Facebook has more than 10 million active advertisers.
Advertising will help you reach a newer and larger audience than the one you already got. 48% of marketers who have used advertising on social media have agreed it has a positive return on investment. ROI is calculated differently according to business goals. It necessarily doesn’t mean getting money but could mean more engagements, lead generation, etc.
The best thing about social media advertising is that it can be targeted. While setting up your ADs, you can decide which demographic should be the target for these ADs. This form of advertisement gives a better ROI.
Social media advertising is said to be cheaper than traditional advertising. The availability of insights is helpful in calculating your return on investment. Try different strategies and identify what works for you and you can stick with it for a period.
6. Generate Leads
Lead generation is very important in the marketing funnel. Lead generation is attracting potential customers and spiking their interest over time with an aim of converting them into purchasing customers. Social media is one of these platforms that will help with lead generation. Through engagement with your consumers online, you can spike their interest, and the more they see you, the more they trust you. Add a call to action to get their details and you can send them personalized offers through emails while still engaging with them online.
7. Promote content and websites
You have probably seen businesses post snippets of content from their websites or other platforms on social media channels in a bid to drive their audience to those platforms to consume the content as a whole. Use social media to promote your amazing quality content, offers, and sales. Add links, use captivating snippets, and add awesome graphics or videos to attract the attention of your audience.
A good example could be how WebFX post their blogs on their socials after uploading them on their websites.
8. Online shops
Social media has evolved from just an entertainment platform to encompass many other things. Right now, you can make a purchase through Facebook, Instagram and TikTok with just a click. Integration of shops and marketplaces on these platforms is an amazing idea. You see it, you like it and with just a click of a button, the purchase is done. For a business, this means a boost in your sales. Once you register your page as a business, you can add the shop feature and enable your customers to make direct purchases.
9. Reputation management and damage control
Consumers will talk about your business to the online community whether you are online or not. Some of these mentions could be in a good way or a bad way. Social media is also used as a review platform by potential consumers. A simple search of your business name can bring up any mentions on the platforms.
Appreciate good mentions and correct bad reputations in a good and professional way. Always be around these platforms to know how you are portrayed and aid in building your brand’s image. How a business handles itself in times of crisis could be a make or break point.
10. Customer service and support
The majority of consumers discover new businesses via social media. Customers tend to reach out to businesses where they feel more comfortable. The non-serious environment of social media makes it easier for consumers to reach out through these platforms. Have good customer service and prompt responses to inquiries and complaints through these platforms.
Customers could reach you via direct messages or could tag you on the platform, and it’s advisable to be there to give a prompt and constructive response.
As a business, meet your customers where they are. In 2020, 80% of consumers worldwide shopped online. This indicates that customers rather get their products coming to them than go to get the products themselves. Go to your customers instead of waiting for them to come to you. Being a marketer on social media means you have to be on your toes with changes in algorithms to make the most out of these channels. Algorithms change almost four times a year with major changes being at least once a year. Stay vigilant and know what to change when the time comes.