More and more people of all ages are using social media for both personal and professional purposes. From social interaction and staying in touch with friends to gathering information, shopping and sheer entertainment, social media’s reach is vast. Social media opens up channels of communication between businesses and people, humanizing brands and helping build relationships with customers. It’s not only your friends and family using social media, but your prospective clientele as well, so setting social media objectives for your business is important. Here are 5 reasons why you should be using social media for your business:
Brand Awareness
Making sure you stay top of mind among your target customer requires a constant presence within their sphere of influence online. According to Global Web Index, the average person spends more than 2 hours each day on social media, and that number continues to rise each year. Social media is low-hanging fruit to build brand awareness. The platforms are free, easy to use, and provide a wealth of valuable data about your target audience. If your business isn’t at least maintaining consistent, relevant and engaging posts online, you may be missing out on an easy opportunity to increase awareness online.
Website Traffic
Driving traffic to your website is often an important step toward making a sale. When used effectively, social media can be one of your top sources for site referrals. To drive traffic to your website, share original, high-quality, engaging content from your website on social media. Not only does this drive leads to your site, where prospective customers can learn more about your company, but it can also help establish brand recognition and thought leadership within your industry.
Engagement
Communication is key for any business to be successful. However, many businesses lack in positive engagement and two-way communication with their customer base. Social media allows businesses to interact with users freely and quickly, which can help resolve problems promptly and proactively and improve a business’ reputation as a result. You can also create positive engagement experiences with customers through social media, such as through contests and giveaways, which can build a positive brand image in your audience’s mind.
Consumer Insights
Social media can be an easy way to survey customers and learn more about their interests, perceptions about your business, and other valuable insights. By engaging with your customers on social media, you can gain valuable insights that may otherwise cost an arm and a leg through paid market research or focus groups. Through strategic social media interactions and clear views of your fans’ demographics, interests and behaviors, you can easily spot trends, allowing you to adjust your marketing strategy effectively as needed.
Branding
Social media can give brands more personality. Nowadays, a brand’s social profile may be more important than other forms of traditional advertising. In fact, 84% of millennials stated that they don’t trust traditional advertising, whether that be ads on print or TV. They claim that blogs and social media content are more influential. This is because they see these social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, as two-way social networks rather than one-way marketing machines. They are more likely to stay tuned on social media and hear what you have to say.
