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THE BENEFITS OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Neil Kinnerly • September 6, 2022
The way we use social media has changed so much over the years, and even more so if you use it for business.
It used to be used predominantly as a place to social network on more of a personal level, but now, especially since lockdown, we use it to discover new businesses and buy products more than ever.
It is an amazing tool to push your marketing further and reach audiences that you may not ever reach otherwise.
However, many business owners are unsure whether to get themselves online, especially if they don't use it themselves or aren't confident doing it for their company.
Marketing can be low down on the list of priorities when you have so much else to do in your day to day job, but if you are unsure, here are 15 reasons why you should definitely get your business online:
- It's free marketing - Why miss out on an inexpensive way to promote your business, generate leads and boost your sales? You're missing a trick! If your business isn't online nowadays, for most people it can give off the impression that you're not moving with the times.
- It increases brand awareness - Did you know, roughly 80% of social media users say they discover new services and products online? With more than half of the population using social media, it's the perfect place to show off your brand, your values, and what you offer.
- It increases traffic to your website - The main point of social media (for business) is to increase brand awareness and ultimately, direct them to your website for more information. Blogs are a great way to encourage people to visit your site and share more in-depth information and advice about your service/ product or industry.
- You can engage with your audience - Social media works two ways allowing you to interact directly with your audience, and your fans to interact with your brand. To get your followers to engage though, you must make sure you are active and consistent and always respond to the comments/ messages in your brand's tone of voice.
- It showcases the people behind the business - People love nothing more than seeing a real person behind the brand. For the naturally nosey you can wet their appetite with 'behind the scenes' and 'day in the life' style content. It also builds trust to show real people using your product and benefitting from your service along with highlighting the human side to your brand.
- It can increase sales – This won't happen overnight (or at all if you're not active enough) but if you use your platforms correctly and share good quality content then you will encourage your audience to become customers. If not straight away, then possibly later down the line.
- It's a good way to manage reputation– All businesses can receive good and bad reviews and there's nothing worse than if people are sharing negative feedback online or by word and mouth. A good way to manage this is getting ahead of it and acknowledging it and letting people know why maybe something was off. The way you respond can make a difference and do a lot of damage control rather than not responding at all.
- You can keep your eye on the competition - It's always wise to be aware of what your competitors are up to and what they offer. You want to stand out from the crowd and offer a unique service so your platforms should reflect that.
- You can keep on top of industry news - As well as promoting your brand and services, you also want to showcase the fact you are an expert in your field. If there is a topic in the news relating to your product/ service, make sure you share a credible article with your opinion or advice relating to it. You can also keep on top of your industry news by using social media and following respected sources.
- You can target your marketing - You can create adverts to reach a specific demographic and it doesn't have to cost you a lot. You can decide your budget and who you want it to reach and tailor the advert accordingly.
- Showcase yourself as an expert in your field - People will follow you because they are interested in you, your business or your service. Treat your social media like an online portfolio and showcase your business as a leader in your industry and a place of great knowledge. Blogs on your website are a great way to do this by giving advice, sharing tips and tricks, and discussing relevant topics in more depth.
- It's a good way to remind people about your business - Shopping trends are now so different, especially after the pandemic and most of us buying regularly online. Sometimes just your product popping up on someone's home feed will remind them about what you offer and prompt them to buy from you or get in touch to find out more.
- It's the new way to network - Social media is a great way to network with other like-minded business people. You can do this by following them online, help promote them by sharing their content and encourage them to do the same for you. By building up a relationship you can possibly collaborate, generate more business for each other and support locally.
- You could go viral - The more people comment and share your content, the more visibility your profile will get and the more you will hopefully attract new followers and potential customers. The more this happens, the more that content is shared across the internet and the more exposure your business will get. Aslong as it's for positive reasons this of course is a win win.
- You learn more about your customers - All the main platforms offer analytics which will show you who is looking at your content, when and where. It will show you what content works well and what doesn't and this can give you insight into what your customer wants or needs.
We could continue with the reasons to get your business online as there are so many but we hope these are a good starting block to convince you why.
If you want to get started but don't know where to begin or what you need to do, we offer a range of services to help you along the way, just click the links to find out more:
Get in touch and find out how we can help you to market your business successfully
here.
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