Is Social Media A Waste?
You probably hear and see countless things about social media and how it’s crucial for every business to have a presence on at least one social platform. But do all businesses need it? In fact, is it just a waste of time all together? The answer is – No!
Social media is not a waste of time because it gives your company free exposure. Yes, you can get your company’s name and information out there to the public without having to break the bank. You’ll be able to attract new customers and stay in touch with your current customers. Customers and clients like to feel important to companies and have their voices heard which can be done through social media. The concept relates to why it’s important to have a website – it gives you an online presence.
Free Advertisement
Hands down, social media is primarily used to advertise specials and any happenings at particular business, in addition to facts about the company. This is great because it will allow those who stumble upon your profile to see what your company is all about without having to pick up the phone or write an email – that is, if you include sufficient information on your profile page.
It’s essential to include everything about your company on your profile page because it will make it easily searchable. With Facebook’s new Graph Search, optimizing your business page has become a necessity otherwise users will have a hard time finding your business. Companies spend a lot of time and effort on building up their social media channels because it exposes them to other companies and potential clients from around the world, in addition to those nearby.
Optimizing your social channels will also allow you to be searchable through search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. Although there are other methods of marketing such as traditional marketing and through email, social media can still be just as effective, if not more, solely because of the large audience throughout various social media channels.
Builds Customer Loyalty
With the majority of potential customers on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or even Pinterest, having that social presence allows users to see a different side to the company instead of the façade alone. People want to be able to connect with a business and feel important. They don’t want to feel as if you’re just using them to sell them your products or services.
Building that relationship creates a loyal following as well. When customers or clients like what you have to offer and feel like they are important to your company, they will refer you to their friends or other companies as well. When fans or followers share your information to their circle, their friends will be more likely to check out your page or like your content because it’s coming from what they consider a trusted source. Social media shares are essentially the traditional tactic – word of mouth. The only difference is that it reaches hundreds, maybe thousands of people at the same time.
We spend a great deal of time on social media for several reasons. It not only allows you to share the latest happenings within a company in real time, but it also allows you to share your knowledge about your industry. If followers share your content to their followers, that creates more exposure without any real effort on your end. Still think a social media presence is a waste?
In today’s internet world, there are a vast amount of social media sites to choose from, but be wary of which one you choose – not all social media sites are created equal. Some sites will work better for certain industries than others. To see which social media site works best for your business, check out our post where we break it down by major social platforms and discuss which industry should use which.
How has social media helped your business?
Source: MSM DesignZ, Inc. is a Westchester social media company based in NY specializing in advertising, web and graphic design, and SEO.