Why Should Your Business Utilize Social Media?

Increased Awareness & Global Exposure

• With over 3 billion social media users worldwide, businesses taking advantage of maintaining a presence in the social atmosphere have the potential to gain great brand recognition among major audiences, globally, and rather immediately. Whereas traditional forms of media require extensive planning and typically long wait times before advertisements reached the public, digital advancements now allow companies to reach consumers rather quickly.

Direct Viewers to Website & Boost Sales

• Many social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat now allow consumers to shop within apps. Companies can provide links in apps for customers to be transferred directly to their websites, which allows for increased website traffic and can ultimately lead to revenue increases for a business. This feature proves immensely useful in a time period of decreasing attention spans and many customers who are likely to make quick, impulse purchases.

Customer Engagement

• Social media can either be a business’ best friend or worst enemy in terms of reaching customers. Established companies are bound to receive negative reviews on social media at some point in their lifetime, and how the company responds can make or break their brand image. Companies should NEVER ignore customer comments and reviews, especially negative ones. The best responses are those that seek to resolve consumer conflicts in hopes to convince the customer to take another chance on the brand, or at least right whatever wrong was committed.
• Companies may also utilize social media in order to further engage with and build relationships with their customers. Marketing is no longer a one way street in which business seek to promote to their consumer. Now, customers are involved more hands on in a company’s marketing strategy. Brand loyalty and engagement have become ever prominent themes in the business world today.

Influencer Marketing

• Word of mouth awareness has proven to be the most effective promotion strategy when it comes to driving a consumer to make a purchase. In a similar way that consumers are more likely to purchase an item or service when a trusted friend or family recommends it to them, consumers are also fairly likely to consider products or services recommended to them by their favorite celebrity or social media influencer through electronic word of mouth. Moreover, celebrities and social media influencers typically tend to already have a great following through their social media accounts, and oftentimes reach a greater audience than the companies endorsing them.
• Companies can pursue influencer marketing in multiple ways. The first and possibly most popular option is for brands to sponsor celebrities or influencers upfront, paying them to promote their products or services. Companies should be careful to sponsor influencers who can promote their product in a rather natural way, in order to promote trust for the company and product and be sure to maintain trust between the targeted consumers and the influencer. Brands might also send influencers free products in hopes to be featured by them on their social media accounts.