In the corporate world, building and maintaining a website is your company’s initial step towards interacting with its consumer base. However, the creation of a website can no longer be the only way organizations interact with their customers. In order to be successful in business within today’s modern marketplace, companies need to expand their digital storefronts to social media marketing websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and more. Those who don’t, face the very real risk of falling behind their competition, which is why we want to provide those of you still on the fence about adopting social media, with several reasons why you should!
1) It’s Free
The word “free” is rarely uttered in business, but when it is, people pay attention! Your participation in social media is one of the rare instances in your company’s history where you could realistically get away with paying very little to nothing and still have a heavy return on your investment. If you find that your company does not currently have the time to appropriately manage several social media accounts, consider hiring a social media management or public relations company to assist you. In many cases, these companies charge $3,000-$7,000 a month but also provide you with a guarantee you will see an increase in the number of people interacting with your product. Whether you get it for free or pay a monthly sum, social media is the route to go!
2) You can Respond Immediately to Feedback
Consumer feedback is vital to your company’s success, so why wouldn’t you want to be able to respond immediately to their complaints? If these problems are brought to your attention via social media, you can take the necessary steps to solve them. Unsure whether this will work for your organization? Consider the fact that numerous studies have shown that companies who respond to their consumers’ needs retain them at increasingly better rates than those who do not. Don’t forget to research how to appropriately respond to complaints. Unfortunately, we all know some people who are not equipped to do so effectively!
3) People are Receptive to Social Media
The fortunate reality for many businesses, is that consumers view social media websites as social media and not an extension of business or advertising campaigns. As a result, people don’t shy away from interacting with your company online as frequently and oftentimes are more receptive to the message you are trying to portray. Take advantage of this feature by reaching out and wishing your customers wonderful days or by thanking them for shopping with your company. You can also provide rewards based on customer interaction with your organization. These rewards could consist of deeper discounts or other relevant rewards for your customer base.
4) You will Find New Customers
Through utilization of marketing strategies specific to each social media website (Ex. Twitter’s use of hashtags or the “@” symbol), companies can find additional segments of the population who may have never heard of their product and thus increase the amount of consumers choosing their product over the competition. While you may not have originally thought about this, the more relevant content you post online, the more likely it is you will be found on powerful search engines such as Google. Therefore it’s important to post frequent, relevant content.
5) You will Make more Money
Through establishing a social media presence for your business, you will find that your customer base is more likely to purchase the products you sell. They do not flock to your social media site purely based on the fact that you have one. Instead, they go to social media sites that provide them with incentives to purchase company products. If you use social media sites such as Twitter, try tweeting coupon codes that are only good for people who have “followed” you. You won’t be disappointed by the amount of people who purchase an item using the code.
6) Your Competition is Using Social Media
In the business world, when you have a product that works, you have competition who seeks to sell their version of your product. Don’t be the organization that falls behind due to the fact that you did not create a social media presence early on, as this can result in a potentially expensive social media campaign to catch up. Get online and beat your competition!
7) Get Insight into your Customer’s Lives
The very nature of social media inclines people to overshare information about themselves and their likes/dislikes. As an organization, you can utilize that information to tailor sales opportunities directly to their needs. You can also determine if there has been a switch in your consumer’s desires, which may result in your company adjusting their marketing strategy as well.
8) Social Media Marketing Arena is (fairly) Level
In “brick and mortar” businesses, traditional ad campaigns can cost millions of dollars, which is often an impossible purchase for a start-up company. Online, all companies start off on equal footing, which makes a huge difference in accessing customers. The companies who thrive to create “viral” content in cyberspace with the cleverest, attention grabbing strategies as well as link worthy content, will increase their website traffic and sales exponentially. You will still need to outwit, out network, and out write your competition and provide superior products but this is the basis of business, isn’t it?
Overall, the new millennium absolutely requires social media presence along with website creation. While initial social media websites, such as Facebook, have been around for quite some time with organizations reaping their benefits, there are still new sites to explore. As a company owner, you are strongly encouraged to establish your organization on multiple social media websites as this will expand your organization’s reach. Who knows, through creating your social media accounts, you may just find a new customer base you did not know existed.