If a tree falls in a forest does it make a sound? If a business doesn’t utilize social media do they make a sound? While the first question is a thought experiment that has been debated in various forms for centuries, the second is a better question for marketers. From reaching a new audience, to the search engine results page, these are 5 reasons why social media management matters for business. Oh, and the answer to that second question? A simple no.
Grow Your Audience Locally And Globally
No matter how specific your business is there is an audience for you on social media. There are over a billion users on Facebook alone. Add in Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Google Plus, and more and you’ve got a gigantic pool of potential followers. Whether your business sells to an end consumer or B2B you can reach, and grow, your audience through social media.
What you’re sharing, and who you are trying to reach, will determine what platforms you need to be hanging out on. For a niche business, you’ll need to pair the information you’re sharing with the right platform, and that might be LinkedIn or it might be Reddit.
If you’re looking for local users, many social media platforms can use tools, like certain hashtags, to find people in your area. But even businesses that cater to local users can benefit from reaching a wider range of people around the globe. Who knows when they’ll be traveling to your part of the world? And if you’re using social media properly those local users, and potential customers can come find you.
You’ll Learn More About Your Customers
Want to do well on social media? You’ll need to know more about your customers. Want to know more about your customers? You’ll need to do well on social media. It’s kind of a social media catch 22. But this catch gets you rewarded for your efforts.
Social media analytics can provide a wealth of information for marketers. Facebook insights can tell you what time your audience is active, their ages, gender, and location. Then you can turn around and use that information to tweak your social media strategy for an even bigger impact on your audience.
Build Trust With Your Audience and Increase Brand Exposure
You can’t just set up social media accounts and expect them to generate new followers. Part of social media management for businesses involves a strong and engaging presence. You want users to know more than you just exist. They need to know that you’re a responsive business with engaging content to share with them.
And when you’re responding to your followers they are more likely to share, retweet, or otherwise recommend your business. Social media sharing is the new word of mouth recommendation. It also amplifies your message and exposes you to a wider audience.
Plus, the more interested you are in the conversations happening with your customers, the more likely those customers are to trust you. Social media allows you to reveal a more personal side of your company and become relatable to your customers. Share behind-the-scenes pictures or interviews, give sneak peeks, let your customers feel like they are part of what is happening with your company. Along with building relationships with customers you can connect and interact with other businesses. Share information as an industry expert.
Social media is accessible to anyone with an Internet connection and compatible device. That means both large and small companies can find marketing budgets that fit their needs.
Improve Customer Relations
If a customer has a problem they would rather contact you on social media than make a phone call. Whether it’s sending a Tweet or Facebook Message, social media is how your customers are giving you feedback.
Social media functions best in real-time. In general, customers expect to hear back from you within an hour. So, make sure you’re monitoring your social media accounts as promptly as you answer the phone.
Influence Buying Decisions
Not everyone who interacts with your business on social media is ready to buy right now. But they could be in the future. Or they could recommend you to a friend or colleague who is ready to buy. Even if you don’t sell directly on social media your interactions there can and will influence future buying decisions. And through proper social media management, you’ll be ready when they are.
Social Media Drives Traffic To Your Site
When you create content and share it across your social media channels you can drive traffic straight to your site. Most social profiles have the option to add a link back to your site.
It also appears that being influential on social media can impact SEO and the search engine results page. Social media isn’t a tool to get to the top of the results page, but over time your influence will increase as your followers find value in what you’re offering. In addition, tweets show up in SERPs as do social media profiles.
Social media management matters for business, now more than ever. It brings in new followers, improves customer relations, drives traffic to your site, and so much more. The more you engage the better social media gets.
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