Communication, marketing, advertising, customer care and other aspects of today’s business environment has tremendously changed. In the past few decades business to business and business to client communication immensely relied on limited options like email, fax, telegrams and letters. The scenario today presents a wide range of communication technologies and platforms that have greatly transformed the way people do business. Business has become a social activity, courtesy of social media. There could be quite a number of reasons as to why businesses rely on the social media. Here are ten compelling reasons why firms can no longer afford to ignore social media in their day to day running.
1. Small Businesses Can Use The Social Media To Reach Their Target Customers
Not everyone is your prospective customer, which is why finding the right target for your brand is prerequisite to making inroads into business success. In the olden days, it was not uncommon to find a lot of businesses employing the services of research firms to gather information about their prospective clients. With social media, you can take your brands right where your target consumers are. This can be achieved by creating products pages as well as your business profiles online on google+, facebook, Twitter and a host of other social media sites. Such platforms will thus allow easy communication between a business and its existing clients as well as prospective clients.
2. Social Media Has Unlimited Communication Tools To Build Brands
Unlike using TV, Radio and print media to build brands in the past, the social media offers firms with multiple platforms to interact with existing and potential clients throughout the world. You probably do not need to be a blue chip company in the Silicon Valley in order to make a presence on the social media. Facebook gives businesses opportunity to create business pages or even business profiles on Twitter. Relying on the use of LinkedIn is also invaluable in finding prospective candidates for positions in your firm.
3. Social Media Is Cost Effective
Businesses only spend a fraction of what they use to spend in those days when traditional media was the only way to market brands. Most social networking sites are free with great advertising and marketing potential. This factor alone makes them appeal to any business, large or small.
4. Ease Of Direct Communication
Business to client communication has become quite easy through the social media. Customers can also give immediate feedback and instant reviews on different brands.
5. Social Media Facilitates Regional And International Reach
Businesses are now able to achieve instant global reach through social media. By posting company news on products and services and other important information on social media guarantees wide instant reach free from geographical limitations.
6. Sharing Experiences And Expertise
Like in real life interactions, it is possible for companies to share their experiences with prospective and existing clients through social media interactions and communication. Therefore, companies can build strong business relations with their clients on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
7. Building A Business’ Reputation On Blogs
Business blogs are the best ways to build a brand name. Any business can use blog posts geared towards enhancing their expertise through strategies like search engine optimization in close associate with social media marketing strategies. Stand out as an authority by sharing your areas of specialization.
8. Social Media Offers A Rich Context Of Multimedia Communication
As a business, you have limitless opportunities to post your digital products’ photos online as part of marketing. People love well captured images and will always click on them if they want to make a purchase decisions. You can also create photo galleries as part of your online marketing. You surely cannot afford social media marketing if you do not have accompanying photos of your products and services. You can also create memes around some cultural ideas that your target market adheres to and you are sure to have your prospective clients sharing your ‘meme’ on their social media profiles if it’s creatively done.
9. Watch the Competition
The only constant thing in business is competition. Well, only the best products and services rule the market. With social media, you can closely monitor your competitors, which can enable you to improve on the quality of the products and services you offer.
10. Use Social Media For Customer Care Purposes And Public Relations
Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter can be used to attend to customer needs and enquiries instantly. They are also great for reputation and crisis management. It is much easier, cheaper and efficient. Social media has been around for sometimes now. Businesses that were quick to integrate social media to their daily operations have made massive strides in marketing and advertising. The real benefits of social media can be realized if done professionally by trained and competent persons.
Copyrights © 2013 – Lama Jabr
Lama Jabr – Author, Trainer, Speaker, Internet Marketing Specialist, Social Media Consultant and Founder http://XanaMarketing.com . Claim your complimentary FREE copy of her latest release 'The Xana Guides to Social Media for Business' at http://xanamarketing.com/12guides.htm