There’s a lot of hoopla out there about social media. Some say it’s a nightmare, while others hail it as the best marketing avenue our world has ever known.
Big surprise – I happen to agree with the latter. Social media is extremely powerful when utilized correctly and businesses who have already invested in it can attest to it.
These days, most business owners I talk to are aware they need social media, but aren’t sure what it can do for them. To be frank – social media can be really confusing if you don’t do it everyday, and for business owners owners who want to protect their resources and time, that’s cause for concern.
But social media is a necessity for businesses – it’s not a luxury, it’s not a maybe, it’s a definite.
Let’s discuss the 5 reasons why your business needs social media marketing.
1. It’s where the people are.
Your consumers and prospects view social media as a place to congregate with family and friends, read the news, and laugh a bit. Social platforms give them the opportunity to find out about topics and see things they wouldn’t in real life. It offers them places to meet people, network, and get to build relationships with people all over the world.
That’s huge.
Successful social marketing takes their prospect into play and crafts messages that blend in with the updates people read everyday.
But you don’t build an online presence, there won’t be an opportunity to talk to them, build relationships, and get to know who they are.
And getting to know the people you want to target or those interested in your product/service is priceless. It helps you to be a better business, upgrade your product/service with them in mind, and continually innovate.
You can’t be successful in business if you don’t go where the people are. The old “build it and they will come” adage does NOT apply to business.
You have to jump in, get your feet wet, and build a consistent presence.
2. Gives your target audience a chance to know you
If you don’t get involved in social media, then you’re allowing other people to make generalizations about who your company is, what its values are, and how much you care.
That’s not good.
Consider a customer who had a really bad experience with your business. They bought something and it fell short of their expectations or customer service was rude, and now they’re telling everyone they know online about it.
Bad news.
But if your business is online and continually searching to find out if anyone is talking about it, it would give you a chance to make it right and to turn a negative experience into a positive one.
It’s important to be purposeful about constructing the brand people are getting to know, and social media is an excellent way to do so.
You want people to know that you’re reliable, their business is important to you, and that you’re listening.
More than once I have intervened in conversations for my client’s brands and was able to win over a new customer or educate them further about the product.
Successful social marketing is getting out there and writing your own story before someone else has the chance to write it for you.
3. Offers you a platform to promote
Let’s face it, your business needs to make money – you want more sales, and increased revenue.
Social media is the perfect way to do that because social networks offer a variety of platforms to promote your product/service, upgrades, features, specials, etc.
Successful social marketing builds a thriving community of people who love your product/service, enjoy interacting with the brand voice/content, and are willing and excited to accept your promotions.
The hard-selling companies never make it on social media because no one likes having ANY message smashed in their face time and again, but when relationships are developed, consistency is portrayed, and care is translated – people want to hear from you.
And the coolest part is that there’s so many creative ways to construct promotions! You can take pictures, make videos, play around with wording, and see what resonates the most with your audience.
Social media is fun!! But it can also make you a lot of money. And who doesn’t want that?
4. Allows you to reach a lot of people in a short amount of time
Remember when TV ads brought in outstanding numbers? Or when magazine ads gave your brand the reach it had been dreaming about? Yes, I do, too.
But that time is gone.
People ignore TV commercials, unless it’s Super Bowl time, flip through magazines at the speed of light or just read them online. Our prospects/customers no longer go the traditional routes.
That’s why social media is so powerful.
It allows us to reach thousands of people with one message, promote our products to hundreds of thousands with the click of a button, and spread our brand like wildfire.
Successful social marketing let’s us reach large amounts of people without every having to leave home, but it must be managed correctly and grown effectively. Still, the power is overwhelming.
5. Social media marketing IS the future
If you’re one of those people who’s standing with their hands over their eyes and hoping social marketing will pass us by – it’s time to wake up.
Social media is here to stay for the long haul, and 2015 is going to be the make or break it year for businesses who’ve started investing and those who lag behind.
In fact, I predict that unless businesses jump into the social media game this year, they’ll be too far behind in the coming years.
And you don’t want your business to get behind!
This isn’t meant to scare you, it’s to jolt you into realizing that it’s worth the time, investment, and commitment for your business.
Don’t wait! Start now.