Since its inception, social media has played an important and continuous role in how people interact with each other. From a business perspective, it contributes much towards how companies interact with potential customers as well. Social media has become a powerful tool for businesses to reach target market audiences and many believe that marketing over social is just as valuable as televised advertisements, and without the robust costs. The crux of its power lies in the ability to target a large number of people in a cost-efficient manner, and in today’s business environment, you’re lost without this capability. The following points illustrate why a social media strategy is vital for any business.
1. Promote Your Brand
A comprehensive social media presence serves as a foundation upon which you can build your company’s reputation and promote your business. By frequently updating your followers on brand and social activities, you control the impression people have of your company, which will hopefully result in your followers viewing you as an expert and an influencer. The first step is simply to define your business’s strategic vision for social media—whether it’s creating brand awareness, partnering with other potential businesses or driving new sales. Without a clear definition of what you want to accomplish and how to employ social media for this purpose, you will most likely end up with a bland, featureless social presence represented by a couple boilerplate home pages.
2. Creating a Community
It’s possible to “do social media” without community engagement, but then you may as well be writing words in the sky. Remember: you’re creating a community, engaging and interacting with audiences of similar interests, and giving your business a friendly and accountable voice via social media. You’ll be able to personally interact with your audience over different channels such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – but first you have to find them. Don’t be shy about stalking the competition, usually this is how they do it too. By addressing concerns you see frequently and producing content that drives the most engagement, such as polls, questionnaires, down-to-earth articles and forum-like responses you will have created industry groups and connected with fellow businesses or potential customers. This highlights the importance of being a news source; it’s not just about making leads, it’s about being trusted.
3. Customer Service That Keeps Your Followers Happy
Many customers now expect companies to handle their customer service requests through social media. A strong investment in customer service can help build significant relationships between your company and your customers. With social media you should be available 24/7, making the challenge of customer service as demanding as it was before. Instant interaction and asking for constant customer feedback is the bare minimum. Companies that make it an organizational value to respond politely, promptly and transparently to customers via social media know what they’re doing – a single customer who went from frustrated to happy in such a public space will earn new business and street cred in the cheapest way possible. With nearly half of U.S. customers using social media to ask questions about products or services, confining your customer inquiries to a phone line means you’re shooting yourself in the foot.
