Social media has conquered society. More than half of the global population uses some form of social media nowadays, and many people consider it their primary form of entertainment. When you consider this, it is plain to see how much potential there is for businesses to reach their customers. If an organisation can create entertaining, engaging content that has value in the eyes of their audiences, they may be able to grow their business at unprecedented rates. Many professional businesses – such as TechQuarters, who provide managed IT services London businesses rely on – use social media as part of their marketing campaigns. But, at the same time, many businesses still don’t use it.
Social Media for Business
It is not unusual to see businesses using social media – from local small businesses, to international corporations. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are by far the most popular social media platforms for both consumers and businesses alike. According to TechQuarters, it is worth looking into which platform is most popular for your target audience, and focus on that, rather than trying to use all of them at once (which can result in a sloppy or unprofessional looking online presence).
6 Reasons to Use Social Media for Business
So, what are the specific reasons why businesses should consider using social media to grow their business and connect with audiences? The simple fact is that social media opens a business up to a much wide pool of potential customers that can be segmented and targeted in highly specific ways.
Below are six examples of the benefits of social media for businesses…
- Raise Brand Awareness
A business should take advantage of any opportunity to make themselves more visible to their target audiences, and social media is a great way to do that. For instance, as a provider of IT support Essex organisations have used in the past, TechQuarters can use social media to reach out to other businesses in that same area, and increase the local recognition of their brand.
- Reach More Potential Customers
Given how many users are on each of the top social media platform, there is a lot of potential for businesses to find communities and markets of people that would be interested in their brand. For instance, there are many groups on Facebook reflecting different demographics, local communities, etc. Most platforms use tags to make it easier for users to find content they are interested in, and this is also a way for businesses to get their content seen by potential customers.
- Create Rich Customer Experiences
Two of the biggest reasons why the average person uses social media are either entertainment, or online shopping. The effects of retail therapy are very real, and so if a business can take advantage of that desire on social media, and create engaging, entertaining content, they can create a rich experience for their audience. Furthermore, social media offers a great opportunity for businesses to connect with existing customers – answer questions, gather feedback, etc.
- Cheaper Marketing Campaigns
Digital marketing has quickly become of the most viable forms of marketing in the world today. Historically, the best marketing has been highly visual, engaging, educational, and informative – and businesses can easily tick all those boxes with the content they post on social media. Furthermore, all the most popular platforms are free to use, and there are loads of great free tools (like Canva, and Hootsuite) that make managing a professional social media marketing campaign not only highly effective, but highly cost effective.
- Better Marketing Segmentation
The amount of data being created through social media is unprecedented. The data that is created about social media users range from geographical location, demographic, brand preferences, political opinions, and so much more. This data is all useful for businesses, because it allows them to segment the market and engage in extremely targeted marketing.
