Social Media for Business: 3 of the Best Things About It
Without a doubt, social media has revolutionized the way people – and businesses – communicate. Maybe even more so than the telephone did, way back in the day. Every day, we find new and potentially better ways to incorporate social media into our daily lives. On the flip side, the major platforms (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.), are continually developing enhancements and improvements. They do so in hopes of winning and retaining their users.
This certainly bodes well for businesses that plan to use, or are already using, social media as part of their marketing strategy. Social media for business is growing more popular – just as it has for individuals. Even though some people still consider social media for business to be a passing fad or trend, most of us know better by now. Stats, such as the following via Buffer, show how social media usage is only growing:
- The fastest growing demographic on Twitter is the 55–64 year age bracket. This demographic has grown 79% since 2012.
- Every second 2 new members join LinkedIn….yes, every second.
- 93% of marketers use social media for business.
The numbers don’t lie, right? But what is it exactly that makes social media for business so appealing? With so many people using it already, and with so many more joining in on a daily basis, there must be plenty of good reasons.
These are 3 of the best things about social media for business:
Social media for business costs less than traditional marketing
Traditional marketing often requires a good-sized budget for funding activities such as printing and mailing marketing brochures, or hiring people to make phone calls. Many businesses are learning that marketing via social media, by comparison, costs much less – at least monetarily. As Megan Conley states in her recent article for Social Media Examiner,
Traditional marketing can be a drain on your funds. Social media marketing, on the other hand, is pretty low-cost and gives you a direct line to current and prospective customers.
Social media for business provides online consumers with more information…and provides more exposure for brands
As noted above, people are joining social media at nearly astronomical rates…and the numbers are growing on a daily basis. The brands that are regularly engaging and interacting with their followers on social media have advantages over the others that aren’t. Social media for business is efficient and effective “word of mouth” marketing. It reveals benefits to brands in the forms of increased traffic to their websites and more leads generated.
Social media offers efficient and easy networking and communication for businesses of all sizes
Social media makes it easy to network with anyone in the world, at any time of day. Virtual meetings and communications will never completely replace the experience of face-to-face meetings. However, they do have plenty of other benefits, including saved time and money.
Effective communication is important in every business, big and small. The expansion of social networking has thrown open the door for corporations of any size to build a strong network of loyal customers. The Internet is swelling with online communities, discussions groups, forums, tweets and fan pages, all ready to sing the praises of any business working online.
Over to you
Are you using social media for your business? What things do you think are best about it?
