12 Benefits of Social Media for Business

With over 3 billion global online users now interacting daily, social media is a huge market which is available to start-ups, SMEs and large corporate businesses alike. Whilst you may not have the budget to flood Facebook with adverts, social media still gives you free access to thousands of visitors who are looking for great content, interactive relationships, and tailored customer service.

If you’re still wondering whether developing a social media presence for your business is worth the effort, here are 12 reasons to take the plunge and start taking advantage of the huge opportunities it offers:

1. Social Media Increases Your Access to Customers – Over 50 million small business are now taking advantage of the free exposure to a massive global audience Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube offer. Adults aged between 18-34 are now most likely to follow brands using social networking – can your business afford not to be speaking to them?
2. Social Media Improves Your SEO Ranking – Posting informative, SEO rich content which delivers real value to followers will get you ‘likes’ and ‘shares’; this improves domain authority, and drives traffic to your website. Social Media Examiner has found that 58% of businesses using social media for a year or longer see an improvement in their search engine rankings.
3. Social Media Improves Your Relationship With Your Customers – Social media’s success lies in the opportunity it gives people to connect, talk to one another and build relationships. Whilst the ‘digital mailshot’ still has its place for getting targetted information to existing customers; developing relationships with new customers, and building a loyal following now happens via social media.
4. Social Media Helps You To Get To Know Your Customers’ Needs – Developing a following for your business is all about getting to know what your customers need, and how they want it delivered to them. Social media gives you privileged access to this information; by just asking your customers for information you can get valuable instant feedback which you can then act on immediately.
5. Social Media Lets You To Learn From Your Competitors – The best way to learn about effective social networking is to find out how the successful brands do it. By looking at your competitors’ social media presence you can quickly get a sense of what your target customers respond to (and don’t) and the kind of questions and interactions that get responses, like and shares.
6. Social Media Improves Your Customer Services – Good customer service is all about providing an immediate response to problems, which is what social media is really good at. Customers who feel that they are known and valued by businesses will forgive the occasional shortcoming and – better still – 71% of customers who experience good online customer service will recommend the company to others.
7. Social Media Gives You Instant Responses to Your Product – Customers are usually happy to write reviews about products or services, and tend to trust businesses that encourage feedback. Social media gives you a fast feedback loop for product development. You can see how your product is being received, respond quickly to any negative feedback, and make adjustments based on the information your customers give you.
8. Social Media Builds Your Brand – A professional website design is great for translating your brand into SEO rich content, images, and calls to action, but it will never be as interactive and dynamic as a social media site. Online networking allows followers to see you in action, and experience you not just as a business, but also as the people who deliver the business’ values and products on a daily basis.
9. Social Media Develops Your Content – Content that is of value to your followers will get shared extensively. Learning what your customers enjoy, and are likely to share, is hugely valuable to your business. Great videos and images are 40% more likely to get shared than any other type of content, so it’s worth thinking about creating these kinds of assets.
10. Social Media Improves Your Sales – People are more likely to buy from businesses that they follow on social media. The GlobalWebexIndex has found that “time spent on social media is up and is now at around 2 hours and 15 minutes per day.” That means that investing in developing your network is likely to provide a meaningful return.
11. Social Media ROI is Measurable – You’ll want to know what the ROI your social media campaigns are having, and there are plenty of ways now to do this. It’s important to define your goals and determine how you’ll measure success at regular intervals in your network development. Each platform now offers analytics demonstrating the interaction your posts generate and the reach they have.
12. Social Media Keeps You Relevant – It’s all too easy to assume that your website will do the selling for you, but the online marketplace is a dynamic, constantly changing space. Interacting with your network, and being part of the lanscape of change ensures that your business knows about the current trends and stays relevant to the marketplace.

If you’re thinking that you should be developing your online network, but you’re not sure where to start, get in touch with Imagefix. Our social media team will work with you to set goals, develop your campaign and measure the return on your investment.