Why Social Media is Important to Your Business May 26, 2016My BusinessOff

Every single decision you make about your business contributes to its brand. This is true for everything from how you decorate your office space to how your company interacts with customers via social media. Each element is a pixel in the picture that people get when they think about your company and it informs how they feel about it.

There are a lot of differing opinions out there about which pixel is the most important part of the picture. And, while there are cases to be made for your company’s website and the different types of marketing you can do, in this article we’re going to talk about why social media is important and how to use it to build your business.

Cost Benefits
In terms of ROI, social media is the best avenue currently available. Traditional media marketing campaigns (those that incorporate television, periodical, and radio ads) can run many thousands of dollars–well into the five figures. Social media, on the other hand, is very cost effective. According to SocialVantage, a social media management company, Lindt Chocolate used Instagram to increase its visibility–an effort that brought in 1.4 million unique viewers in a single month. The cost of the campaign? Less than $3K.

Audience Honing
With traditional media, targeting specific portions of a company’s audience and client base is difficult. The approach is typically to advertise everywhere in the hopes they’ll get at least a few new clients out of it. With social media, a company can hone its approach to one or two social media portals based on that portal’s demographics. For example, for companies that want to reach customers in the coveted and competitive 18-34 age bracket,Hubspot recommends giving Snapchat a try instead of focusing on the already oversaturated Facebook or Twitter markets.

Engagement
Speaking of Facebook, and to an extent Twitter, its reputation as a branding and marketing asset has come under some fire as of late, especially among independent entrepreneurs and creators. There are reasons for this. Chief among them is the throttling of a brand’s page views. Currently, if a page owner wants to ensure that their posts are seen by all of their followers (yes, even those who have opted in), they need to pay Facebook a fee. Otherwise, the post will only go out to a small portion of followers. This doesn’t mean that you can’t still use Facebook to your advantage.

The key to Facebook success is with your engagement. When someone comments on a post or sends a message, responding quickly and positively goes a long way. You can also increase your engagement by 162% when you pose your post as a question.

Why Social Media Matters
We talked about this a little bit in terms of cost already. Cost, of course, is not the only benefit involved with social media. Reach is the other major benefit you should understand.

Social media, as we all know now and can no longer deny, is not a fad. While the specific platforms may come and go (remember Friendster and Myspace?) the point is that people are drawn to the accessibility and ease of social media. This is true of all age groups, ethnic groups, class, location, etc. Social media is a worldwide and intergenerational phenomenon. So do not discount this avenue if your target market is older adults! 45 percent of the Elderly population (people aged 65+) are using social media now (Facebook in particular). There are also social networks for younger kids, like Kuddle, Club Penguin, and Kimingo.

And, unlike traditional media marketing avenues, social media is built upon the idea of sharing. This means that, if your posts and content are good, your brand can be shared and spread without your having to do any extra work behind the scenes.

There are a lot of different paths to follow when you begin to market and advertise your business. And, while there is still success to be had with traditional media, social media is where your focus ought to be.

Photo by Kazoka | Shutterstock
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