Social Media and Business

Social Media and Business

In the beginning, social media platforms were considered a fashion that only served as a distraction for young people. However, due to the exponential growth they have had worldwide (nowadays there are more than 2 billion active users on social networks), people have developed different strategies to get the most out of them for their businesses. Currently, any company, no matter how big or small, that has an aspiration to grow or succeed must enter the world of social media platforms.

But what exactly makes social media platforms so attractive for business? Well, here are some of the advantages that make them a great tool in that world:

• The ease with which you can get important information about your customers is key for any seller since, through a like or a retweet, you can identify if your product or advertising campaign is having the impact you want. This is not to mention the fact that you receive almost immediate feedback and develop a direct relationship with the client that allows you to improve the focus of the future work of the company.
• Provided your content is relevant, innovative and constant, social media platforms will lead you to create a group of loyal followers for your brand as well as to take it to the next level in terms of recognition and fame.
• If you have defined your target audience (initial step and an essential one at that when making a marketing strategy), you can segment your content based on the criteria you want. For example, if you only want to reach men between 30 and 40 years old with tastes for expensive watches, you can do it without problems.
• The quality of the service that you can provide through social media platforms, mainly in relation to customer service, fulfills the expectations of people today who expect immediacy and availability at all times of the day.
• If you have an additional web page or blog besides your social media accounts, you can use the latter to establish a bridge that takes your customers to your main website, causing an increase in traffic that ultimately translates into conversions.

Despite all the good things that social media platforms can generate for your business, it is my duty to warn you about some disadvantages that of not being careful could affect you considerably.

• Although it is often said that any advertising is good publicity, bad comments on social media can lead to a snowball effect that ends up having a serious impact on the image of your company and this on a global scale such as these platforms have it is very harmful.
• If you do not have a basic knowledge of social media and digital marketing, you can make mistakes in terms of published content, do it repetitively, not segmenting the audience believing that you can reach all users equally and things like that. This ends in a loss of effort and energy that will not generate the image that you aspire to have and the desired income.

Now, are all social media the same? Can I use the same advertising strategy in one or the other? The answers are no and no. Each social media platform, by its own characteristics, tends to be better for one business or another, in addition to who the campaign is aimed at or what are the objectives pursued. Here I will detail a little some of the most important social networks.

• Facebook: it is without a doubt the largest of all social networks and this is clear in the number of active users it has. Facebook has a less professional and more personal approach. However, in recent times, there is a tendency for young people to move away from this platform in search of others that are more attractive and this is a very important point to consider.
• Twitter: the immediacy and ease of issuing opinions is the main attraction of Twitter when it comes to business because it allows direct connections with customers. It is ideal for polls, suggestions and opinions of all kinds, as I previously stated.
• LinkedIn: it is the one that offers a more professional approach while allowing the direct relationship with other companies. Unlike other social networks, here the image offered meets certain parameters of quality and professionalism that are not necessary in other platforms. Here there is no place for comments without filter or personal photos.
• Instagram: its growth in the last year makes it a very interesting option especially for the high number of young users, although there has been a growth when it comes to adult usage. Its main features are images and videos while text has a secondary role.
• YouTube: its main asset is the use of videos; it does not have and has not had a competitor that approaches it in this area in the last decade. The varieties of uses for which you can use YouTube to develop your business are very large.

This is just a sample of what social media platforms are and their applications in the business world. The most important thing at the end of the day is having a well-defined strategy of who you want to reach and what is the means or the appropriate means to reach that audience. If your in need of some help with your social media marketing, feel free to reach out and contact us or fill out the form to request more information on our social media marketing services.