The Power of Using Social Media in Your Business

The plethora of online existence has literally made social media as the backbone for any business today. The arena of social media is endless. There is no specific criteria or guideline as to who should be using the social media and how. But it has become almost mandatory to portray your business and brand on these platforms if you wish to see a successful future. If you know exactly how to harness the power of social media, you have already won half the battle. Social media has become like a basic need for all, it is no more optional, especially for businesses. Imagine the commotion that would be created if there were no social media. It would almost be like expecting life without sunlight – practically impossible right? The same way life without social media has become practically impossible.

Social networking sites are no longer just the platforms to connect with family and friends all over the world. More than 3 billion people are using social platforms around the globe. That is a huge number, it accounts for almost 42% of the world population. And the added information to this is, these platforms are now being used for business promotion more than ever before. As per the statistics, the brands and businesses have more followers compared to celebrities. If this is what social media statistics tell, it is high time that all the businesses leverage the appropriate channels to the best of their advantages. If you are still not sure about the wonders social media can play for your business, let us be a little more specific.

• • 90% of marketers have claimed that social media marketing has brought them wide exposure and benefits.

• But the dire strait is, 96% of businesses are using social media for marketing, out of this, 85 % of them are not clear as to which platform are the best for them.

 A wider perspective of harnessing the power of social media

1. Brand Awareness On Social Media – Any business be it big or small should have a social media presence. Not just because it is in the trend but also because the crowd of the target audience is flooding there. If your brand has that social media touch, it is almost confirmed that the business flow will become a lot easier. Establishing your footholds on social platforms will increase your brand awareness and give you more options to connect with your existing or potential clients. According to the data:

• • Around 2 million businesses are using Facebook to advertise and promote their brands and services.

• • 70% of the people, who are helped via social media, return back as customers in the near future.

• • 71% of the people who have had a satisfactory experience with a brand on social media will recommend it to others too.

• 60% of Instagram users have claimed to discover new brands and products on the platform.

The above stats should be bountiful to prove that social media has immense power to increase your brand’s awareness.

1. Increased Inbound Traffic – Every social media platform that your brand is linked with is like a gateway to your business site. Without social media marketing, you may be limited to only your regular customers. But branding on social media opens numerous gates for you to reach out to the people outside your customer circle. This gives you new opportunities to lure in more visitors. More visitors on your social platforms increases the chances of more customers knocking on your website. This will not only increase your social traffic but will also give a hike in inbound traffic. As the data quotes it:

• • 69% of business who are using social media platforms revealed that they are building more loyal followers and customers.

• • 60% of the users ageing between 25-35 years favor businesses that they follow on social networking sites.
  • 54% of people believe that businesses that are engaged with customers on social media are more genuine and focused.

Basically, the above figures state that your social media platforms can act as your main medium to increase inbound traffic.

1. Social Media Advertising Brings Tremendous Results – Social media advertising may be a new feature of a digital marketing strategy. But it has taken over the market like no other tool and what more – it brings surprising results. There are multiple reasons that you should opt for social advertising.

• • Minimal Ad Cost – The best feature about social media ads is that you have several platforms where you can run an ad campaign for free, before investing in paid ads. Also, compared to other traditional mediums to reach out to your customers, advertising on social media is a lot cheaper and easier.

• • Focusing on Target Audience – Is it possible that you print an ad in the newspaper, only for the people who are interested to know about your brand. No, the newspaper ad is for everyone, you are not focusing on your target audience. On the contrary, you have the freedom to manage and focus only on your target prospects while advertising. This ensures a higher return on investment.

• Performance Analysis – Offline advertising does not offer you the facility to analyze the demographics. On the contrary, you can easily track your social media ads. While advertising on social media, you can keep a track of which ads are actually working for you and which ones you need to improve on.

1. Increased SEO Ranking – Search engine optimization plays a vital role in deciding the future of your online presence. While strategizing about digital marketing, special focus is on SEO as well. All the hard work will be in vain if you are not being found or not visible on the first page of different search engines. Therefore, SEO is crucial. Now social media marketing may be indirectly influencing the SEO results. The more your company is active and visible on social platforms, more are the chances that your SEO ranking increases. Google has also stated that it does take into account the social signals while ranking any website or a page. If the website is your virtual online representative, your social site represents your human side. There are various factors that influence SEO ranking via social media.

• • Strong and optimized social media profile helps you create a noticeable presence online.

• Social media platforms also act as search engines for your brand. It is not only through Google or Bing that people can find you. They can connect with you on social networking sites as well.

1. Reputation Management Through Social Media – Social media profiles give you the opportunity to engage with your audiences directly. You can directly communicate with your customers. Personalized contact with the brands builds a long-lasting relationship and improves business reputation. You can also respond to the feedbacks and testimonials with a personalized touch via social networking sites. You can also highlight your important posts and content by sharing it on social platforms. This will not only increase brand awareness but also build a community for you. Regular followers and fans will boost your reputation online.

• • Positive online reviews influence 90% of the people while buying online.

• • Actively participating on social sites is very essential, this will build you a responsive and good reputation.

• Respond back immediately to online queries, this builds trust and a good reputation.

1. Increased Conversion Rate – Capturing leads on social media is not a very big deal. The difficult part is getting quality lead and also converting it. Does social media really have the power to get you quality lead and even convert them? Well, it definitely has, you only need to understand the right way and place to strap that power.

• • Use your social platform to do social proofing, in other words, influence them. People actually do and like on social sites what others do and like. So basically you have to influence some people to buy your services and the rest will follow. Social proofing assures your prospects, that he is doing the right thing by becoming your customer.

• • Make better use of the user-generated content. Boast about the positive feedbacks by your clients and customers. The user-generated content will act as social proof for you and will indirectly convert more leads.
  • Encourage your customers to share their content on your platform. This will increase customer participation, which in return will lure in more leads and generate more conversion.

1. Get Influencers – Influencers play a major role in generating leads for your business. Usually, companies opt for big celebrities as their brand ambassadors but making your follower or fan as your influencer is more impactful. Having somebody from your social circle as your brand representative is more convincing and genuine for other people. If you have a strong online presence, getting a good influencer will not be a very difficult task. All that you have to do is keep a check on your regular follower and customer.

• As per the data word of mouth has the power to drive 20-50% of purchasing decision.

If your loyal customer or follower becomes your influencer, you are indirectly building your brand awareness and setting up for an increase in sales. According to the research, it is believed that an influencer can build your brand familiarity and generate leads four times more than a celebrity. You only need to be sure about choosing the right influencer. Pick up someone from your niche who already has a huge number of followers on his platform.

1. Build Customer Satisfaction – Social media also helps you to win your customers trust and build a long lasting relationship with them. The toughest part for any business could be losing a customer. But getting a new one is tougher and retaining one is the most difficult. So retaining an existing customer should be on your priority list and social media platforms help you achieve this goal.

• • Connect with your customers, understand their needs and demands. Communicate with them regarding the problems they face and the improvements they want. Give the customers the way they want it and you will win their trust and satisfaction.

• • Broadcast important announcements and offers via social sites. Customers will be well informed about the latest ongoings within your brand.
  • Offer prompt service via social media to your customers. 42% of customers who complain about any service or product on social media expect a response within an hour. Make sure you get back to them as soon as possible. This will build customers satisfaction and lure in more clients.

Social media is highly influential when it comes to driving the customers purchasing decision. There is no option, you have to have a strong online presence, if not on all social platforms, at least on the ones that are most beneficial for you. With all the facts figures and reasons discussed above, there is no doubt about the power of social media on your business. Social networking sites literally can drive your business in both the directions, upward or downward. You only need to know the right way to use it and the above mentioned points would definitely be a help. Understand where your target audience is the most and choose your platform accordingly. LinkedIn is the best platform for B2B marketing.  Social media presence is almost mandatory to withstand the competition in the market. If you have not yet begun your journey on social networking sites, now is the time you need to start. You cannot afford to be late than this.