Social media is all around us and has been since the late 1990s, with it really gaining traction in the 2000s with companies like Facebook, Twitter and many others all launching then.
Social media by definition comprises websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. It helps people to stay connected, to share ideas, life events and communicate with each other.
There are many schools of thought on whether social media is good for us, or not, but this article is about whether it is important for your business. Does your business need it?
The short answer is yes! Now, don’t panic if you haven’t got an amazing website and social media strategy. You and your business will still survive.
Strategy
Each business will have different social media requirements and skills and, remember, it is only part of your business strategy, so don’t get too bogged down by it all.
Any business needs customers to survive and social media is an easy way to reach those customers. People now will Google a business they are interested in and if nothing shows up, chances are they will move on to a competitor.
Social media allows you to tell your potential and current customers about your business, to engage with your customers, keep them up to date with any business news or offers. It can really help build good customer relationships and loyalty, especially in the absence of a physical store or even with one. All for free!
So, how can you use social media for your business? You could get a professional company to do it for you, but, depending on your business, you can probably do it yourself.
Here are some starting tips
Choose your platform. Where are your customers on social media? There is little point focusing your social media on LinkedIn if your customers are on Instagram. So, find out where they are and start posting there.Decide what you want to share. Tell people exactly what it is you are selling and how can they buy it. Tell them how the product or service can solve their problem or how your product can be used. Customer reviews are always good too.People buy from people. Posts that are a little more personal can help build customer relationships as they feel they will know you a little better and therefore are more likely to buy from you. Only share what you feel comfortable sharing.Vary how you present your content and be consistent. There are written posts, videos, pictures, blogs and stories to help you share your message. Consistency in your business social media, as in your business as a whole, is important as it will help build trust with your customer and it will help you reach more potential customers. Pick the content and frequency that suits you and be consistent with it. You can schedule your posts and there are many platforms that allow you to manage multiple social media sites at once. By scheduling, you can manage your time much better.
Social media is all around us and has been since the late 1990s, with it really gaining traction in the 2000s with companies like Facebook, Twitter and many others all launching then.
Social media by definition comprises websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. It helps people to stay connected, to share ideas, life events and communicate with each other.
There are many schools of thought on whether social media is good for us, or not, but this article is about whether it is important for your business. Does your business need it?
The short answer is yes! Now, don’t panic if you haven’t got an amazing website and social media strategy. You and your business will still survive.
Strategy
Each business will have different social media requirements and skills and, remember, it is only part of your business strategy, so don’t get too bogged down by it all.
Any business needs customers to survive and social media is an easy way to reach those customers. People now will Google a business they are interested in and if nothing shows up, chances are they will move on to a competitor.
Social media allows you to tell your potential and current customers about your business, to engage with your customers, keep them up to date with any business news or offers. It can really help build good customer relationships and loyalty, especially in the absence of a physical store or even with one. All for free!
So, how can you use social media for your business? You could get a professional company to do it for you, but, depending on your business, you can probably do it yourself.
Here are some starting tips
Choose your platform. Where are your customers on social media? There is little point focusing your social media on LinkedIn if your customers are on Instagram. So, find out where they are and start posting there.Decide what you want to share. Tell people exactly what it is you are selling and how can they buy it. Tell them how the product or service can solve their problem or how your product can be used. Customer reviews are always good too.People buy from people. Posts that are a little more personal can help build customer relationships as they feel they will know you a little better and therefore are more likely to buy from you. Only share what you feel comfortable sharing.Vary how you present your content and be consistent. There are written posts, videos, pictures, blogs and stories to help you share your message. Consistency in your business social media, as in your business as a whole, is important as it will help build trust with your customer and it will help you reach more potential customers. Pick the content and frequency that suits you and be consistent with it. You can schedule your posts and there are many platforms that allow you to manage multiple social media sites at once. By scheduling, you can manage your time much better. 
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