Social media can be used for a lot of different reasons in a lot of different niche’s for a variety of different people.
The majority of people who use social media still use it as a hobby, pass time or for general personal use. So the benefits for personal use could be massive.
However, in this case, we’re going to be focusing on social media for business.
Of course, sales are top priority when thinking about the WHY behind your social media strategy. But what are some other benefits of social media outside of sales?
1. Brand Awareness – Brand awareness is probably one of the most important aspects to social media. Not only are you representing your brand on networks that have the potential to reach millions of people, but you’re reaching people you may never have reached before without being apart of social media.
2. Loyal Following – Creating a loyal following has been around since the dawn of sales. But what social media brings, is a whole new way to create a following of people who can directly engage with you about your company on a consistent basis, no matter the time, day or place the customer happens to be.
3. Unsolicited Reviews – If your company does exceptionally well (or exceptionally bad) then your customer base has the opportunity to head to Yelp or Facebook or Twitter or what-have-you and leave an instant review of their experience. Whether it’s positive or negative, it’s a great way to reach out to that person either thank them or turn it around to make it into a positive experience.
4. Real Time Customer Service – If you’re properly monitoring your online presence, then you’ll be able to receive and give direct feedback from those who are having an issue or disliked the service somewhere or simply have nice things to say about the business. Point being, you now have the opportunity to have an open conversation through social media.
5. Personal Surveys – You have a following of people who are DYING to give you their opinion. Take advantage of that by asking questions, holding surveys and generally getting involved to pick the brains of your devoted followers.
And so much more!
We all want to make a buck or two with our business, but we must understand that in order to gain that trust in order to get the sale, we must be exceptional in every aspect; which includes taking full advantage of social media outside of just getting the sale.
What other benefits have come from using social media for your business?
