The rise of social media in the past few years has been phenomenal. It seems almost everyone has set up an account on at least one of the many platforms available. This boom has also prompted many businesses to rethink their communication strategies and learn new ways to present themselves, reaching bigger and better audiences by navigating this ever-growing form of audience engagement.
Studies have shown that over 57% of the world is now on social media. This means there are 4.62 billion users online, with more than 440 million new users joining in 2021 alone. In comparison, 4.2 billion people worldwide own and watch television, and the annual increase in viewers is only around a quarter of the growth seen in social media.
So why is social media so important for businesses? There are three main reasons:
Brand interactions
One of the most unique and important features of social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook or Instagram is that you can comment on posts made by others. This allows for a new way of customer engagement through new forms of interaction like FAQs, polls, and hashtags. These engage users and increase their interest in the company, attracting new followers and new potential customers.
You can also respond to customers directly, so you can publicly demonstrate how you deal with and support customers, which in turn can help to drive brand loyalty. Similarly, you can react to compliments or general remarks to show interest in your customers. Positive engagement between users and companies has been shown to boost sales and increase overall exposure quickly and effectively.
Brand values
Using their chosen platforms, brands can post news updates enabling customers to gain additional insights into the company, helping to raise their interest and increase trust in a brand. This insight increases customers’ knowledge of how a company is run and can be used to showcase new product, services or offers, without posting them as adverts.
Businesses can also use social media to communicate and demonstrate their brand values and beliefs, which again increases engagement and strengthens positive perceptions of the business and the way it operates. This can boost customer loyalty and trust in what your company offers compared to competitors.
Cheap and effective exposure
The main social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are all free to use, and an increasing number of people are turning to them as their main source of entertainment. Brands can tap into this by creating content to engage users and grab their attention, such as blogs, photos, or videos. This creates easy exposure for businesses that post regularly, even if the content is not directly selling anything. Simply by creating content for people to enjoy and share helps to generate interest, raise awareness and attract customers, making your business more relevant in the minds of your audience.
This exposure comes at little cost, because unlike other forms of advertising such as television ads and billboards, you don’t need to pay to set up an account or to post anything on it. The only cost is the cost of producing the content. It essentially creates a system where any business can grow organically at much lower cost than traditional forms of advertising or marketing.
If you’d like to learn how social media could deliver real benefits for your business, get in touch for a no-obligation chat.