Over 70% of UK brands now use social media and for good reason – ultimately, it increases the bottom line. That, however, is just one of its many benefits. If you’re still on the fence about whether using social media for your business is worthwhile, read on and we’ll explain the fab things you can achieve with it.
Build Your Brand
First of all, social media makes it easy to build your brand, making it more familiar to consumers and increasing the likelihood that they’ll buy your products and services. Getting your name, logo, high-impact visuals, company values and brand story out there is a great way to build recognition. It’s also a brill way to establish your reputation as an expert or leader in your field, something you can do by posting informative blog posts, how-to videos and promoting your achievements.
All of these things get people talking about your brand and when they do, you get genuine feedback which you can use to improve products, services and your brand image. It also gives you the chance to engage in those conversations and build those all-important relationships.
Social media is often where things begin. Its where people start new trends, raise important topics and even launch movements for social change. If you monitor what’s going on, you can react quickly to developments in the market and ultimately make your company on-trend and more appealing to those users.
Gain Valuable Industry Insight
It’s not just listening that can help, either. Social media business users have access to lots of excellent user data that gives valuable insights. These help you target your ads and posts with pinpoint accuracy in a very cost-effective way, helping improve ROI.
With many social media users quick to voice their complaints in public, lots of brands learnt the hard way that it’s an ideal channel for customer service. It takes complaints out of the public realm and into private messaging, protecting your online reputation while getting customer issues dealt with in real-time. The result is happier customers who are more likely to stay loyal and leave positive feedback.
Build Brand Loyalty
In fact, social media is perfect for building loyalty. Anyone who interacts with your brand is already engaged in your business and you can strengthen those relationships by offering your followers special deals and discounts and giving them first dibs to your new products and services. Making them feel special in this way is great for creating loyalty on social media.
How Does That Help Me Sell?
If you’re sat there thinking ‘but how does any of this help me sell products on my website?’ the answer is straightforward. Everything you post on social media can be linked directly to your website to increase the amount of traffic you get. And that’s not just your homepage. Depending on the platform, you can link directly to product pages, landing pages and blog posts. Indeed, savvier businesses actually build specific landing pages aimed at their social media users to help make the transition from social media to the website a seamless experience.
As only 2% of those visitors are likely to make a purchase on their first visit, the other ace up social media’s sleeve is that it can be used for remarketing ads. These are aimed directly at those customers who have already shown interest in your products and services and act as a reminder to go and have another look. The chances of buying on a second or subsequent visit are even higher, but without retargeting, you could miss out.
Social media users are cannier than most when it comes to wanting proof about a company’s reputation before using them. Over half won’t use a company with less than four stars! The great thing about being on social media is that customers can give star-ratings and leave feedback on your profile so everyone else can see that your business is legit and offers fab products and services. What’s more, if you have a profile page, it’s easy for customers to link to it when they respond to people’s requests for recommendations. All of these can be great for improving customer confidence and generating new business.
Time For Action
So, are you still on the side-lines or have we managed to convince you that social media has enormous potential for your business? If the answer is yes but it all sounds a little complicated, don’t worry. It needn’t be. Starting on a platform you are already familiar with is the easy way in. And you can begin by just posting a few items a week. Just remember to mix things up a little and don’t always go for the hard sell. And remember to respond to your followers’ comments. Once you have that experience under your belt, you’re on your way.
However, if you need more help with your social media strategy or are so busy you want an experienced team to run it for you, were more than happy to assist. Get in touch if you think we can help.
