Social media follows the rule that there is constant change all the time and the only constant is the social media’s community’s desire to connect. The audience inhabiting the social media world is more assertive and sure of themselves. As a businessman, you are there on social media to help people get what they want, without you telling them their wants. That is how social media is used in business.
Social media allows big businesses to think small on a massive scale. With over half the world’s population on the internet, connecting with friends to catch up on a product is as easy as clicking on a button. The same goes for the ease of doing business and the companies like Amazon have proved that by making it to the top from zero to the number one internet company within a quarter of a century.
It is apparent that the power of social media in doing business cannot be ignored given the penetration. The extensive reach of social media is an undeniable asset for business especially in trading industries, where it becomes vital to engage with people on a large scale and persuade them.
The print and older generation electronic media like radio and television will die out and it will focus on how social media is used in business and trading.
Focusing On How Social Media Is Used In Business
The leading social media platforms are the most visited websites in the world and only the omnipresent search engine, Google is ahead of them. Facebook comes in at number two, followed by the video-sharing platform, YouTube.
The numbers are mind-boggling and show that over 4 billion active internet visitors visit social media platforms each day.
With more time being spent on social media, products and brands have turned to how social media is used in business and are desperate to grab a fraction of the eyeballs. Facebook alone has 60 million pages, and brands realize the power it has over its followers.
It was revealed that when a brand posts on a Facebook page, it reached around 11% more people than even the number of total followers. A significant number of Facebook visitors engage with it in some way, either by watching videos, reading status, clicking links, or liking posts. The same goes for other social media platforms.
The same goes fdor Twitter. It has been seen that more people come to Twitter to find something new and interesting. This platform is 5 times more likely to offer new videos to users than other platforms.
The intention of users to discover something new, along with the design of Twitter to offer discoveries leads to higher brand awareness and recall, which ultimately converts into the purchase.
How Social Media Is Used In Business Through Brand Building And Increase In Sales
The power of social media platforms to influence purchase decisions is increasing steadily each day. More than their websites, companies have discovered that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other platforms have more influence on sales.
It is wrong to assume that people only look up brands they are familiar with when they search on social media platforms. Over 83% of users of Instagram have said that they have discovered new goods on the social media platform.
Companies that ran campaigns on social media platforms have reported an immediate increase in brand recall and influence with some companies reporting between 15 to 20 point increase in advertisement recall.
Giving A Human Face To Campaigns
The greatest advantage of how social media is used in a business is through a greater human connection. The platforms allow you to intimately interact with your potential customers. It allows you to introduce your company and its people to your followers and showcase your products giving instances of how current customers have used it and given feedback.
You can show how your products perform in real-life situations and how your company embraces its brand values.
People look to brands to reinforce their trust through information and insight. And social media is the best place to get it through its intimate and personal nature.
You could establish and reinforce your brand and company as a thought leader for your industry, somewhere people go for information and insights as they trust you.
How Social Media Is Used In Business Though A Greater Brand Recall
With 70% of netizens logging onto their social media account every day, and 49% checking in multiple times a day, companies get a chance to interact with potential customers more than once each day.
By keeping the posts original and riveting, people will be drawn each time a new offering hits the net. This helps in brand recall and influences purchase decisions a lot.
Social media platforms also drive traffic directly to your site. Sharing more content about your website or blog on social media platforms directs traffic to your site.
Some companies also use teasers in their social media feed and entice users to log onto their site and get access to the complete article through the link.
Another way to upturn interest in your brand is by participating in social chats.
Getting Leads And Boosting Sales
Social media allows a simple plus low-commitment method for potential patrons to evince interest in your products. Basic lead generation increases substantially and formats are designed specifically to generate leads.
A simple format allows users to learn about a business through just a few taps.
These leads give more inputs into your sales funnel ultimately translating to sales.
Using Social Media For Communication
Being on social media platforms allows you to respond immediately to an opinion about your company. You can pick up posts that are relevant to your company and highlight the positive aspects while handling any negative feedbacks immediately before it becomes a major issue.
Tackling client grievances immediately gives a positive image to your business, and there are bound to be negative customer experiences which when addressed correctly can lead to lifelong loyalty of the customer.
Gaining Insight Through A Presence On Social Media
Being present regularly on social media gives you access to relevant data that can help you in making future business decisions. You get access to multiple demographics that help you refine your future media strategies.
Social media monitoring is vital to gauge audience engagement. It also gives you vital information about your brand. You get to know both how many people are talking about your brand, the audience profile, and their actual opinion about your brand.