As we mentioned in part one of our Social Media, Why Bother? blog series, social media can be a critical tool for business success in today’s digital world. Gary Vaynerchuck, author of The Thank You Economy, says it best: “[Social media] is a massive cultural shift that has profoundly affected the way society uses the greatest platform ever invented, the Internet.” Put frankly, social media gives your business what we call the “give a shit” factor – that is, demonstrating that you are actively listening to and addressing your customer’s needs.
The best part? Social media outreach is mutually rewarding – both your business and your customers will benefit. In part 2 of the series, we’ll detail how to tap into these benefits in order to unleash your company’s potential.
Deliver better customer service
Social media gives consumers a powerful voice – a voice so powerful that it has the potential to make or break a company. As a result, regular monitoring of social networks for brand mentions and customer questions has become a necessity. Real-time communication creates happy customers, which in turn creates positive brand ambassadors. Bottom line – providing customer service on social media is a great way to positively influence sales.
Obtain real customer insights
Social media makes it quick and easy for businesses to obtain feedback from customers, which will give you a clearer idea of brand sentiment and help you identify common pain points that you can address. These insights can drive the development of social media campaigns and shape strategic decisions, helping you to make your website content and product or service offerings more attractive and relevant to your customers.
Promote your content
We all know how important content marketing is, not only in terms of SEO, but also when attracting new customers and retaining existing ones with the added value you provide. Help increase awareness of each new blog article or news post that you publish by linking to them on social media. Not only will this attract new customers to you, it will also help you to build authority in your area of expertise.
Cut Marketing Costs
Referring back to The Thank You Economy, Vaynerchuk explains that the biggest company returns are no longer coming from high-dollar advertising campaigns, but from demonstrating customer care online. We couldn’t agree more. Investing a small amount of time each day to motivate and communicate with customers on social media is one of the most affordable and effective ways to market your brand.
Drive website traffic
Being active on social media is one of the most effective ways to increase traffic to your website. Successful social media activities improve the amount of traffic referrals your website receives, playing an essential role in building your sales funnel. Did we mention that it helps with your SEO rankings as well? Mentions and interactions on your official social media accounts drive Google and other search engines to rank your website as being more authoritative, which helps your company achieve better organic search results.
So now that you’ve seen the many benefits that social media can provide for your company –what’s next? Stay tuned for part 3 of our Social Media, Why Bother? series, The Action: How to Make Social Media Work For Your Business.
Be sure to read our full 3 part series on Social Media, Why Bother?