These days, social media is incredibly important for businesses, as it can make a business an overnight success! Of course, a well-built business is not created overnight, but social media plays a big factor in creating a community around your business. Social media brings people together to share what they like and have in common. As marketing tactics are changing, most businesses rely on social media to bring in sales revenue.
There are many different uses for social media. Constantly posting can be overwhelming. And trying to keep up with trends can be a headache! However, social media is a great organic marketing tool to reach new potential customers every time you post. Every time someone else posts about you, it creates a plethora of leads.
What is the importance of social media for businesses? Why does every outlet seem to push businesses to join social media platforms? Which platform should you use? Let’s talk about the benefits of social media and how you can use it to maximize your exposure.
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Importance Of Social Media
Years ago, there used to be only a few social media platforms that were great for businesses. Now, there are many platforms with different algorithms that can make businesses feel overwhelmed with where to start!
Let’s talk about the different kinds of platforms there are and which platform you should consider joining. You want to be on the same platform your ideal audience is, as well as post the type of content your ideal audience desires.
Between Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube…Where should you begin? First, if you are not on social media as a business and you are looking to start a profile, start with one platform. It is better to be strategic and consistent with one audience and content than for the algorithms to be against your profiles from the start. If you have no content posting strategy, the algorithm will not be in your favor. Start with one platform and get the hang of that one first!
Social Media Platforms for Businesses to Use
Now that you know the importance of social media, it’s time to choose which platforms your business will be active on.
Facebook is a great social media platform for an ideal audience of men and women ages 35+. It is not the place where you need to worry about being super trendy to get noticed. Plus, it has tons of business advertising tools already in place. Facebook has a great e-commerce platform installed that makes it easy for shoppers to identify businesses that may meet their needs. There is not as much organic reach potential as on other platforms but it is great for building a tight-knit community! A tight-knit community will stick with you and become a loyal customer base which is great for a long-lasting business.
Over time, Instagram has become the place for millennials to share idealized lifestyles (aka aesthetics). Instagram is great to market to millennial men and women. Recently, Instagram has changed from a photo-first platform to a video-first platform. If you want to create the most successful Instagram account, you will need to create video content. As an added bonus, Instagram and Facebook are interconnected/ So if you have one of these platforms, it is really easy to integrate marketing into the other platform!
Pinterest is more like what Instagram used to be. On Pinterest, people love to create boards of topics they would like to try or aspire to attain. Pinterest is great for reaching primarily women and some men ages 18-35.
Pinterest has great advertising and exposure as it has more of an organic algorithm than a lot of the other platforms. You can directly link products into pins so that if customers like an image they can go directly to your site which is awesome! Paid marketing is also great on Pinterest as it rewards you over time. Pins that do well with paid marketing reap the benefits even after the campaign is over.
TikTok
TikTok is a video-only format that ranges from 15-second to 3-minute videos and is an organic audience. The primary audience on TikTok is Gen Z, but some would argue that all businesses benefit from being on TikTok. All ages are on the platform and if you are looking to do a campaign on TikTok, you can specialize it to your ideal audience age group. Everyone talks about TikTok at the moment because of its organic algorithm, meaning any video you post has the potential to reach millions of new potential customers. Many businesses have become an overnight success thanks to growing a community on TikTok!
If you are a business looking to coach other business professionals or a general B2B web page, LinkedIn has great B2B benefits and can be an excellent choice for you! This is an important social media platform to be active on if you’re trying to reach a more professional audience.
YouTube
YouTube is great for building a community and providing information in a video-style format. Thinking of it as blogging, except with video. Recent statistics have proven that more people are looking to watch videos over reading articles. YouTube is great for B2B web pages and B2C pages that provide valuable information that can lead potential customers to your site. A great feature of YouTube is the potential for monetization as you grow your subscriber count. There is organic growth in YouTube, but it is not as instantly gratifying as TikTok or Pinterest.
Now that we have gone over all of the business-to-customer and business-to-business platforms, we hope you feel more equipped to choose which platform you will be using!
What Is Social Media Used For?
Social media is used for connecting with others. As a business or webpage, you are always wanting to serve others. Social media is the number one way to do just that. People love connecting with others to share their favorite products, and recommendations, and overall see new things.
A big use of social media for businesses in today’s trend is influencer marketing. Businesses must be on social media to even consider trying influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is when a person with a big social media following markets your product to their audience. Influencer marketing is nice because influencers already have the trust of their audience. By recommending your product on their page, customers are more willing to buy it because they recommended it! It is essentially a more vast version of word-of-mouth.
Why Do People Use Social Media?
Businesses use social media to connect with their audience in a personable way to create a loyal customer base. Having a loyal customer means that you will have a higher customer return rate and an overall boost in revenue. The same applies to business-to-business social media pages. All businesses should provide helpful tips to make the life of their ideal customer easier, leading them to the mission of your product/webpage!
Overall, social media users love to share their lives to feel more connected with the people around them. It’s a way for us not to feel so alone in a world that can be isolating at times. We can share our struggles and our happiest moments with others and others can reflect on how they relate to that in their own lives. Social media’s importance for businesses cannot be overstated. It can be a beautiful thing for users and businesses alike! It’s a fun and creative outlet and should never get overwhelming. Choosing the right platform to use will be a weight lifted off your business shoulders.
FAQ:
- Why should businesses use social media?
- What social media platforms should businesses use?
- What kind of platform is Instagram?
- How many social media platforms should I start with?
- Why do people use social media?
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