19 Jun Does Your Business REALLY Need Social Media? Here Are The Facts
There seems to be great debate surrounding the use of social media for businesses. Older generations seem to think that it is unnecessary. Younger generations, on the other hand, rely too heavily on social media, failing to diversify their online presence.
So, does your business really need social media? As a business owner in 2020, it is very important that you are active on at least one social media platform. The way you use social media and the platforms you use will vary depending on your audience.
In this post, we will share some shocking statistics regarding social media use in 2020. We will also talk about the many benefits of social media use for businesses and discuss how to conquer social media as a business owner.
How Necessary is Social Media for Business?
As a media company, you could probably assume that we would promote the use of social media for business purposes. We have seen social media to be a powerful tool for online marketing when it is used correctly. However, we are not the only ones who have this opinion!
Here are some shocking statistics regarding social media use around the world in 2020.
Social Media Use in 2020
According to the We Are Social Digital 2020 Report, “The number of people around the world using the internet has grown to 4.54 billion, an increase of 7 percent (298 million new users) compared to January 2019.”.
“Worldwide, there are 3.80 billion social media users in January 2020, with this number increasing by more than 9 percent (321 million new users) since this time last year.” (We Are Social Digital 2020 Report)
3.8 billion individuals account for slightly less than 50% of the overall worldwide population. With the amount of growth that was seen over the last year, it is safe to assume that by 2021, over half of the worldwide population will be active on at least one social media platform.
It is easy to see that social media is only increasing in popularity. It is important to capitalize on this growth as it is one of the easiest ways to get your business in front of the eyes of potential customers.
Benefits of Using Social Media for Your Business
There are countless benefits to using social media for your business. While the benefits certainly extend beyond this list, these are just a few of the ways we have found social media to be helpful for our clients.
Build Your Brands Image
More and more, consumers are gaining interest in the image of your brand. What do you support? How do you present yourself as a brand? Social media is an excellent way to build the image of your brand.
Social media is highly visual. Because of this, it is a great way to promote your business by using engaging photographs, videos, or graphics. Curating an online image that represents your brand will better communicate the services or products that you offer to potential customers.
Improves Customer Service
When you use social media for your business, you can interact with your customers on a more personal level. This leads to improved customer service and satisfaction. Using social media, you can receive feedback (both positive and negative) that allows you to improve your customer’s experience.
Creates Connection Within Your Community
Social media is an excellent way to create connections within your community. Through your online community, you can learn what services or products would provide them with the most value. Creating a community within your business will provide you with a loyal customer base who will support you for years to come.
Reputation Management For your Business
In this day and age, your online reputation as a business will have an incredible impact on your success. When you are active on social media, you can manage the reputation of your business. If you do not maintain an online presence for your brand, your online reputation may be marred by a few disgruntled customers.
There are many ways to effectively manage your online reputation as a small business owner. You can learn more about online reputation management here.
Free Marketing Platform
As business owners, we are always looking for ways to decrease our spending while increasing results. Social media is essentially free marketing for your business! When you look at it from that perspective, it seems silly to not utilize this tool.
“Many brands treat social media as a hobby…The reality is, social media should be the pulse of your company…Your strategy should be discussed in sales meetings, marketing meetings and every meeting that has to do with your consumer and brand identity.” (Cal Marshall, Forbes)
Social media has the power to become a powerful marketing tool in your business if it is used properly. You can find more social media marketing tips here.
Disadvantages of Social Media
While social media surely has its fair share of advantages, there are a few disadvantages to a social media presence for your business.
Negatively Impacts Your Reputation if Done Poorly
Almost worse than a non-existent social media presence is a poor social media presence. Outdated information, poor quality images, and lack of content negatively impact the reputation of your business.
If you are going to use social media to promote your business, you must be committed to taking the steps necessary to promote a positive, up-to-date image.
Keeping Up With Social Media Takes Work
With the constantly changing algorithms and trends, keeping up with social media takes a lot of work! This is in addition to regular posting and engaging with the community you are building on each platform.
Many companies choose to outsource their social media marketing to a professional media company that can dedicate the time necessary to master each platform.
Your Business Does Not Own Your Platform
Social media is free to use. This is one of it’s best advantages as well as one of the greatest downfalls. You do not own your social media pages. At any point in time, you could lose the information you have shared with your community.
The social media platform you use is in charge of who will see your posts and how well they perform. For this reason, you mustn’t rely solely on social media for online marketing.
“A business’s online presence, regardless of industry, can have a massive impact on its success. In this day and age, some businesses still don’t realize that a majority of their customers will visit their website before making a purchase. Having a strong online presence, particularly a website, can be make or break for generating more revenue.” (Kasey Kaplan, Forbes)
It is important to work with a Tulsa website design company to build a website that can become your “home” on the internet. This is a platform that you own and have complete control over.
Conquering Social Media as a Business Owner
As a business owner, there are several steps you can take to conquer social media marketing. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you create your social media presence.
Consistency is Key
Social media platforms respond to consistency. While you do not necessarily need to post every single day, it is important to post several times each week. As you are starting, this consistency can seem overwhelming. Many business owners find that it is helpful to work with a social media team to ensure that they are consistently posting quality content.
Quality Over Quantity
Your business does not need to have a profile on each social media platform. We recommend selecting three social media platforms to use for your business. For most businesses, we have found Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to be the most effective platforms.
Posting high-quality content to fewer social media platforms will provide you with better results than sub-par content on every platform available.
Social Media Takes Time
Do not be discouraged when your business is not a viral sensation overnight. Building a social media presence for a business will take time. By posting engaging content, creating a community around your brand, and investing time into your social media strategy, you will begin to see results.
Diversify Your Online Presence
Unfortunately, many young business owners rely solely on their social media presence. While social media is certainly a valuable part of any online strategy, it should not be the only part. Diversify your online presence by investing time and energy into a beautiful website and effective email marketing.
Create a Social Media Strategy
Finally, the most important part of using social media for your business is to create a social media strategy that works. How are you going to use social media? Does your social media encourage followers to purchase a product? Are you using clear calls-to-action to lead your customer to a closed sale?
We partner with business owners in all industries to create a social media strategy that works for their unique needs. Our team is passionate about educating businesses on how to utilize social media to their benefit. We fully believe that any type of business can flourish when they use social media properly.
For more information on how your business can use social media to its advantage, schedule a free strategy session. We look forward to hearing from you!