Social media has changed the world in which we live. Ideas used to be exchanged by letter, and news was only heard on radio or seen on TV or in the newspaper. In today’s world, information is disseminated instantaneously. Whether it’s a breaking news event, the winner of the Super Bowl or a company’s misstep or good fortune, it is available for consumption within seconds. Through good & bad it is simply a fact that social media isn’t going anywhere, and when it comes to business, we must realize the magnitude of its global potential.
Why is social media important for your business? Simply put, because your customers and clients are online. For example, of the 7 billion people inhabiting our planet, fully 1.5 billion of them are on Facebook. This is staggering stat, and even more because FB is such a recent phenomenon! These social media members are talking and sharing with friends and family every day. Regardless of whether you’re B2B or B2C, your very target market audience is most assuredly online. Few purchases today are conducted by business executives or consumers without the benefit of efficient online research, and this information becomes shared with their online communities.
Knowing that your demographic is interacting online is an important advantage for any business. Social media forces successful companies to re-examine their brand and customer service. Much more effective (and profitable) than ignoring what’s being communicated online about you and your business (this occurs whether you like it or not) is to embrace the feedback and actively join the conversation. In this manner, you can take an active role in managing criticism, owning responsibility, reinforcing positive input, and ultimately steering new customers to your value proposition! And best of all, you don’t have to do all this yourself; you can assign a trusted outsourced partner to take on this important role.
Social media can clearly have a direct impact on your business. If implemented and managed effectively, it will create awareness, build your brand, and generate revenue. Conversely, if ignored or neglected, it can also have very negative or even disastrous effects. When companies misbehave, consumers tell everyone. The “power of social media” can go both ways! Listening and reacting to your consumers is as important as telling people about what you sell.
A Social media component of your business plan should be an integral element in your company’s strategic growth objectives. Never before in the history of marketing has there been the opportunity to engage in one-on-one conversations with your clients or customers. You’ll learn things about your company you weren’t aware of. How a company perceives itself is not always consistent with the views of the general public. Consumer input about your product or services is like free research. Social Media and the internet have allowed for the discovery and pursuit of new channels of distribution, new product uses, and even new markets. And this applies to you, too!
Listen, learn, engage…and accelerate the growth of your business.