Image by Firmbee on Unsplash

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Why should you use social media for your business? On Facebook alone, 1.7 billion users are spread across the globe. Consider that all these users engage with brands and businesses on different platforms.

Marketing experts found that a lot of people in 2021 follow brands more than they follow celebrities. If you’re not utilizing this fact, then you’re missing out on a fast, cheap, and effective way of reaching half the world’s population.

Recently, we have seen how a well-crafted online presence can make or break a brand. Take Minute Burger as an example. They are a burger franchising company local to the Philippines with a social media presence that took millennials by storm. If there’s one thing their witty memes about burgers and anime have accomplished, it is establishing strong brand awareness.

Can you name one successful business that does not engage in social media? Neither do I. If that joke didn’t manage to get the point across, I want you to try this exercise right now. Off the top of your head, try to think of a brand local to your city that doesn’t have a Facebook page. You can’t, right? Even small brands do it, so why shouldn’t you?

If you are a business owner and you still don't use online social platforms to promote and develop your business, then other businesses are bound to leave you in the dust. It matters that you do it now if you want your business to be competitive.

Let’s take a look at the top reasons why you should use social media for your business.

1. It increases brand awareness

Let’s get started by removing the obvious out of the way. The best you can get out of building an online presence for your business is that it will increase awareness of your brand. With a good strategy, you can get people who have absolutely no idea about your brand talking about your brand.

Do you think people only interact with brands they already know? The answer is no. More than half of Instagram users say they discover new brands and products on the platform.

Given that nearly half of the world’s population uses online social platforms, the possibility of potential customers seeing your brand is endless.

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Don't know how to start growing your brand? Check out PostcastHowTo's article on growing your brand.

2. It helps save on advertising

Social media is very inexpensive when compared to other marketing tools available to businesses. Traditional advertisements such as those in television, newspapers, and billboards are much more costly than maintaining online engagement with your brand.

You can always post your products and services for free. However, sponsored posts are guaranteed to have a wider reach. With this, you can consider lowering your advertising budget when you concentrate on social media marketing plans.

Moreover, traditional ads are a huge one-time investment for a one-time gain, but with social media, you will benefit much more consistently as long as you’re connected to your customers.

3. Sharing posts increases website traffic

Creating posts and ads on online social platforms are some of the best ways to drive traffic to your website. Sharing content from your website is a great way to expose your products and services to potential customers. An increase in website traffic has a direct increase in sales.

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4. It provides an easy way of interacting with customers

One of the most important things a business can do in social media is to regularly engage with customers. That is to say, you should always offer great value in your responses, rather than being too promotional or robotic.

Social platforms allow you to get personal with your customers. You should take this opportunity to form a bond of trust with them. Stay active and respond to comments and questions on your posts in a way that’s appropriate to your brand. By doing this, you are effectively enhancing customer satisfaction that might result in a repeat sale.

5. There is a chance of going viral

This is perhaps the lottery in this list. Everyone too keen on playing the socials have probably dreamt of going viral.

Traditional promotional tools can also be used to reach a national or even a global audience, but it comes at a very significant expense.  However, using social media provides a very cheap means of reaching the same audience in an instant.

If your content goes viral, then there is no telling how many people it will reach. You just saved a lot of time and money promoting your brand and building your customer base. With this, you can also expect your sales to increase exponentially!

6. Easier to manage your brand

Your customers are already talking about your brand on social media. If you and your team are on the ball, you can pick up on comments about your brand to highlight the positive and address the negative before it turns into a PR disaster.

Is someone saying something about your business that’s not true? Be sure to explain your side of the story politely and professionally. Is someone praising your brand? Thank them and draw attention to their kind words.

By keeping up with a positive and consistent social media presence, you can maintain the good reputation of your business. Through social media, you can easily reply to potentially destructive comments in an instant. Doing so also maintains the image of excellent customer service that you want your business to have.

7. Increase in sales

A good online social presence will have a positive effect on your sales. It directly increases the overall exposure of your business. It gets people talking about your brand via word of mouth, which further exposes your products and services to a wider audience.

In the end, of course, the goal is to convert your followers to a customer.  When you positively engage with your audience and you form a bond of trust with them, you illustrate interest in your customers and their experience, which frequently translates to more sales.

8. Easier to do reports and analytics

It is always a challenge for businesses to prove return on investment. But with social media tracking and analytics tools, you can see the performance of your activities, from follows to engagements right through to purchases.

Tools like Google Analytics track website traffic generated from social media, conversions, email sign-ups, and ROI for both organic and paid social media campaigns. With these tools, planning and deciding on your next step should be easier.

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Small and large businesses alike use social media as a way to reach customers, advertise their products, and increase sales. It may not be the be-all-end-all, but it's a powerful marketing tool that offers an array of ways that will surely bring your company to the attention of your prospective customers.