Saturday 3 January 2015

9 Reasons Why Using Social Media For Business is Non Negotiable

The Internet has revolutionized almost every facet of our business and personal lives over the past 20 years. Today, we have entered another far-reaching revolution which has created new and different consumer behaviors.

This revolution is being driven by people and enabled by social media. As a result, businesses can no longer afford NOT to leverage social media...

The following nine reasons discuss why using social media for business is non-negotiable.
 

1. Creates Social Proof. Today consumers are social and have become savvy about who and where they purchase products. 60% of people learn about a brand through social medial. By having a social media presence that is strong and engaging it reassures consumers that your business is reputable and can be trusted.
 

2. Humanizes Your Brand. Using marketing lingo in social media just doesn’t work. Creative, consistent and resourceful information adds value and depth to your overall responsibility while positioning you as an expert in your industry! Social media gives your business the opportunity to reach out and connect with your audiences. No Stuffy corporate policies. Real one to one relationships.

3. Builds Your Sphere of Influence. Your sphere of influence includes interacting with people in and around your brand. There will always be key people of influence in your niche so spend some time getting to know them! Watch and learn how they engage their audience... and then start engaging with them! When you develop a relationship with these key people it impacts your sphere of influence, this attracts people and it will help build your credibility!
 

4. Your Competition is Using Social Media. Your industry or niche is represented on social networks. It is! If you don’t believe me Google “Your niche” + “Facebook” and see what comes up! 72% of businesses increased sales as a result of using social media. Companies are paying a lot of money to grow their brands in social media. That suggests that using social media for business is working. If you aren’t already, then you're already behind!
 

5. Your Target Audience is Today's New Consumer. Think of Social Networks as shopping malls, where where today's consumers are living a virtual social life. Being present in this mall is one of the smartest moves you can make for your business. The old saying goes that, “numbers don’t lie” and today, 47% of consumer choices are influenced by Social Conversations! Are you participating in the conversation?
 

6. It’s Today's "Word of Mouth" Marketing. What better way to interact with potential clients than through people who have already experienced what your brand has to offer? When your social media presence starts to generate conversation and reactions such as; likes, shares, tweets, pins, etc. then you get their approval! This social recommendation is visible to that persons individual following and acts as a great gateway for their friends or family to get to know more about your brand
 

7. Google Counts Social Sharing for Page Rankings. The whole concept of the internet is a web. If you think of a web there are many layers or paths to a single point. The more paths, called links, to this single point the more authoritative, or stronger the point becomes. When people on social media refer to your content, website, articles, etc. It means that these people find your content useful, entertaining and informative. When this happens search engines pay attention and in return use this as a factor to provide better placement for your content.
 

8. Opens Up Conversation. Your clients and social audience are the best people to learn from when it comes to making things better; you'll get an understanding as to what consumers are looking for and you will be able to gauge how to improve things in the future. Social media for business success is truly about listening as opposed to marketing. Conversations act like a magnet; when one starts others take notice! This causes more and more people to jump into the conversation... spreading your brand wide and far.
 

9. Provides Great Brand Exposure. If your brand can really embrace the nature of social media and provide great content and learn to engage and interact with your audience to build an on-line community that people want to be involved with, then your brand will get a great boost. Everyone wants to expose their brand to a larger audience. The more targeted people who are aware of your brand, the greater the chance you have of turning those into leads, paying clients and brand advocates.
 

In conclusion, businesses that embrace social media; the possibilities it brings and the challenges it presents will remain profitable and, most importantly, relevant in an ever increasing social world. 

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Elynn Fish is the Founder and President of The Fish Firm of which specializes in using New Media To Turn Modern Marketing Into Money by helping small business owners and entrepreneurs increase online sales and attract new business.  

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