Social media: You hear a lot about it, you know everyone is on it, but how can it really help your business? The reality of today’s interconnected world is that without a social media presence, your business is behind by default. Why is that, though?
1) Branding
The term “brand” has become diluted by everyone and their mother creating an Instagram page and marketing it with the share button. It’s that easy to publish content and tell the world that you exist. The real key is adding value to it, especially among this din of personal and professional brands clamoring for space.
There are many avenues for this. You can like/follow a million other pages, you can blast your social media pages across the web, but the most effective (and difficult) method is to create quality content.
The cheap methods may get you followers, but it won’t engage them or keep them for long. You have to infuse your brand with your personality, your uniqueness, and what it is you offer the masses.
2) Global Reach
Speaking of masses, how big is your local market? Not as big as the Internet.
Your presence in the global digital community means an audience you may never have considered. Your business may not apply to people living in Ireland, but maybe your brand awareness matters. Maybe someone in Australia tells their friend to check your place out on their holiday to the States. Maybe your larger market also gives you more influences to grow from.
If you do happen to grow to an international level of renown, you’ll be able to address your global empire from one central hub. Not a bad goal to have.
3) Transparency
Social media is the direct connection to your audience, clients, or customers. This is a double-edged sword.
On one hand, you can engage one-on-one with the people who matter most to your business and receive constructive criticism and feedback as soon as possible. No holds barred, no stone left unturned.
On the other hand, you can say the wrong thing and demolish any public goodwill you’ve built up thus far. We all know companies, politicians, and celebrities who have put their digital foot in their digital mouth and suffered the consequences.
The key here is to embrace the immediacy of social media while still thinking about what you say before you say it. If someone posts something that you don’t like, give yourself at least 10 minutes of perspective so you respond the right way.
4) Extended Engagement
Social media doesn’t have to live in an online bubble. Using it as one arm in your public relations strengthens your physical connections. It allows local engagement to persist 24/7.
Announcements, events, new rollouts, daily deals, weekly articles. All things that can entice or relate with a customer who lives right around the corner, bringing them back to your brick-and-mortar location. Which, as it happens, is one example of return on investment.
5) Return On Investment
Beyond a customer coming into your shop because of a Facebook ad, how can you really gauge what all these intangible bits and bytes mean for you? It’s not always as simple as money generated – investment = ROI, but that’s a great thing to look at. Also, track secondary factors like sign-ups to your mailing list, site traffic, and engagement and audience size on social media.
Taken together, you can get a good picture of whether people are interested in what you have to say, and you can adjust your message (or even your offerings) until you start to see the results that you want.
The key? Get out there and do it! Don’t wait, go sign up!
