As digital marketing experts, we are often asked the question “Does social media matter for all businesses”?

The simple answer is YES. With over 3 billion people using social networks, why wouldn’t you?

It doesn’t matter which industry your business is involved in, or what type of product or service you sell, as we believe that social media is an essential part of any marketing strategy.  Whether you are a large multinational company or a local trade business, keeping connected with your audience on a social level is vital. Using Social media platforms for business will assist you with connecting (and staying connected) with your customers, increasing your brand awareness and ultimately increasing your leads and sales.

While some may still think that social media is a passing trend, even if you don’t love social media personally, social media is here to stay for the foreseeable future. It needs to be your go-to place for all your announcements, product updates, promotions and events as this will all help increase brand awareness.

Should You Use Social Media for Business?

So why use social media to enhance your digital marketing presence? Here are our top 5 reasons for using social media for business marketing.

1. Build your brand presence and awareness – Think of social media as your own personal magazine or video channel for your business. Most of the essence of marketing is about building brand awareness, and if people cannot see you, how will they know your business exists? Social media provides your business with another platform to build awareness for your brand, products and services, as well as for your social thoughts and beliefs, and what your brand stands for.
2. Gives your brand a personality – Social media is just that, social. Your posts and content will give your brand a voice…a tone…and a personality. Your business is more than just a logo. In the social world your page can ‘like’ other business pages, become a best friend to your customers, and a thought leader to follow and seek advice from.
3. A new way to engage – As the world becomes an ever-increasingly digital world, customers no longer need to pick up the phone or drive to your shopfront to make an inquiry. Social media will connect you with your customers in the same way they connect to other friends…on their phone, and gives you the opportunity to put your brand and personal suggestions directly into their private lives. Having social media platforms will give your customers new and exciting ways to engage with your business making you more accessible than ever before.
4. Builds website traffic – Google loves a busy website, and all the social clickthrus will improve your Google search rankings more than any other marketing activity. Consumers are hungry for content, so if you add a blog to your website you should promote it through social media and link them back to read the article on your webpage. Social media also provides effective and highly targeted advertising allowing you to promote your latest offer to a unique audience, again linking them back to your site to finalise the order. Social media offers you two major opportunities – to have a platform on which to meet new people / gain new customers, and a venue to personally influence buyer decisions through both paid and organic posting.
5. Be there or be square – At the end of the day, if your competitors are there, then you should be there too. If your competitors do not have a social presence in the market, then you can have the advantage, and exploit that advantage, to build a stronger and more resilient business. To be seen or not to be seen – there is no question. Get on your socials.

How to Get Started on Social Media to Promote Your Business

So, if you are thinking about getting your business on social media, the first step is to create a social media content plan mapping out the week’s or month’s social activity. Here are some quick easy pointers to get you started on social media:

• For a simple setup, create an excel spreadsheet with a cell for every day of the month in which to add copy, a URL and image for your post.
• Make sure to divide your month up into topics e.g. Tips and Advice, Blogs, Funny Memes, How To Videos, Meet the Team etc. Your topics depend on your business type, so go with what you know.
• Write a topic every 2-3 days, so you cover at least two different topics per week throughout the month
• Look at what your competitor’s social media platforms are doing. Research ideas online, view images and memes, and even ask your customers and friends “what they want to see”.
• Now, using all those wonderful ideas, write a post on each topic in your calendar. Keep it relevant and to the point. Nobody is interested in reading War and Peace on their phone.
• Once you have completed all that, you can schedule your posts in advance so they publish on the day and time you have planned out on your calendar.

Voila! Your business is now on the road to attracting potential new customers.