Social media can be a powerful tool for businesses across all stages of the customer journey. It can help you reach new audiences, generate leads, and build trust and loyalty with existing customers. However, as with other marketing channels, you could end up wasting valuable time and resource if you don’t use it right.
In this guide, we cover the benefits of social media for business, the best platforms to consider, and some tips to help your business use social media as effectively as possible.
Why do businesses use social media?
More and more businesses are utilising social media as a key part of their marketing strategies. The potential benefits of social media for business are vast. These are some of the main advantages:
1. Increased brand awareness: Social media platforms are home to billions of users. They provide the opportunity to reach new audiences and enhance your brand visibility. Consistent posting, sharing high-quality content, and interacting with followers can help to keep your brand in the minds of potential customers.
2. Improved customer engagement: Social media allows direct interaction with customers, providing a platform for feedback, questions, and engagement. This two-way communication can improve customer satisfaction and strengthen relationships. By engaging with existing customers on social media you could build brand loyalty and gain more “brand advocates” – customers who tell others about their positive experience with your business. Creating a buzz around your products or services will further boost your brand visibility.
3. Cost-effective marketing: Compared to other marketing methods, social media marketing can often be quite affordable. When running paid social media ads, several platforms offer targeting options that can allow you to reach your target audience more precisely. This helps increase the quality of traffic that comes through to your site and the return on your marketing investment.
4. Customer insights: Social media platforms can provide valuable data and insights into customer behaviour, preferences, and demographics. All the major platforms have built-in analytics that can help you monitor key metrics such as reach and engagement. You can use these insights to refine your products, services, and marketing strategies.
5. Increased website traffic and lead generation: Sharing content on social media can boost traffic to your company’s website, offering more opportunities to generate leads. This is especially the case when running targeted paid ads, as you can drive people to your website who are more likely to convert.
6. Competitive advantage: A strong social media presence can give businesses an edge over competitors who are not as active online. It gives you the chance to showcase unique aspects of the business and humanise your brand, leading to deeper connections with your audience.
Best social media platforms for business
The social media platforms you choose for your company will depend on a number of factors, including your industry, target audience, and goals. To help you understand the key characteristics and differences between the social media networks, here is a brief overview of some of the most popular ones:
Facebook
With over 3 billion monthly active users (as of 2023), Facebook continues to be the largest social media platform, despite its popularity waning among the younger generations. Thanks to its broad appeal and presence of most target markets, Facebook is suitable for businesses across many industries and can be a good option for both B2B and B2C marketing.
Much like a personal Facebook profile, setting up a Facebook Business Page will allow you to post content and updates, send and receive messages, and engage with other people’s content via reactions, shares, and comments.
These functionalities, along with Facebook’s other community-building features like groups, make it a great place for engagement and building brand loyalty organically. To increase brand awareness or generate leads, you may want to consider Facebook advertising, which offers various ad types (such as boosted newsfeed posts and carousel ads) and targeting options to help you get your content in front of the right people.
Instagram
Instagram, with its visual focus, is perfect for brands that can leverage high-quality images and short videos. It’s particularly popular among younger demographics. Features like Instagram stories, stickers and polls, IGTV, shoppable posts, boosted posts, and swipe-up links make it a versatile platform for lots of businesses. It used to be thought of as a B2C platform, but more and more B2B businesses are seeing the benefits of having a strong Instagram presence. It offers the opportunity to connect with your audience and showcase your company’s story and culture in a more personal, visually compelling way.
X (formerly known as Twitter)
Since becoming X, the platform has undergone controversial changes which have led to some businesses and brands moving away from the social network. However, it’s still a popular platform for companies that want to share real-time updates, engage in timely conversations, and provide customer service. You can use hashtags to increase visibility and take part in trending conversations.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the go-to platform for B2B marketing, professional networking, and recruiting. It’s ideal for connecting with other businesses and industry professionals to build up your network of contacts. LinkedIn is also effective for sharing industry insights, case studies, and company updates, helping you raise awareness and strengthen your professional brand. It also offers a range of options to amplify your reach and engagement, such as sponsored content and InMail campaigns.
Pinterest
Pinterest is a visual discovery platform that’s especially great for B2C businesses in markets like home decor, fashion and beauty, and food. It allows users to share and discover new interests by posting (“pinning”) images or videos to their own or others’ boards. Pinterest can be highly effective for driving traffic to websites.
TikTok
TikTok is a video-sharing platform that’s rapidly growing in popularity, especially among younger audiences. It’s ideal for businesses that can create engaging, short-form video content. By taking part in trends, you could increase your visibility and reach a larger audience, though it’s always important to keep brand image in mind.
YouTube
YouTube is the leading platform for video content. It’s suitable for businesses that can create longer content like tutorials, product reviews, and educational videos. It can be a time-consuming platform to build but an excellent way to grow your audience, boost your brand’s credibility, and drive website traffic. By optimising your videos for SEO you can also rank higher both in YouTube’s search results and on Google.
How to use social media effectively
Here are a few tips to help you reap the benefits of social media for business:
Develop a strategy - Create a clear social media strategy that integrates with your overall marketing strategy and aligns with your business goals. Define your target audience and find out where they spend their time online. Select the right platforms for your audience and goals, set measurable objectives, and plan the type of content you will create and share.
Consistent branding - Make sure your brand’s tone of voice and visual identity are consistent across your social media platforms. This will help you to build a recognisable and trustworthy brand image.
Quality content - Focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that provides value to your audience. Try using a mix of content types such as images, videos, and articles to keep your audience interested.
Regular posting – It’s important to maintain a consistent posting schedule. Using social media management tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, or Sprout Social can help you to plan and automate posts. Consistency is key to keeping your audience engaged.
Engage with your audience - Interact with your followers by responding to comments, messages, and mentions. Encourage conversations, ask questions, and show appreciation for user-generated content. This is a great way of building loyalty and cultivating a community.
Use analytics - Regularly analyse your social media performance using built-in analytics tools provided by platforms or third-party tools. Try to avoid using “vanity metrics” and instead track actionable metrics that impact your business goals. Use these insights to refine your strategy.
Leverage paid advertising - Consider using paid social media advertising to reach a larger audience. Several platforms offer targeting options that can help you deliver tailored content to specific audiences.
Collaborate with influencers - Partnering with influencers in your industry could allow you to reach a wider audience and build trust with your target market.
Monitor trends - Stay up to date with the latest social media trends and adapt your strategy accordingly. Trends can provide opportunities to create relevant content that will encourage greater engagement.
Be authentic - Authenticity tends to resonate well with audiences. Share behind-the-scenes content, customer testimonials, and stories that humanise your brand to foster trust and connection.
Using social media effectively requires a well-thought-out strategy, consistency, and a focus on providing value to your audience. By leveraging the right platforms and following best practices, you could enhance your company’s online presence, build strong customer relationships, and achieve your marketing goals.
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