Social Media: Why start now?

CC "Social Media: Changing Business" by Intersection Consulting on Flickr

Social media marketing has been quite the rage for a while. While some organizations took to social media marketing like a duck to water, other companies have been slower in following. For those who haven’t yet tested the social media marketing waters yet, here are few compelling reasons to join in the fun.

Your organization could benefit from online presence

Going social can help you share the personality of your organization with your customers. For instance, uploading photographs of employees at candid moments has become quite popular. This lets your customers see the people who cater to their needs. 

Connect

Incorporating a social media strategy along with your traditional marketing activities is the very essence of multi-channel marketing. Engaging customers and potential customers creates two-way communication. While traditional marketing tactics do a great job of building awareness, social media marketing facilitates relationship building  with customers or potential customers.

Your competitors & customers are there

While you’re sticking to that traditional marketing plan, consider the fact that your competitor is getting one up on you at Facebook, Twitter, Google + and other popular social networking websites. Moreover, your customers expect your presence there as well. So when your target audience and your competitors are in the same space (social media), why would you not join in?

Taking ‘reach’ to exponential levels

While you plan to reach a specific audience (your customers and potential customers), chances are your reach will extend beyond the levels you aimed for. Also your followers will tend to share the conversation, thereby bringing awareness about your brand to those who might not have been looking for you at all.

Image management

Having a presence on social networking networks helps you be aware of conversations about your brand instantly. This enables quick feedback from customers and the ability to offer assistance to customers who turn to social media to rant. 

Still not convinced? Some facts may help:

• Consider this: 30% of the world’s population is online and the internet as a marketing channel reaches the largest number of people from varied demographics
• Social Media marketing requires a low technical investment and a low learning curve
• It is a fairly simple way to increase your website traffic and search engine ranking
• Lead generation and, thereby, sales can be improved
• Connecting with media becomes easier
• Promoting events becomes quicker and more effective
• 58% of small business owners reported a decrease in marketing costs after they migrated to social media

Considering the advantages that social media marketing brings, it’s hardly a surprise that businesses are diving in head first. Go on, jump in!

What's holding you back? Let us know.