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Social Media is one of the most important things to happen to a business in a while. While the fervor with which some people discuss the importance of social media in business might be off-putting it has such value that other mediums for reaching the consumer such as advertising are quickly becoming obsolete in a post social media world.
“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.” – Scott Cook
The average consumer is bombarded with so many advertisements a day that they quickly become blind to them, and the ones that do get through are discarded or easily forgotten. This presents a dilemma for many business owners who are at a loss for how to reach consumers if not through ads.
While in the past Advertising may have been king, it is now the consumer who controls the market and as a business, it is important to adapt to these changes or risk getting left behind in the dust.
How then are you supposed to talk to the consumer in a way that does not make them wary of you? The answer is quite simple Social Media. Platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have created a space where businesses can be built without ever having to spend a dollar on advertising, but perhaps more importantly it allows you to connect with the consumer in a way that is not intrusive.
In this article we will be going over why Social Media Matters for business, and the five key ways that it can help you, including establishing authority, building community, and giving you a solid connection with the consumer.
Authority
The first reason that Social Media matters for a business is because it allows you to establish yourself as an authority in your field. In the past consumers once trusted the guarantees made on Advertisements and labels about the effectiveness of their products, now however people have become much more shrewd and have formed an inherent distrust of promises made by companies. To break through this distrust you need to establish yourself as knowing what you are talking about in regards to your field.
There are several ways to do this when it comes to Social Media such as, putting up informational posts about a topic in your field, creating articles that are in line with your industry and posting them on websites like Linkedin and putting case studies of people who have worked with you and enjoyed your product or service on your page. In the past, to conduct authority you may have had to shell out serious amounts of money to a research lab to get a study conducted that supported the value of your product or service. Social Media makes it that much easier for the consumer to trust you for that much less.
Community
Social Media is a great tool for building a community as a business. In today’s era consumers are once again gravitating towards a more tribalistic attitude when it comes to how they choose to spend their money and what brands they choose to support. Creating a community on Social Media is one of the best ways to develop a long-lasting positive sentiment of the masses towards your brand. It allows for a more personal element of engagement with a brand that makes a person that much more likely to support you.
“Social media will help you build up loyalty of your current customers to the point that they will willingly, and for free, tell others about you.” – Bonnie Sainsbury
Ways to build a solid community on social media include:
Engage Well and Engage Often With Your Audience
When people interact with your page they like to feel as though they are being seen or heard. It helps convey to them that your business truly does care about its supporters. So taking the time out to do simple things as liking and responding to comments is essential to building a social media community.
Create A Story That People Want to Follow
People like Gary Vaynerchuk have mastered the art of getting their audience engaged by telling a story. People love stories and the more engaging yours is the more likely people are to continue coming back to your page to see it. This makes them more likely to become more interested in your brand as a whole and in supporting you in your journey to your goal. Creating a story does not mean making up one, it must be derived from a REAL aspect of your business otherwise it will be easy to sense that you are not telling the truth. This could have the opposite effect and make people avoid your business altogether which could spell trouble for your business
Place Emphasis On What You do For the Consumer Not What They Do for You
One of the most important things when it comes to creating a community on social media as well as engaging with social media in general is that you must always be focused on the needs of the audience you are trying to reach. Talk to them about the problem that you solve and your passion for doing so. This in turn will create trust from the audience for your business which is one of the most important things that you can have when it comes to using the social media platform for business. Be honest and genuine about how you can help your audience and they will be more likely to support your business.
Connection
In this era as a business one of the most important things that you need to do is make a connection with your audience. Social Media is the best way to do this simply because you can reach them so easily. Make ample use of features such as hashtags which allow you to target most efficiently your audience and their interests. More than that however you get a glimpse into the lives of the people you are trying to reach, and that is more valuable and more telling than any ad campaign could ever be. Engage with your audience thoughtfully and with a genuine attitude and they will support your business for sure.
Conclusion
In Conclusion, the value of Social Media of business simply can not be understated. It allows you to interact with your audience more authentically and productively without the inherent wariness brought on by ad fatigue. Social Media can be a beast to handle alone so don’t be afraid to seek help.
If you are interested in Social Media Management for your business click this link https://www.rosemintmedia.com/contact to schedule an appointment with us today.
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