Contents
- 1 What is social Media?
- 2 Types of social Media and their advantages
- 3 13 Advantages of Social Media for Companies and Businesses
- 4 Advantages of each social network, some interesting facts
- 5 Latest tips to get the most out of social media
We already know that social Media are highly popular platforms, where billions of people connect and consume content of all kinds.
It is also known that companies are increasingly using these platforms to grow their brand and increase sales. But still, you may wonder, what are the advantages of social Media for my company?
It is normal to want to have a clear picture of benefits and disadvantages before making a decision, since being in a social network requires an investment of money, effort and time. If this is your case, you came to the right place.
In this article you will learn:
- What a difference to social Media from other digital platforms.
- The advantages (in brand perception, consumer knowledge and sales) that social Media can have in your company or business.
- What should you keep in mind so as not to turn an advantage into a disadvantage.
- The most outstanding benefits of each social network.
There are many digital platforms out there today, each designed for a different purpose. But, did you know that not all are considered social Media? To understand the advantages of social Media, it is first important to be very clear about what characterizes them and the differences from the rest of the platforms.
As your word expresses it, social Media are a digital space focused on creating Media of contacts and relationships with which you can interact and exchange information in a two-way way. Contacts can be both people and brands or entities.
For a platform to be considered a social network, it must meet requirements such as:
- Give the possibility to people and brands to create their own profile.
- Being able to create a network of contacts.
- Allow interaction in various ways with contacts.
To be successful on social Media, To be successful as a social media virtual assistant. it is very important to remember what they were created for. As we already mentioned, they are a space mainly for social interactions, not necessarily for brands. Therefore, if you are looking to take full advantage of social media, you should focus on building conversations and relationships over selling your products.
Does this mean you can’t promote your business? Not at all. You can do it, but following other rules of the game. Here, the content is the protagonist.
There are many ways to group social Media, but in general we can talk about two types of social Media:
These are social Media aimed at all types of users and without any specific theme. That is, users can interact and generate any type of content and what they mainly seek is to be entertained.
The advantage of these social Media is the number of people who belong to them, although you must be careful when being part of them, because you are going to have to segment very well who you want to reach; not everyone is looking for the same thing. Let’s review the most recognized horizontal social Media:
Unlike previous social Media, verticals do have a specific theme and users generate content around that issue. For example:
- LinkedIn.
- Tinder.
- Spotify.
- pinterest.
It is time to review some of the advantages of social Media for your company or business.
It is important to clarify that, to really see the benefits and avoid the disadvantages of social Media, it is important that you remember that:
- Each social network was created with a different purpose, and therefore the content that is shared and that users search for is different. To get the most out of each one, you need to recognize how and what type of content would be most akin to that platform.
- Do not decide to be part of a social network just because “all the brands are there”. It must add value to your company and the audience you want to connect with.
- To be relevant and take advantage of social Media, it is important to make a content plan.
If you are ready to shine on social Media with your company, here we tell you the advantages that you can get through them, advantages that will surely motivate you whether you are just starting out or want to improve your presence.
So that you can get a better idea of the advantages, we divide them into 3 categories:
- Brand-related benefits.
- Advantages in relation to consumers.
- Sales-focused benefits.
Ready? Let us begin!
- Greater visibility.
- Let you know
- Brand reputation.
- Others talk about your brand.
1. Increased visibility
60% of Instagram users say they discover new products on the platform.
It is very important that your company or business offers quality products or services, but it is of little use if nobody knows you. Social Media are a great channel to increase the visibility of your brand. Remember that geographical barriers dissolve in social Media, giving you the possibility of making yourself known in places you had not thought of reaching.
How can you increase your visibility? You have many ways to achieve this, either using organic or paid content, or better, a combination of the two. Remember, without visibility you don’t make yourself known, and if they don’t know you, you don’t increase sales.
According to the latest study from We Are Social and Hootsuite, the third source of brand discovery is through social media advertising:
2. Make yourself known: Show your essence
It may happen to you that, due to the day-to-day desire and to meet objectives, you focus a lot on achieving long-term sales, leaving aside brand building or the possibility of talking about your essence. One of the advantages of social Media is that you no longer have to choose, you can:
- Talk about your products and services.
- Communicate your essence and your purpose.
- Let you know in a different way, closer.
- Choose from many content formats that help you show who you are.
Likewise, you can use various social Media to make yourself known in different aspects. Imagine that you have a company that produces high-quality, environmentally friendly cosmetic products. You can use Instagram to show spectacular videos and photos of your products that generate traffic to your website, use TikTok to show the use of your products and make entertaining challenges and LinkedIn to delve into issues of social responsibility and the purpose of your company.
3. Brand reputation
Another of the advantages of social Media is the possibility of improving the reputation and trust in the brand. Remember that people are more inclined to buy brands they have heard of or are familiar with. Because? Because this builds trust.
Being on social media may not increase your sales through that channel, but it does help build recognition, reputation, and trust, which translates into consumers choosing your brand the next time they need to buy a product from your category.
4. Others talk about your brand
What is the dream of all companies? Let others speak well of you. Since users can generate and share content on social Media, it means that, if they are lovers of your brand, they can talk about you or mention you, generating word of mouth. Take advantage of the comments that users make about you to respond to them and interact with them, this increases the positive perception.
Even so, reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of social Media, you should keep in mind that it may happen that, due to a problem, they begin to speak ill of you. In this case, it is very important that you have a crisis protocol defined to help you handle the situation in the best way and as quickly as possible.
- Connect with users.
- Meet the community.
- Instant communication.
- Increase participation and engagement.
- Customer service channel.
1. Connect with users
All companies depend on their consumers to stay afloat; hence the importance of being able to connect with them in the best possible way. These are some of the great advantages of social Media for companies:
- They allow you to approach your target group more easily.
- They allow users to connect in a more direct and human way.
They allow you to approach your target group more easily
One of the biggest challenges regarding consumers is precisely to attract them and generate a community. This can be difficult if you start from scratch, but if you know how to find the communities already built where your consumers are, you can make use of them to appear at the right time.
One of the best known ways is through influencer marketing. Instead of trying to attract consumers to your page, you can make alliances with influential people so that they help you give yourself visibility. If you choose this strategy, keep in mind that you must choose an influencer that attracts the target audience that you want and that their values are similar to yours.
On the other hand, one of the great advantages of social Media compared to other means of communication is the ability you have to segment (demographically and psychosocially) the people you want to impact with your communication. You can choose who to reach and with what messages.
They allow users to connect in a more direct and human way
Social Media changed a long time ago, the rules of the game are no longer brands and companies talking and people listening. Now it is about generating dialogues and discussions, where both parties contribute. This becomes an advantage if you focus on creating engaging and engaging content that invites interaction and dialogue. It is a space to think less about your sales and more about what type of content is attractive to followers.
Find the way in which your brand can be part of these spaces, adapting to the formats and content style. If you find the balance between maintaining the essence of your brand and adjusting to the platforms, you will see the great advantages that social Media have for your business.
2. Meet the community
When we talk about getting to know the community that you have created, we are referring to the ability of these platforms to generate statistics of all kinds that help you to have an overview of your community.
On the one hand, social Media allow you to segment very well who you want to impact with your content and on the other, you can instantly see the impact that it has had on your community. In this way, you will be able to make faster strategic decisions, making the necessary adjustments to be as effective as possible.
Today you have tools on the same platforms that help you visualize the impact of your communication or platforms such as Google, Metricool.
3. Instant communication
Another of the great advantages that the use of social Media has for your company is the possibility of being able to communicate instantly with your consumers. This allows you to generate new spaces where you can interact and strengthen the relationship. On the other hand, consumers will perceive you as a more human brand, a friend with whom they can have a closer and easier conversation.
The use of formats such as stories or direct, has become popular to generate conversations on a topic that is relevant to both the brand and its followers. They are spaces where everyone can participate, comment and get to know a side of your company that they suddenly did not know.
But remember, not responding to your followers or just focusing on you can create the opposite feeling. Being on social Media is not just opening a page, it is engaging with a new world of interactions.
4. Increase participation and engagement
Social Media open up a range of possibilities to generate consumer participation with your brand. Take advantage of hashtags, stories, direct stickers to encourage consumers to join your conversation. On the one hand, it will generate engagement, on the other, you will be able to understand what content is the one that most attracts your target audience.
5. Customer service channel
Social Media can also become an alternative and fast customer service channel, where users can resolve their doubts. In fact, 64% of people say they prefer to send a message on a social network rather than write, call or send an email. What does this translate into? In more satisfied customers thanks to the attention that the company gives them.
Likewise, it is a place where you can collect everything that has been said about you, the good and the bad, as if it were a suggestion box. Using tools, you can understand what they say about you, what they like and what are the points for improvement to take appropriate actions.
Sales Focused Advantages
- They are a channel to sell products and services.
- Analyze competition.
- Generate web traffic.
- Influence the sales process.
1. Channel to sell products and services
As has been reiterated many times, the main use of social Media is to connect and share content. Even so, it does not mean that they cannot be used to sell the products or services that your company offers. Precisely, one of the advantages of social Media is that you can publicize your business, your purpose and your products to boost sales.
- You can segment your audience to impact them with relevant communication.
- You have several formats (Carousel, stories, publications, ads, direct, videos, photos, writings, articles, among others) to create content and understand which one works best for you.
- Platforms like Facebook and Instagram already have a “marketplace” section where people can buy products.
- You can include direct links to your website to generate traffic and increase sales.
2. Analyze competition
To make strategic business and sales decisions, taking into account how the competition is behaving is essential. This is when social Media are a great advantage. You can follow your competition or brands in the same industry to find out what they are doing, publishing, promoting, how they are communicating, and what kind of people they are looking to impact.
This helps you to analyze the content they are creating and if there are elements that you need to improve in yours or in which you are having success. Also, by using tools, you can get to see, with data, what actions are working for them and compare it with your brand. Keep in mind that it is not about seeing what they are doing to copy them, but precisely to inspire you and create content that differentiates you. A dedicated team can help you with a customized solution
Finally, remember that it is important not only to follow your main competitors but also companies in the same sector and brands in other industries that you find inspiring. Because? First, it helps you get a much broader picture of what’s going on in the world at large. Second, it helps inspire you with content or ways of doing things that you hadn’t considered. Finally, you make sure you know the trends that are impacting the world and social Media the most.
3. Generate web traffic
According to a study by We Are Social and Hootsuite, 50% of Instagram users say they have clicked on a brand’s website after seeing it in stories.
One of the challenges that almost all businesses face is how to drive more web traffic to their page, whether it’s to make themselves known or drive sales. Social Media appear as an ideal and alternative channel to generate more traffic.
There are many ways you can drive users to your website:
- Adding the link of your page in the profile.
- Sharing relevant content that generates curiosity.
- Creating stories or ads with the famous “swipe up” that lead directly to the page to receive more information about an offer.
4. Influence the sales process
As we already mentioned, social Media as such may not increase your sales. You may be wondering, so why put in so much effort? Keep in mind the following fact: 9 out of 10 people say they buy products from companies they follow on a social network.
Because? First, as we mentioned, it improves the image and reputation of the brand. Second, because it generates mental availability, that is, the brand is very present in the minds of consumers when they do go looking for a product in the category.
To finish showing you how useful social Media can be for your company, we want to share some data and benefits of some of the platforms most used by companies. If you want to know more about the statistics of each social network, check out the We Are Social study.
Advantages of Facebook
- Ideal for making yourself known and generating brand recognition.
- In 2021, more than 40% of companies mentioned that Facebook was the social network that generated the most ROI.
- In Latin America, more than 70% of people use this social network daily.
Advantages of Twitter
- Ideal to generate conversations with customers and find out what they say about your brand.
- According to a study conducted by Twitter, 83% of people who Tweeted a business and received a response improved their brand perception and were more likely to do business with them.
- Ad engagement on this platform grew by 6% in 2021.
- There are 436 million active users around the world.
Advantages of Instagram
- Idea to create and improve the brand image. 80% of companies use this social network within their digital marketing strategies.
- Being a social network focused on photos and videos, it is ideal for displaying products. In fact, 70% of users research the brand page on Instagram before making a purchase.
- Currently, Instagram is the fourth social network with the most active users with a total of 1.478 million users each month.
- 50% of users visit a website after seeing it in stories.
YouTube advantages
- It helps to improve the status and SEO positioning of a brand.
- It is the second largest search engine in the world.
- In 2021, 70% of users bought a product after seeing the brand on YouTube.
- 50.9% of decision makers in B2B businesses use YouTube for research, surpassing LinkedIn and Facebook.
Advantages of LinkedIn
- LinkedIn is an ideal social network for interacting with other brands, well-known people in the workplace, and looking for new collaborators.
- It is perfect for displaying corporate content and publicizing the company beyond its products or services.
- This is an essential platform for B2B digital advertising.
- After viewing ads on LinkedIn, brands are viewed as: 92% more professional and 59% more reputable.
- Sponsored posts have 2x more open rates and 2x more engagement.
Advantages of TikTok
- The platform has 1 billion monthly active users around the world.
- Influencer marketing is very useful in this social network. 31% of users access profiles of content creators.
- 59% of users seek more information about a product after seeing it.
- The platform and its interface prioritize good content above all else for a brand to be visible.
Surely at this point you are already more than convinced of the amount of benefits that social Media brings to your business. Now, take the trouble to define which are the social Media that will contribute the most and help you achieve your goals.
Deciding to be on social Media is part of a great marketing plan that you have planned. Therefore, lean on tools that help you simplify your life, unite all your campaigns and strategies in one place, boost your content and monitor everything from one place.
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