The concept of social media hasn’t been around for very long, with the first sites emerging around two decades ago. However, it’s quickly taken over so many aspects of our lives, from connecting with friends to marketing our businesses. Despite its enduring popularity, many people believe that social media is just a passing phase, and that it won’t be sticking around for much longer. As a result, they become reluctant to use it for their business, despite the many benefits that it can bring.
In today’s post, we’ll be talking about 5 top reasons why social media is not a fad and you need it for your business. It can be a really valuable tool for marketing and all sorts of other business activities. Of course, not everyone is going to be an avid social media user. But, even utilising it in some small ways can help your and your business to connect with others, win new customers, and stay on top of the latest industry trends (to name but a few benefits). So, let’s take a closer look…
The top reasons why social media is not a fad and you need it for your business
Look for longevity in social media platforms
Yes, it is true that some social media platforms come and go. They’re tipped to be the next big thing, but the interest dies out very quickly. However, this doesn’t happen with all platforms. Many have been around for years and have plenty of longevity in them. In fact, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have been around for years, having been established in 2004, 2010, and 2006 respectively. LinkedIn is the longest-running of them all, having been founded in 2002. And, it doesn’t look like they will be going anywhere anytime soon. So, investing time and resources into getting your business set up on some of the bigger platforms is probably a safe bet.
Despite this, some people look to social media platforms that were huge in their heyday but became defunct, such as MySpace. While, of course, there is a risk of this happening to any platform, it’s also important to look at what happened next. Their users just moved onto another platform. Social media as a concept didn’t die out. When using social media for your business, it’s important to keep an eye on how the platforms are changing over time, and adjusting your strategy accordingly, rather than simply writing them all off.
But my target audience isn’t on social media?
Even if they agree that social media is not a fad, some people are reluctant to use it for business purposes because they believe that their audience or target customers aren’t on there. So, why would they bother spending time and resources on it? This is especially true for those who are in predominantly B2B industries. If this is your way of thinking, we can almost guarantee that this is not actually the case. It’s true that they may not be posting their latest holiday snaps on Instagram, but there are so many different social media platforms out there to choose from. Your target customers are probably on at least one of them.
When it comes to social media for your business, it’s all about finding the right platform. For some companies, this may be Instagram, or even newer, trendier platforms such as TikTok. Perhaps they are a B2C organisation, with a younger target market. But, if this isn’t you, don’t despair. What about platforms such as LinkedIn? This tends to be used in a far more professional way, and most B2B organisations find that their customers use it in some capacity. It’s a great place to reach out to others and make new connections in your industry and beyond. And you never know, they could turn into customers.
Use social media as an opportunity to connect with others
The clue is in the name- social media is designed for being social. So, one of the reasons why social media is not a fad is when it comes to connecting with others. In fact, it provides you with a great opportunity to connect with people from all over the globe, right from the comfort of your own home or office. When they hear this, many people think that this means connecting with customers in order to make sales. Of course, social media can definitely be used to do this. But it’s not all about customers. It’s also great for connecting with others in your industry to forge new networks and simply get involved with what’s going on. Many businesspeople look at social media as just a tool for marketing, and so see it as a passing fad. But this is definitely not the case.
The Covid-19 pandemic and 2020 also taught us more about the value of social media when it comes to connecting with others than ever before. More and more consumers and businesses started using it as a tool to network with others in place of face to face connection. While ultimately it will never completely replace in person interactions (nor would anyone want it to), it can be a vital tool for keeping people connected in all sorts of ways, which can only be a good thing.
One of the reasons why social media is not a fad is it helps you keep on top of trends
Speaking of making connections, social media is also useful for helping you to connect with your wider industry. From there, you can keep on top of all of the trends that are happening in that space. Whether it’s keeping up with your competitors and their launches, to industry-wide trends that you might want to incorporate into your own business activities, news about them often emerges first on social media. Of course, you could keep up with industry publications for this news instead, but social media tends to move faster and so you could be among the first to know. You can then use this early knowledge to keep your finger on the pulse and adapt your business activities if you need to.
Once you have a means of staying up to date, you can get ahead of your competitors in becoming a thought leader for your industry. It offers you the chance to become the go-to person for new information. Anyone from CEOs to junior graduates will be turning to your platforms and website for solutions or answers.
LinkedIn is a particular favourite for those trying to establish themselves as thought leaders. With so many people admitting to checking their socials more than once a day, you could stay at the front of people’s minds and quickly be a prominent figure in their daily engagement.
You can also use social media as a tool to increase your web traffic
These days, having a great website for your business is a given. It’s expected that your online presence will look great in order to increase your customer’s trust in you as a brand. Despite this, many businesses still struggle to get traffic to their sites. This is where social media can help. It’s a great place to pop all your links. The links could be to your latest blog post, a brand new product or service, or whatever else you choose. But, it gives these links greater viability and can point more people in the direction of your site, therefore helping your web traffic numbers to rise. Make sure that you’re sharing genuinely valuable content to your social media pages, and you should entice some people to click on it and explore your website.
Not only this, increasing brand awareness is incredibly important in the age of tech. Almost half of the world’s population is on social media now – so why aren’t you? It is a natural place to target new leads and reach potentially brilliant customers. One of the main reasons for people using social media platforms is to discover new brands. So pushing content out on as many as possible could see you getting discovered quickly!
Of course, despite all of the reasons why social media is not a fad and you need it for your business, it isn’t for everyone. Some businesses find that they have plenty of success without using it at all. But, for the large majority, it can go some way towards boosting their brand visibility, marketing efforts, and network. So, they should definitely consider using it if they don’t already.
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