We’ve all been there, stuck in an office working for people who struggle to move with the times. You’ve tried countless times to convince your boss they should be using social media, but they poo poo your ideas and palm you off with a “we just don’t have time for this”. Sounds familiar?
The day has come to set a meeting with your boss, sit them down and explain why your company needs to be using social media now. Even if they don’t believe it themselves, or think a tweet is something birds do in spring, or pinning an image is something you only do on a cork board.
Below are ten key points which you can use to march into that office and shout “by the power of Mark Zuckerberg, we will use social media”! Note: anyone who actually does that and captures it on video will be given a prize!
1. It drives traffic to your website
Perhaps one of the most important reasons to use social media for your business is that social done well brings new enquiries, leads, and potentially sales, to your company. As you may know, the Facebook algorithm has changed to give limited organic reach to your posts, but you can still drive good traffic to your website using a number of techniques to harness the power of social media. Be it paid advertising or implementing creative campaigns, digital marketing agencies can help you maximize traffic potential from social media. Facebook alone now has over 1.5 billion active monthly users. If you combine that statistic with the incredible targeting potential on Facebook, it would be crazy not to be there.
2. You’re expected to be there
When people search for your products and services, not only do they expect to find a nicely designed website with all the information they are looking for, but they also want to know that you have a social media presence so they can understand your company and the products and services you provide. If they don’t find you on social media, alarm bells may ring.
Even if they don’t believe it themselves, or think a tweet is something birds do in spring, or pinning an image is something you only do on a cork board.
3. It helps to build trust
When your customers find your products and services, they want to be sure that you are the right company to buy from. Even if your website is all singing and dancing, if you don’t have a strong social media presence you could be losing business. By having a strong presence on Facebook Twitter LinkedIn, or whatever other social media channel you work with, you can build your brand identity, ensure your potential customers get to know you, understand you and in turn, trust you.
4. You can communicate with your audience
More and more people are using social media to communicate with companies and get answers to their questions. For example, Facebook and Twitter are great platforms to engage with your customers and turn enquiries into sales. Making your self contactable from as many channels as possible so that your customers can always get hold of you is key to providing first class customer service.
5. Remarketing to your customers
Some social media platforms have incredible remarketing potential. After implementing a simple pixel on your website, you can re-target potential customers who are already interested in your product or service. Remarketing is great for two reasons. Firstly, it’s very cost effective, in that the cost per click is generally much lower than the cost per click of a normal paid advertising campaign (not using remarketing). Secondly, conversion rates are generally very good using remarketing. The potential customer already knows your company and has been enticed to come back for a second or third time. Therefore they are usually lower down the sales funnel and more likely to buy.
6. Become an authority in your industry
Preaching from your own website is one thing, but preaching from social media is a totally different ball game. Social gives you the opportunity to engage with all kinds of different communities and show how much of an authority you are in your industry. Whether it’s posting informative content on your brand pages, or reaching out to relevant entities and individuals in groups and on alternative pages, you can use social media to become a recognised industry expert. Just be sure not to spam groups with un-useful, over-salesy information.
7. Your competition is using social media
There is absolutely no doubt about it, some or all of your competition is using social media today. To be the best in your industry, you need to stay one step ahead of what everyone else is doing. If your competition has a strong social media presence and is using it effectively, they will be reaping the benefits. Take some time to analyse what your competition is doing on social media, and make sure you do it better than them. Also be sure to keep your finger on the pulse of any new social media platforms which can help promote your company. If you can be one of the early adopters, you can grow a larger following, and create better engagement than the competition.
There is absolutely no doubt about it, some or all of your competition is using social media today
8. It contributes to your SEO
Having good organic search engine rankings is (probably) the most cost-effective way to drive traffic to your website. Social media plays a (very small) part in the algorithmic pie which makes up the Google algorithm, as well as other search engine algorithms from the likes of Bing and Yahoo. Search engines use signals from social media such as levels of engagement to help understand what good quality content is, and where it should be ranked. If you can create content, share it on social media and get great engagement in the form of clicks, likes, shares and comments, you’re on to a winner! Also, with regards to Facebook for example, the more engagement you get, the larger the organic reach your posts will generate as a result.
9. Social media is here to stay
Social media has only been around since 1997, but it’s not going to disappear anytime soon. It only continues to grow and become stronger and more intelligent. If you don’t embrace it now, you may be left behind and your competition will capitalise on the power of social media.
10. It’s (essentially) free
Granted, to get the most out of social media I completely recommend using the paid advertising functions available on most social media platforms. However, social media is completely free to set up, implement and manage (aside from the time used by your staff or the social media agency you choose to manage your channels). When done correctly, social media is proven to work for all of the reasons mentioned in this article, and it’s free. There are more reasons to use social media, than to not use it.
So now you’re armed with ten key points to take to your boss and tell them to put down the fax machine and move with the times (with all due respect). Good luck, may the force be with you!