Social media has become a marketer’s dream come true. When it first hit the scene a few years ago, you mostly found people chatting about their interests, connecting with people who had the same past-times and writers looking to connect. Business owners soon realized their audience was getting on board with social media, and the rest, as they say, is history.Social media can be a scary thing though. It can also take up a lot of valuable time. So much that you may be wondering if you should even bother. Here's how to determine whether it's a good fit for you and your business.Do you need social media in your business?
Do you have enough business to last you until you retire?
Then the answer is no, you don’t need social media. But let's be honest, do you have that much business? Do you want your business to grow or possibly stall? It's true that it's easier to keep and please existing customers than it is to find new ones, but if you aren't on social media, you're not only missing a lot of opportunity to get new customers, but also to connect with your current ones.You also need to ask yourself this; can you really have too many customers? It never hurts to keep bringing in new ones. This is how a business grows and expands. And social media could open you up to a whole new audience.In the past, businesses could rely on word-of-mouth, but these days that isn't always enough. Having a good social media presence can work like word-of-mouth if your followers share your content with their followers. However, you need to create a compelling social media status that people enjoy and want to share. A few hot tips about your business could have the opportunity to go viral.
Can you afford traditional advertising methods?
If the answer is no, then using social media is the cheapest way to advertise your business. It does take time, but as your business grows you can pay for advertising through social media outlets and extend your reach even further.
Do you have a faster way to interact with and answer customer questions?
Social media is a great place to get feedback from your customers or your potential customers. You can answer questions and get to know them on a more personal level. Personal service is extremely important to people these days. You can build a life-long customer relationship simply by making people feel that they matter, they are important and that you desire to cater to their needs as best you can.Many people claim that you're not just building a business, you're actually building relationships. This is a true statement and the best way to gain loyal customers. Taking your business entity to social media is an excellent way to build those relationships.More and more people are looking for their favorite brands and products on social media than they are looking for just a website. If they can find you on social media, chances are they will click on through to your website to find out more information.Social media can do wonders for many businesses. Sure, it isn’t a key marketing strategy for every business, but it’s becoming more and more common.Unless your market isn’t really into using computers, the chances are that it can benefit greatly from being on and using sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus.Be sure to check out those sites to see how similar businesses are utilizing their existence and reaching their customers. This will help you decide if it's a smart move for you.
