Most businesses find it useful to employ a multitude of ways of getting their message to customers. TV spots, print, radio, and digital banners can all play a role in an integrated campaign. The more times a customer sees an advertisement or hears a mention of a business, that messaging is more impactful as to build brand awareness. Social media can provide another extension of this marketing message, and with the flexibility of images and video, can mirror brand messages that other media are using.
Social media is also a great place to not only enforce the brand message, but also to engage and interact with customers. A customer can engage with you via your Facebook page, Twitter feed, or Instagram page. If they have a problem, you have the opportunity to respond and resolve it quickly. If they want to praise you, its posted for everyone to see. From a public relations standpoint, a negative situation can potentially be contained and neutralized on social media in a matter of hours, independent of the traditional news cycle or production time of traditional media.
Businesses, while interacting with their customers, can also have some fun with their followers and engage them in other ways to build a favorable reputation. While giveaways are popular on social media, interaction does not have to include gifts. Posting information (like recipes, new ways to use a product, etc.), fun photos, viral videos, and charitable endeavors engage customers without incurring high costs.
Social media is not only useful in connecting with current customers, but also in reaching new customers that do not know anything about your brand. One of the best ways to do this is when your followers share or like a post that the business has previously posted, the network of the follower will see that in their newsfeed. This gives an ‘endorsement’ by that customer. In addition to endorsements ads can also run in social media, reaching current customers, new customers, and possibly customers of competitors.
Interested in additional reasons to invest in social? Find them here https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-for-business/.
