Why Social Media Is Important?

It is hard to believe, but often I find people who still perceive social media as something that is somewhere "far away", for "younger people", or "not relevant" for the business. Their opinions about the social media do not go further than those are some channel to put vacation pictures or to check what your friends are doing. Yes, we all know that social media channels can be used for that purpose, but there is more potential than that. Something that disappoints me is that many of these guys who have these perceptions, are in a very relevant position in their company. They are not encouraged to use the channels. Their right use of the social media would absolutely benefits their company but, at this point they are ignoring it or they are delegating this "work" to somebody else in the organization.

The truth is that social media matters. As many employees, leaders and managers from the company get into it and actually use the channels, as much the company will benefit from using those.

If you have any doubts, look at these basic benefits of social media use for business purpose:

• It helps you to increase exposure. This means that your company and your products will be out there, and other people will be able to find you.
• This also will increase traffic to your website. (I hope you have one for your company...). Getting more people going to your website will increase the chance that they get to know your products and services and therefore, they might contact you to buy those. (Please, make sure that your website is good enough to catch and keep your visitors attention. It is not the fault of your social media channel if they get to your page, and they do not find enough info). 
• It improves search ranking: Social media channels in combination with other channels provide the Internet with keywords and terms which will make your company and products easier to search and easier to find online. The right wording will make your company rank higher in the search ranking. This means that if a person, for example, searches for some product as the one that you are selling, your company/product will appears on the top of the searching list. Please notice that the social media channels cannot make your right higher by themselves, you also need the proper content on your website and on your blog, etc.  
• It helps you developing loyal customers. You can call them followers or fans, but the main point is that these are the customers or prospects who are interested in your company and in your products. Good and loyal fans are happy if you communicate often with them, especially if you share useful information and bring them solutions. The social media channels will help you to increase this kind of communication.
• Social media helps you to generate leads. With the combination of the previous points, for example, increasing communication with your customer and prospects, you can get potential buyers. The point of using social media channels is not only to catch the attention but, to do something with the info that you get from them. Use the data and the contacts which you get from the channels to understand your customers better, and to reach your sales goals.
• Social media will help you to get more information about your industry, for example, what they are talking about, who are the influencers, what your competitor is doing and which other companies or people can help you to expand or develop your business. Social media can help you to find great partnership. 

When the social media channels are used smartly, those can help you to reach a big audience in a short time. Social media channels use is quite affordable in comparison to the traditional channels which might help you to reduce your marketing expenses. Remember to focus on great content and great communication with your audience. I can guarantee that you will see results.