From the presence of the principal interpersonal organizations to the current day, over a billion groups worldwide have become ordinary clients. The effectiveness of social networks to reach people has not gone unnoticed by companies that, seeing their media and reputational impact, are using them as communication platforms with their customers. In this post, we explain the importance of social media in business and what you must consider working with social networks in companies.
The impact of social media on business
A recent study published in the United States reveals very shocking conclusions about the use of social networks. Also, albeit the review is done in the northern nation, its information can be impeccably extrapolated to the remainder of the Western world nations. So, a few instances of their decisions are:
40% of SMEs have increased word-of-mouth recommendations, thanks to social media networks.
1 in 3 consumers consider social networks to be an effective means of discovering interesting new products and services
Pinterest (a network of images and photographs) generates twice as much referential traffic ( referral, achieved by a link from another page) than Google, Twitter and Linkedin together
Instagram has already reached 200 million users worldwide
49% of Facebook users use this network to search for new products and services
34% of technology companies have reduced their budget allocations for conventional marketing to increase Social Media and online marketing
Pinterest is the main source of inspiration when looking for gifts or ideas to buy
75% of marketers show an increase in website traffic after spending 6 hours a week on social media
YouTube has more 18-24 year-olds than any cable TV network
78% of marketers believe that the future of their work lies in personalized content.
Strategies for using social media in business
Organizations’ techniques to utilize informal communities can be partitioned into three gatherings, contingent upon their concentration, intricacy, and reason.
Brand Strategy
First of all, the most basic approach to managing social networks from a business perspective consists of establishing policies, guidelines, and controls that regulate employees’ use of social media networks in the communication of corporate information. So, we safeguard the organization’s picture and keep away from negative reputational impacts got from appalling remarks.
Communication with the client through social media networks
It consists of adapting and extending business services to social networks, considering them as another communication channel with customers. But, many companies have opted for this approach for several years from this perspective. The first services were led by the areas of Human Resources, Communication, Marketing, and Customer Service. So they all shared tactical or operational approaches such as talent search, internal information, customer relations, corporate communication, and product marketing.
Innovative Strategy
Finally, a much more complex and innovative approach provides greater value for the use of social networks in companies. It arises from the combination of “Big Data,” predictive analytics, and the digital transformation trends of companies. In this sense, the interest of companies in adapting their products and services to new customer needs has meant that the business use of social networks opens the door to new services of a strategic nature.
Based on the fact that social networks are possibly the largest sources of social “Big Data” in the world, it could be said that they have become the main source for predictive analysis of social behavior and trends. So, the use that can be made of these analyzes is unlimited, from market studies and the development of new products to the evaluation of business risks and the anticipation of new threats based on cyber intelligence services.
Advantages of social media networks at the business level
So, from the previous observations, the most important advantages obtained by using social media networks in companies can be extracted.
Know the public
The capacity to dissect, channel, and fragment data is outright. So, it is possible to determine in a very precise way where exactly the company’s target operates, what types of groups use its products and services, the age of the clients, their gender, and their time habits. Trying to get this information outside of social media networks is practically impossible.
Increase web traffic
With the information got from interpersonal organizations, the organization can make and convey the substance that particular kinds of crowds request. The items, thus, can be shared, which increments web traffic.
Information in real-time
A key aspect increasingly sought after by companies is real-time interaction with users. Social networks are environments designed and developed to favor communication and instant exchange of information.
Better customer service
Through social networks, many opinions and moods of users can be perceived and analyzed. Corporations often use criticism of products or services to interact with the protagonists publicly and rectify errors.
Many social media networks are also used to feed users with information that improves the consumption experience of certain products and services. This can be done in various ways. For example, guiding them in their use, broadening the horizons of their applications, or directly attending to their queries and concerns.
Improve the positioning of the corporate website
SEO positioning criteria are evolving. Nowadays, quality is more than quantity. Calculations as of now do not just assess the traffic to the web and the way things are produced. Informal communities are a decent wellspring of traffic since they are looked through that reflect genuine client concerns.