People use social media to stay connected, keep up with pop culture, and promote their brands. If your brand isn’t on social media, you are missing key elements to keeping your business current. It is no longer enough just to be present; you need to participate. Gone are the days of Myspace, Bolt, and Six Degrees. LinkedIn is the place to be if you own a business. Let’s dive into why businesses must have a social media presence.
Build the Brand and Reputation of Your Manufacturing Business
Much like the company website, social media accounts provide businesses with an owned media channel to amplify the brand and its reputation. Companies can directly engage with their audience to build customer loyalty and drive positive media coverage. A strong social media presence will increase brand awareness and brand visibility. Be sure to include relevant links to the company website to help increase traffic to further strengthen the customers’ brand knowledge, view products, and contact the company.
Being active on social media keeps the business relevant and competitive in today’s dynamic, yet crowded marketplace. Part of staying relevant is keeping up with trends and posting about industry events or developments to show the audience the business is credible. You can also monitor your competitors and learn from their successes and failures to identify marketplace gaps or opportunities.
Crisis Management
No company wants to be thrown into a crisis; however, it is always important to be prepared and social media is here to help. Being present on social media as part of a crisis management plan is essential for proactively managing risks and controlling the narrative to combat any misinformation. It allows businesses real-time communication about a potential recall or to address other issues before they escalate into larger problems. Social listening is more important than ever in this situation because not every crisis is a crisis to the world. The fast-paced environment and interactivity of social media can lead to unanticipated exposure and losing control of company messaging, so be sure to follow the company’s crisis management criteria on when to post.
Community Building and Customer Relationships
Social media is an excellent way to create a community and engage with your target audience. It allows businesses to understand their customers better and build valuable relationships with customers. Businesses can reach new and diverse audiences that may not be aware of their brand. Social media allows businesses to expand their reach and exposure with the use of hashtags, keywords, sharing posts that mention the company, and tagging relevant people or companies. Collaborating with other influencers, brands, or organizations that share company values, goals, or audiences will also help expand your community by tapping into new markets to showcase your brand.
However, just building a community isn’t enough in today’s marketplace. Businesses need to keep them engaged. It is important to respond or react to any relevant comments or messages. Avoid deleting comments because of a disagreement or bad review. This is a great opportunity to respond and help in a public way. It will position the company as having good customer service and show the brand’s human side.
Showcase Expertise and Value
Most companies are successful because they are experts in their industry. Social media gives businesses the perfect opportunity to showcase their expertise by sharing thoughts and perspectives, demonstrating skills and knowledge, and providing value to their audience. Value comes in all shapes and sizes. Not only do companies need good writing, keywords, and hashtags, but they also need excellent graphics, images, or videos. Low-quality content will not hold a user’s attention and result in less interaction and low click-through rates. Posts should educate, entertain, or inspire the audience by sharing company blogs, culture events, podcasts, ebooks, webinars, and new employees or partnerships.
Authenticity and Brand Voice
Social media allows companies to let their brand’s voice shine. Customers aren’t interested in reading corporate-style writing meant for board reports. They want to interact with brands that share the same values. While social media posts need to be polite and empathetic, it is important to find the right balance of what makes your brand special. Whether it be funny or formal, customers want to see that there are people behind the profiles. You can’t be authentic without knowing what the brand stands for. Include details about the company’s mission, vision, and causes it supports. Remember to stray away from controversial topics that could lead to a brand crisis or brand harm.
Lead Generation and Market Research
Social media can be an effective tool for generating leads and sales. Through targeted campaigns, businesses can reach potential customers who are interested in their products or services and convert them into paying customers. These campaigns can help businesses control who sees their content. Parameters can be set to display the campaign to users who have demonstrated interest in a company’s products or services, reside in certain locations, or belong to specific age groups.
Social media provides valuable insights into customer preferences and behaviors, which can be helpful when businesses develop new products or improve existing products. By using social listening and tracking metrics, customers can gain a deeper understanding of their target audience.
A robust social media presence leads to increased brand awareness and improved digital presence, which are essential in today’s competitive market.
Find out how Vive can help with your social media management by starting a conversation today!
