Understanding How Social Media Works for Your Business

Social media can be used for marketing your business and connecting with your customers. Learn about social media's different types and pros and cons.

About social media

Social media lets you interact with your customers and share information online in real-time. Use social media to:

• better reach your customers
• create online networks
• sell and promote your products and services.

However, there is a risk in using social media for business. Be careful and learn both the pros and cons before starting.

Benefits of social media for Business

Social media helps you engage with your customers and discover what people say about your business. It can be used to advertise and promote giveaways and mobile applications.

Social media helps businesses to:

• attract, get feedback, and build customer loyalty
• increase your market reach
• do market research and reduce costs in marketing
• build customer networks and advertising that increases revenue
• brand development
• improve business by exchanging ideas
• recruit skilled staff through networking sites like LinkedIn
• improve the search engine ranking of a website and increase its traffic
• keep an eye on your competitors.

Disadvantages of social media

Social media may only suit some businesses. You could save valuable time and money if you plan your social media presence with planning.

Disadvantages of social media include:

• Need for additional resources to manage an online presence.
• Need for active and immediate daily monitoring.
• Potential for unwanted or inappropriate behaviour on your social media platforms.
• Potential for getting negative feedback, information leaks, or hacking.
• Potential for getting false or misleading claims made on social media platforms (by your business or a customer). These can be subject to consumer law. For example, you might be fined if someone posts misleading or deceptive information, particularly about competitors.

Have a social media strategy and policies and procedures before avoiding risks.

Types of social media

Not all social media platforms will be suitable for your business. Choose a social media platform your target audience uses to save time and effort. To help you understand some available options, check out the guide below.

Create your social media strategy.

Before starting, doing some groundwork for a successful social media presence is critical. It would help if you created your social media strategy to:

• create compelling and engaging content
• interact with your customers at the right time
• increase sales.

A social media strategy shows how your business will use social media to achieve its business and marketing goals. It also outlines your social platforms and tools to accomplish this.

Follow your strategy as much as possible. Make sure to leave your customers with the necessary posts. Remain focused on reaching your goals and tailor your messages around these.

Home Harmony - Digital case study

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Home Harmony gives interior decorating and design services for domestic, commercial, and retirement sectors. Government assistance helped Home Harmony develop their confidence and digital capabilities. Home Harmony created a social media strategy and identified the best digital platforms and tools for their business. After implementing the suggested changes, they saw a 15-20% increase in business, gaining a new perspective on digital.