Does social media work well for any business? It really depends on the type of business using it and the goals/expectations they have. To understand the role social media should play in your business, one must understand what social media IS and what it IS NOT.
Social media IS NOT for many businesses and organizations:
- the end all, be all in advertising.
- a primary sales driver.
- a replacement for all other forms of advertising.
- a replacement for traditional forms of customer service.
- going to boost your website to the first page of Google.
- where everyone is.
- a convenient place to shop from.
Social media IS for many businesses:
- a growing form of advertising, but one that must be carefully monitored and evaluated for ROI (time & money).
- one of many ways to drive traffic to the website/location based store to convert.
- better for businesses with exciting product/service info. to share (i.e. sports, etc.) than those offering basic need items/extreme niche/etc.
- a good tool to use to help “get found” on the internet; Facebook Fan Page & Twitter posts are indexed by search engines. FourSquare, Yelp and other location based social programs are good for establishing a presence. Just by being present and active on social media platforms ensures that your business is “listed in the directory,” so to speak. Most businesses can’t afford not to be there.
- another way to interact with customers and answer questions about service and product.
- a good place to engage customers with innovative marketing such as: games, apps, contests, trivia, etc.
- a good way to concentrate marketing efforts on a younger demographic.
The list could go on, but what’s important to know here is that social media is just another form of advertising, but one that should not be ignored no matter the business you’re in. However, proper evaluation should be made to determine just how much social media can help your business.
Questions? Feel free to email the author: Jonathan Poston at [email protected]
