4 Reasons Why Social Media is a Must for Business
There is a lot out there that defends the use of social media, but here are four reasons why social media is a must for business.
It’s everywhere. We hear about it every day and yet, there are still some companies out there that do not believe in the potential that social media offers. Well, below are four reasons why social media is a must for business and shouldn’t be ignored – by anybody.
Everybody’s Doing It
Admittedly, this is something our parents warned us against when we were younger: “If all of your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do that too?” But social media is different!
Over a quarter (27%) of time spent online by American consumers is now spent on some form of social network. What’s more 85% of Internet users have a Facebook account, and 49% have Twitter accounts! It’s hard to argue the other side when there is only a small minority left on it. (Eventually, even the most devout BlackBerry users switched to another device.)
It Spreads the Word
How much has your company spent on trade shows? What about telemarketing or PPC? Well, did you know that a properly implemented social media program generates double the amount of marketing leads as those marketing efforts?
The average Facebook user has 141.5 connections, and the average Twitter user has 208. Where else will you be able to reach such a broad audience with one line of text?
Marketing on Steroids
53% of companies have found at least one customer on Facebook, 43% of LinkedIn and 36% on Twitter. Social media lead conversion rates are also 13% higher than the average lead conversion. Ask any marketer: these numbers deserve double, triple even quadruple takes.
It Helps Business and Sales
60% of customers give feedback – willingly – to brands on social networks. That feedback can be applied to your business in order to improve the customer experience and drive new sales.
When it comes to sales, over 50% of marketers believe that social media has helped them improve sales. And in the retail industry, 73% of brands have found a new customer on Facebook. Lastly, 81% of social media users have their purchasing decisions influenced by comments made by friends on social networks.
Social media is an extremely powerful tool and it is right there in the numbers. Don’t miss the boat and think it’s a fad. Social media is a must for business!
Which of these stats do you think is most interesting? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
True, but before you start, you need a plan. What are you going to do? What are your objectives and who do you need to reach? Don’t just post random tweets, know why you’re doing it.
Thanks Ann – that’s a great point!
Our Social Media Director, Corey Padveen, is actually in Boston right now speaking at the Social Media Strategies Summit (http://bit.ly/16era5U) about the six steps that go into creating a comprehensive social media strategy!
Thanks for the input!
I wouldn’t be so absolute: not ALL firms sizes are able to keep a social media strategy consistent and updated! And not ALL business have their fans on FB!
Hi Marino,
Thanks for the great input!
Your second point is right on – not all businesses are going to find their fans on Facebook. That said, they might find a lot of success on another network, or with a blog. (We were just using the Facebook stats as an example.) They key to knowing where your audience can be found is knowledge of these media and their most active demographics. That needs to be clear before a strategy can be implemented.
As to your first point, any firm that devotes itself to a social media strategy must keep that strategy updated. For those firms that are not completely committed to a program, it’s true that their strategy will not be consistent nor updated. But for the firms that take social seriously, a consistent and evolving strategy needs to exist. If they want to succeed with it, they are going to need to find a way.
Thanks again for the comment!