Social media is a crucial platform to conquer for professionals and businesses alike. Although most business analysts strongly encourage businesses and entrepreneurs to use social media platforms, there are still some that don’t make the most of the benefits.
Even though professionals tend to create social media profiles on different platforms, they don’t always follow it up with active use and participation. But the benefits of active engagement can lead to some astonishing results like growing the size of your business or changing the direction of your career!
Data doesn’t lie – the growth of social media
The numbers certainly speak for active social media participation. A recent infographic by GO-Gulf, the web development agency, looked at business use of social media platforms. The data shows that: 1) 46% of people check social media when they are about to make a purchase. 2) 67% of Twitter users tend to buy from businesses they are currently following. 3) 70% of businesses on Facebook have attracted customers through the platform, with 3 in 5 SMBs reporting they have gained new customers through different social media platforms.
These numbers are more than likely to continue to rise, as social media use is growing year by year. Pew Research Center reported in September that over 52% of online adults in the US are using more than two social media platforms, which is a significant leap upwards from the 42% in 2013.
Better recognition, more authority
Whether you are a professional or a business unit, regular social media activity will help you build a strong online reputation – to write your own story. As the data above shows, more people are now online and use social media when they are considering using a service or purchasing a product.
Activity increases your chances of being noticed. This could lead to your tweet being re-tweeted, your Facebook post being shared or your Instagram photo being liked. Each engagement will increase your visibility and builds a stronger relationship with other social media users. It provides you a stronger voice and helps you to be in charge of the narrative you or your business has online.
Stay ahead of the pack
But social media activity doesn’t just help you create a narrative about your business; it also allows you to stay ahead of the competition. Social media is the best place to conduct surveys, gather feedback and look for trends. All this can be crucial in developing your service, product and expertise.
One of the biggest reasons people turn to social media when selecting businesses to engage with is the number of promotions. Active promotion of business discounts in social media is therefore crucial. On top of this, social media users tend to share best offers from outside platforms such as VoucherBin with their friends; meaning you need to be active in engaging the latest trends in your own campaigning. Data collection can be crucial in understanding when to share certain information or what most draws in people to engage with your social media profile.
Collecting social media data is extremely simple and effective these days. You have a wide selection of free tools available such as Followerwonk and SocialBro and for a more professional purpose the paid tools like Moz Pro offer that extra bit of analysis.
Make sure you don’t be a passive social media user. Activity will provide you much more benefits!
