5 Reasons Why Businesses Need Social Media

It seems obvious to many out there that since every Fortune 500 corporation is now realizing the importance of social media, that in fact every business large or small should take advantage of this treasure chest of scalable promotional opportunities. However some may still fail to see the need. Here are 5 ways every business, no matter what size, can benefit from the use of social media.

Branding
Keep followers up to date with information easily and do not fall prey to the old adage “Out of sight, out of mind.” In branding there is a term called front of mind awareness. Staying consistent with new and relevant information keeps your name and logo on top of the social streams and therefore consistently brands your image with front of mind awareness.

Marketing Through Relationships
The number one fault of advertising is that consumers have become immune to advertising messages without some catch or hook. Relationship marketing is interactive and two-way. It requires a conversation be had but produces incredible results. Social networks provide the ability to create a conversation which is both engaging and attractive to others watching.

Viral Exposure
One of the most widely known phenomenons of marketing is viral content. When an idea, product, message or behavior reaches its tipping point, “the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable”¹, then it spreads wildly just like a virus. Social networks make viral exposure much more likely to take place.

Crowdsourcing
A term just making its way into the business world; crowdsourcing is a word used to describe the act of outsourcing work to a broad community of people through an open call. Companies can achieve results of immense measure with little or no expense by creating an attractive opportunity to be a part of a large task with only minimal work done by each individual.

Market Research
Get to know your target market better through surveys, polls, discussion boards or simply through focused observation of trends and habits. Once you build a network of followers, the tools that social networks readily provide make it easy to gain the insight of those who use your product the most.

1. Walsh, Bryan (2007-10-12). “A green tipping point”. Time Magazine. Retrieved 2007-12-29.