If you dedicate yourself, or aspiras to dedicarte, to the world of communication and online marketing probably the title of this post is the question that you hear many entrepreneurs who have spent so many years in your business using traditional techniques that do not believe that social media It can be of some use to you.
If you have ever encountered someone who is reluctant to catch up you can take note of these reasons and give a good explanation …
The first thing to keep in mind is that the business mindset is bound by the achievement of tangible goals, ie making money. There’s no more. So the number one reason and the main goal of Social Media strategy is to do business.
Communication objectives (which I consider very important and that come next, such as interacting with the client, generating trust, being transparent, etc., etc., etc.) are not the goal but the MEANS TO ACHIEVE THE LAST END economic.
What if the company is a family SME that is viable and does not want to expand? Then the objective will be the maintenance of its clients and the FIDELIZATION. As I explained in point 6, consumers have become more demanding and if you do not give what they ask for, they will look for someone who does.
To advertise with little budget
The second reason is also linked to money, because to deceive us? The economic benefit is the raison d’être of a business or company.
Many marketing actions in social networks do not need a big budget and this is profitable if we take care of the data:
Data: 53% of companies actively used social networks to get new clients in 2011. 44% of companies that used the Social media saw an increase in their turnover. 39% of companies spend up to 20% of their advertising budget for social media.
So that they know that you exist (increase your notoriety and virality)
It has always been said that what does not come out in the media (television, newspapers, etc.) is as if it did not exist. Now (and this is not new?) What is not in the networks does not exist.
Brands must be present where their public consumes information and the number of users of social networks increases exponentially.
Data: In Spain 8 out of 10 Internet users used social networks on a daily basis in 2012. And 66.3%, that is, 2 out of 3 Spanish companies are present in socialmedia.
To find your target audience
Your target audience is the one who may be interested in your product or service. Being on social networks allows you to reach him. And once you locate it, one of the biggest advantages of socialmedia is that you can listen to it, know what you want, what you need, what you like and what you hate. By listening to him you have a greater possibility to connect with him, to keep you united and create a loyalty relationship.
In order for your target audience to find you
With your online presence you increase the chances that a potential customer will find you.
One of the things that Google values to place you higher or lower in the results of a search is precisely your presence in the networks, your interaction with users, And the quality and relevance of your content.
Strive in social networks to appear from the first and increase the flow of visits to your website that can translate into sales.
To satisfy your customers (current and potential). If you do not give them what they want, they will look for someone else who does.
One of the most important things to explain to the reluctant businessman is that, although he does not believe it, his clients have changed, because society in general And the consumer society has changed.
Now the consumer is called prossumer, because he is more demanding, more informed and active and not passive in the buying process.
The current customer wants a quick response and a direct attention and, like everything in life, if you do not give it to him, he will look for someone who does. If you are in social networks you have the possibility to respond whenever he needs something and when you need it.
Data: 31% of users used social media as a means of customer service in 2011.
To build trust and encourage mouth-to-ear
A good online reputation generates confidence. Consumers have changed and no longer rely on traditional advertising. To decide before a purchase prefer the recommendation of a friend or another user with similar tastes.
Fact: Specifically 6 out of 10 Spaniards buy by recommendation.
To know what is said about you and act on it. (Control your reputation online)
In the networks is opined, criticized and recommended. A good presence in networks favors positive opinions. The advantage is that you can know the opinions and change the ones that are negative, you can interact with an unsatisfied customer and you can improve the attention to your customers, get them to recommend you and push your mouth to ear.
TWO ESSENTIAL CLARIFICATIONS when it comes to explaining the importance of a Social Media Strategy:
A strategy in SocialMedia is NOT to open a Twitter account: It is necessary to plan, to know what objectives are pursued, to measure their achievement, etc. etc. And when it comes to managing communication in networks you have to be a bit original. As I said before, the consumer is more demanding. Is not it enough to advertise your products on Facebook and beg followers on Twitter?
You have to try to create a loyal community around the brand, Publish meaningful things of interest to the public and motivate them to be interested in us.
You have to have a medium-long-term perspective.
If I do not get sales goals immediately does my strategy fail? In my opinion, perseverance is one more key to the success of a project and, sadly, many good ideas die before they are born.