7 Reasons Why You Need Social Media for Your Business [UPDATED]

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated as of April 11, 2019.

Part of the nature of social media is constant innovation— innovation that’s geared towards keeping us hooked on the various social media platforms found all over the internet. It’s no surprise that businesses and marketers take social media a lot more seriously now. In fact, they’ve found ways to integrate these platforms into their marketing strategies. Here are 7 reasons why.

1. Everyone is online.

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Let’s face it: this generation really feels the need to stay connected. With social media, keeping in touch with others is often just a matter of logging online or opening up a chat app; voicing opinions can often be accomplished with a simple tweet or hashtag. We’ve gone beyond reaching out through phone and email—we now have highly-interactive digital real estate in the form of social media pages.  

Naturally, everyone’s need to be online means that most businesses’ target markets are there, too. To build better brand awareness, it’s important that you are present and visible to your target audience. And what better way to accomplish this, than through social media? You get to be in your target market’s circle, engage with them on relevant topics and valuable content, and also provide them with better customer service.

Having a social media page also allows your business to offer a more personal touch—which is great. Maintaining these pages shows that you care about your market and how you can make everything about your brand—from finding you to contacting you—more convenient for them.

2. Everything is online. (Well, almost.)

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These days, information is easily accessible online. Fewer people go to the library for references, and print media (such as books and magazines) have shown a decrease in sales over the last couple of years. People even watch TV less these days because shows—and yes, even commercials—can be downloaded and viewed online.

Additionally, current news and trending topics keep social media strong. They give people more reasons to stay online, offer them a way to get more involved, and help them maximize the internet when searching for valuable resources.

Because it is convenient and accessible, people are likely to search for something online first. This is something that any business should take advantage of. Having a company social media page doesn’t just apply to big companies either—small and medium businesses need active social media pages, too. In fact, it’s highly recommended for start-ups to create their own social media account so they can start engaging their customers and building communities around their products or services.

3. Everyone's now on a smartphone or tablet.

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Since 2014, mobile internet use has increased steadily year-on-year thanks to mobile data plans. Gadgets and technology have also improved in leaps and bounds, offering people more convenient ways to access the world wide web through handheld devices. More importantly, it’s made social media even more prominent and available to basically anyone, anywhere.

This means wherever you are, there’s a high chance that you’ll still have the capacity to access email, send out a tweet, update your Facebook and Instagram feeds, and even game online.

There’s a vast pool of free and paid apps at your disposal—whether it’s for entertainment, productivity, education, work, or socializing. At the end of it, the guiding principle behind these apps is convenience; and this results in users having everything they could possibly need in a single portable device.  

Wouldn’t it be convenient for your target market if your business has a Facebook page that they can easily follow for updates or reach out to? And wouldn’t it be convenient for you to market your products and services without trying and spending too much? Think about it.

4. Everyone can be a potential target.

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On personal social media pages, users are encouraged to fill out information on their profiles, such as occupation, location, likes and dislikes, hobbies, and so on. Status updates mean sharing thoughts, photos, and relevant links, or even just letting people know where you are. All these things build your online persona and lead you to more things that might interest you.  

As a business, this is what you need—the ability to reach people who might be interested in your products and services.

Social media has a way to make you visible to the right audience through the use of online habits and persona. Behavioral targeting makes it easy to find people who have recently invested in something similar to what your brand might be offering. This increases the chances that they might also be interested in your product, and in turn, the possibility that they might be willing to take action on that interest.

5. Everyone can afford it.

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And by that, we mean everyone who has an internet connection, of course.

Creating a social media page costs nothing. You just need an email address and a few minutes to set it up. On the other hand, creating a business social media page is different. While it is free to create an account, you will most likely need to spend on ads to garner awareness, feature ongoing promotions, and/or simply advertise your products and services.

That said, an ad for a magazine, billboard, or newspaper will cost you a lot of money. You have to factor in not just the cost of the ad space itself—which is already dependent on availability—but you also need to consider spending on the design, printing, and other materials required to make your physical ad happen.

Social media marketing, on the other hand, is one of the most affordable ways to advertise your brand and/or business. With social media ads, you get opportunities to grow brand awareness, build a community, increase PR efforts, and garner customer feedback without committing to huge budgets and too much production time.

6. Every post can be evaluated through social analytics.

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The advantage of having analytics is that you have access to data gathered from your market.

Analytics allows your posts, ads, and profile to be measured in terms of effectiveness. Because of this, you can easily figure out what works and what doesn’t, how many likes and dislikes you received from your followers and why, current trends, the type of audience you attract and their demographics, and other pertinent information.

Based on your metrics, you can create posts that suit your social audience better and in turn, improve your service/product for the better.

7. Everyone can get hooked on their social media feeds.

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According to Hootsuite's statistics, based on data from 2018, there's a 9% increase in social media use. That's around 3.48 billion people using social networks, with an average of 366 million new users. Some of the most popular social media sites include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest.

These platforms make it so much easier for people to stay updated about—well—everyone and everything, basically. What they’re up to, where they’re going, what’s the latest trend, and so on. It also means more content to look out for from people and brands.  

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Millions of people are out there—and with the right strategy and approach, you can reach out, gain attention for your business, and make them part of your target market.

Looking for an effective social media solution to boost engagement for your business? Our social media packages may just be the thing for you!