How Valuable is Social Media?
Other than sales, what other benefits can we get if we subscribe to social networking?
For businesses, social media is used to connect to potential customers and persuade them to be part of your client base. It is about letting your target audience know you’re in the business, and you going to meet their needs and satisfaction. Social networks, however, do not end with customer collection and sales. It is also about (1) customer support, (2) brand equity, and (3) market research.
Customer Support
Businesses can use social media to field questions from their customers in a timely manner. Actual customer calls can be problematic due to long waiting period, lack of available customer service representatives and negative experiences that can drive clients away. Responding to customer inquiries on the Internet should cost less and be done in real time. This is a more efficient way of providing solutions to customer concerns and problems.
Using social media, companies can easily reach out to unhappy customers who share their unpleasant experience online. With the presence of customer support on different social network, a company is able to resolve customer issues and perform quick damage control to preserve online reputation.
Increased Brand Equity
According to Investopedia.com, brand equity is about “making them [products] memorable, easily recognizable and superior in quality and reliability.”
Businesses can use social media to undertake mass marketing campaigns to improve the image of your product. Memes and YouTube videos can be used to introduce new merchandise to your target audience. Make the videos catchier so that followers or fans would easily remember them. This can help your campaign to go viral.
Market Research
Social networks are the online hubs where people congregate and exchange thoughts and share content. Getting into these interactive sites gives businesses ideas on how to get the interest of their target audience. Once entrepreneurs are able to study customer habits, they can discover which approach will work best for their marketing goals.
You can also keep a digital eye on how your competitors are faring online. Social media allows them to scout how other businesses succeed or fail in their marketing campaigns. Learn the corresponding customer reactions to your competitors’ marketing strategies using effective social media strategies. Businesses can refine their own advertising plans if they have the right tools and information.
The rising popularity of social networks makes industry leaders more accessible. Keeping up to date with their methods helps business develop their operations further. Be a leader now, use social media effectively.
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