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Brilliant Digital Marketing, in Manchester, Cheshire, and London

The Top 5 Reasons you need Social Media Marketing for your Business

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One of the questions we are asked most frequently is whether it’s worth businesses using social media to market themselves; almost invariably, the answer is yes – and we’ve outlined just five of potentially thousands of reasons why this is the case below.

But be warned – social media is not without its pitfalls, and it certainly isn’t for everybody. Some businesses simply don’t suit social media marketing; if their customer base isn’t using a social media platform, then there are few benefits to the business using it either.

Some ‘experts’ will try and persuade you that social media is all you need – that traditional marketing is dead or unnecessary. It doesn’t take much to realise that this is bad advice: and we’ll cover more on this on our next blog post, ‘The top 5 Reasons you DON’T NEED Social Media Marketing for your Business’.

But for now, here’s a run down of the top 5 reasons you NEED Social Media Marketing for your Business…

1. It’s a quick and instant way to talk to customers

Social Media Marketing Services Manchester
This is a pigeon, but you already knew that, didn’t you? We could have made some tortuous reference to carrier pigeons being slow, but we haven’t. We’ll just leave it as a simple picture of a pigeon.

You want to talk to your customers. This is a good thing. 🙂

Social media can be an incredible tool for instant communication and feedback – conversations between you and your potential customers can happen quickly and easily. In most cases, these conversations are with customers that may not have found you otherwise – social media is a great tool for bringing together people that otherwise wouldn’t have met. This is a good thing for your business, opening up your audience even more.

These conversations are also really valuable for gaining insight into your business, its brand, and how your marketing messages are being received. Make the most of this opportunity, and learn from your social media experiences.

2. It makes your business accessible

Social media is just like any other communication tool – it’s a way for people to get in touch with you, just like your phone / email address / website.

There are few things more frustrating than not being able to get in touch with a business – or, making your potential customers have to work hard to find out how. We live in a time of short attention spans, and seemingly endless alternative options. If it’s not GLARINGLY obvious how to get hold of you, then your customers will just go somewhere else instead.

Say what you like about social media sites, but they do make searching for people and businesses really simple. Make sure you can be found.

Social Media Marketing Services London
And this is a puppy. He’s sad because he can’t find you on social media. Look at his sad face. LOOK AT IT.

3. It gives your business a personality

It’s really important that you show the human side of your business on social media – there’s a great deal of truth in the old adage:

People buy from people

Your social media accounts are an opportunity to share the personal side of your business – not just the corporate line. Some of the best examples of marketing online come when the people behind the accounts are allowed to talk to others as you would in person. Many are tired of faceless corporations, and prefer the personal touch. Take advantage of this, and it’ll pay off!

(Now, I have a confession to make here. I spend a LOT of time on social media, and almost all of it is on our company account. Sometimes, I’ll be honest, I can be guilty of showing a little *too much* of my personality. Sometimes, I’ll have a little rant. Sometimes, I’ll point out things that I think are unfair, or unjust, or maybe plain misleading. Sometimes, this rubs people up the wrong way – and I often get some stick from our team about it (sorry, team!). As an organisation, however, I think we’ve always stood for fairness and decency – and I’m still pretty confident our social media reflects that. I suppose our position as an advocate for both business and charity gives us a bit more leeway when it comes to presenting a strong opinion online, but it has always been a deliberate choice. We don’t recommend this approach for many businesses, however!)

4. It’s dynamic and easily changed to adapt to new trends

Everything happens in real time in the world of social media; this can be a scary concept to some, and at first it can take some getting used to. But – it’s also one of the most powerful aspects too.

It means you can change your messaging on the fly, A/B testing to see what works and what doesn’t. It means you can adapt your messages to real events, in real time. It’s brilliant, powerful, and can give you some remarkable insights into your consumer behaviour.

Of course, in the background, you have all your marketing messages planned for the next 6 – 12 months anyway, don’t you? (We can help you if not!)

5. Because if you’re not on it, these conversations happen anyway

Social Media Marketing in Cheshre
And this, well, this is a kitten. Insert your own tenuous link here about how conversations happen on social media anyway, and this picture. We can’t think of one. Still, cute kitten.

This might just be the most important bit of this post. Here’s the reality – just because you’re not on social media doesn’t mean people aren’t talking about you on there. These conversations could be taking place already – and you have a choice to either be part of it, or not. I think most would agree that it’s better to be there and have a voice, rather than sit in the dark.

Naturally, this doesn’t mean you need to undertake a full social media assault – for some, just a casual bit of brand monitoring would be enough. But wouldn’t you still like to know when people are talking about your business, and have the opportunity to respond? Of course you would.

What does Impact offer for Social Media marketing?

But for many businesses, being on Social Media is vital to the success of their business. But it doesn’t need to be scary – we can help. If you want a free, informal chat about anything Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn (or any of the other platforms, for that matter!), just give us a shout.

We also run social media training sessions – either one-to-one, or as part of a group. A brilliant, straightforward, 3-hour session to get you started with using social media for your business. We run these for businesses all throughout Manchester, Cheshire, and London – at any stage. Book yours now.

And, the ultimate package – we also offer FULL social media management for businesses; we can take care of everything – post on your behalf, talk to customers, and monitor social media 24/7 for any mentions of your brand. We manage accounts for businesses throughout the UK – saving businesses both money and time! Let us know if you’re interested, and we’ll tell you more.

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David Trott

David has worked with countless UK charities, businesses, and schools - with a brilliant track record of helping them with their biggest challenges. David is the founder of the Impact group - including Impact Charity Advisors, Impact Business Advisors, and Impact Education Support.