Social media is not a panacea for building your business, but it is an important part of an integrated marketing program. Along with personal selling, a strong Internet presence, advertising and public relations, social media can help you increase orders from existing customers and introduce your shop to new ones. Here are 5 other reasons to use social media:
- A new generation of production managers and others who influence buying decisions were brought up in the digital world, and are more likely to engage with some forms of social media. Your challenge is to determine which platforms they favor. Chances are, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter are high on the list. However, it would be worthwhile to survey your customer base to learn which sites they frequent. This knowledge enables you to repost your blogs, white papers and other items of interest to your audience where they will be more apt to be seen.
- Your customers are mobile. In addition to making sure that your Web site is mobile friendly, by reposting on social media sites you are more likely to get the attention of your customers. Time pressures and short attention spans mean that many get news and information from social media.
- Increases Web site traffic. Your Web site should be the anchor of your online presence. It’s where you have the greatest abundance of information to share with existing and potential customers, and should be designed to move visitors along a path to a sale. That’s why your social media posts should link to additional information on your site, and why everything you post should have a call to action that tells the reader what to do next.
- Search Engine Optimization. When potential customers are looking for new production sources, they rely on Internet searches to locate candidates. Social media postings are one way Google and the other search engines determine their results.
- Brand building. Through meaningful posts on social media platforms, you help establish the value of your brand. People want to know who they do business with, what they stand for and how they can be of help. Social media can help establish your brand so people remember you when they need what you provide.