How Social Media Can Help Your Business Grow

Everyone knows about social media now. It’s a common topic, it’s on everyone’s minds and it tends to pop in and out of your life on a daily basis. However, just because everyone knows about social media, doesn’t mean that everyone knows how to use it effectively.

Learning what your company accounts can and cannot do for you is an important aspect of using social media to your advantage. If you have a good, solid understanding, you won’t fall into the traps of expecting too much or using it incorrectly. Instead of going into all the negatives, let’s consider what social media can do for you.

It Provides Exposure

Social media is great for reaching an enormous audience at almost no cost. Facebook is free, but they change the rules regularly. Now, it costs money to reach a large audience. However, other applications are still free.

Twitter and Instagram gain more and more users every day. Let’s say you know that some of your clients will be interested in shopping for exhaust kits and you’d like to increase sales. You can post a sale on your website, of course, but that only gets noticed by the people who visit. Instead, you post a picture on Instagram, and every car fanatic who sees it will know about your sale. It gives you instant exposure, and probably gains you some new customers. This can be great if you have an online product, but if your audience locals, it’s not going to do much good to have people 1,000 miles away “like” your page.

It Promotes Your Business

If you are doing something that people like and you make yourself available online, people will notice. In fact, it’s one of the first places people go to learn about you. You need to be visible and available online. People will accept recommendations from strangers that were satisfied with your service and products, but there will be an even bigger benefit if they see recommendations from friends. It’s important to allow them to do so.

It Can Help Identify Problems

Here’s an idea you may not have thought of: not everyone is comfortable making a call and complaining about a rude agent or a defective product. Of course, this information is invaluable to you, but not everyone will volunteer it easily.

That is where social media comes in. A rude customer service agent is going to get noticed online. The same goes for a defective product. In fact, this goes for the whole industry, not just your particular business. If you keep an eye out, you can learn that maybe you shouldn’t hire that new agent. It might also point out that an awful lot of people are complaining about that new part you were thinking about ordering. It can save you before you know there’s something to save.

It Can Help Identify New Hires

Yes, LinkedIn is a great way to preview potential employees. However, someone that looks fantastic on LinkedIn might have a completely different profile on Instagram. Many people realize that they should keep their Facebook profile clean for potential employer review. However, Instagram and Twitter are newer applications and many people forget to censor themselves there.

No matter what you’re trying to do, having a presence on social media is important. It’s equally important to know what you’re doing online. A bad presence isn’t doing you any favors, but a good one can seriously boost your customer base and sales volume. If you’re trying to get exposure, figure out your industry’s problems, and if you’re looking for your next employee, social media can provide valuable insight. So go ahead and find your online presence. If it’s not up to par, get it there. If it’s already where you want it, look for ways to improve. Remember, no matter how good you are, you can always get better.

Scott Huntington is a writer, blogger, and social media expert. He lives in Pennsylvania and with his wife and son. Follow Scott at @SMHuntington or check out his blog, blogspike.com