Social media platforms have emerged as the most effective yet affordable marketing tool over the last decade. It has entirely transformed the way businesses communicate with their target audience and advertise their products /services. Businesses worldwide have realized the immense potential of social media for business growth and hence investing heavily in it. 

Facebook tops the list of platforms with maximum users with nearly 2.23 billion monthly active users, according to Social Media Examiner’s “2018 Social Media Marketing Industry Report”.

Facebook is the most preferred platform when it comes to paid social media for marketing. Nearly 72 percent of marketers usually use traditional Facebook ads, followed by Instagram with 31 percent.

Other popular paid social media platforms used by marketers are:

  However, despite the overwhelming track record of social media platforms in business growth, some businesses may still be reluctant to focus on this route of marketing. They may doubt the advantages of social media for their business.  

Whatever your doubt may be, we have you covered. Here’s the list of 20 benefits of social media for business:

Boost brand awareness

You must be using social media networking sites where you see numerous ads aiming at brand building. And it’s possible that you have some positive image for some brands. Many businesses target their potential audience through attractive social media design. Since there are millions of social media users, increasing your brand awareness there is easy.

Personalize your brand

Social media platforms make your brand personalized, helping you stand apart from the rest. They just do things exactly how you want to do. In other words, social media enables you to present yourself what your target audience expects from you.

Enhance brand loyalty

Do your customers prefer your brand over the competitors consistent? Or, are they intended to switch to other brands/service which are cheaper than yours? Big brands such as Sony, Apple, and Nike have a loyal customer base, and they have not achieved this feat overnight. In fact, it took several years to top in their respective field. Social media can help you build such brand reputation much faster because getting an opportunity to interact with your customer regularly and hence responding to their questions in real time.

Humanize your brand

Social media helps you connect with your potential customers showing the human side of your brand which is an essential aspect of winning the trust of the customers.

Over half of adults don’t trust a brand until they come through a real-life experience that the brand is keeping its promises, a UK study from Trinity Mirror Solutions found.

Boost web traffic

Posting great content and ads on social media platforms are a great way to drive traffic to your site. Also, participating in social chats can increase your brand’s visibility. Showcase your expertise and get attention from new customers.

Generate leads

Lead generation is one of the most important benefits of social media for business that several social networking sites offer formats to advertise products/services and collect leads. Social media offers potential customers an easy and low-commitment way to express interest in your business.

Stay top of mind with your clients

Since social media sites are always up, your brand keeps communicating with your target audience. You are still connected with your potential customers even if they are not in purchasing mood.

Enhance customer engagement

Customer engagement is essential for any business growth. If you lack in the area, you’re at the risk of losing your customers. As per a Gartner report, churn can go up to 15 percent if you fail to respond to your social media customers promptly.

Establish communication

The beauty of social media lies in its property that allows two-way communication and not just shouting about your brand. Social media enables you to establish a back and forth communication with each other.

Crisis management

Any business may face PR issues at any point of time, no matter it’s the top management of a large organization delivering an inappropriate statement, or a controversial commercial, you must be fully prepared to tackle such issues. In the case, you can take the social media route to issue a statement or address the concerns.

More precise advertising

Since social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others have in-depth information about users, their ad platforms allow targeting users based on their tastes, interests, and such other aspects.

Hiring employees

Millions of professionals are on several social media platforms. Therefore, recruiters target social media to hire employees. As per a report, about 60 percent of recruiters found candidates on social media high quality.

Turn employees into brand ambassadors

It's a fact that most employees post images, texts and videos on social media about their employers thus turning into brand ambassadors. You can create a formalized employee advocacy program which will encourage your employees to post/share more positive information about your brand.

Co-marketing opportunity

By making use of social media, you can partner up with other brands on co-marketing campaigns and initiatives. Both brands will get exposure to the partner’s audience. Many brands have succeeded with c-marketing efforts.

Save marketing expenses

Several studies have proved that social media marketing is cheaper than traditional marketing. If you’re running short on budget, you can cut marketing costs using the power of social media.

 Learn more about your target customers

Since social media provides two-way communication, you can glean insights about your target customers, instead of just making assumptions. Obtaining more information about your customers you can best design your product or service.

Keep an eye on your competitors

Social media is a great tool that helps you track your competitors’ strategies and make your own accordingly. If you find your competitors getting success on social platforms, there must be a significant reason for it. Analyze the reason and take your course of action.

The bottom line

Here you can see that there are many benefits of social media for business. Hope the list above would help you convince you.

Do you have any other benefits that you want to share? Do write to us!

Cheers!