Why You Need Social Media

Is social media really important for marketing? In a nutshell, yes. It allows you to connect with customers, update your fans or followers, and hear advice. While we’re still all for traditional and print media, we understand that about “74% of online adults use social networking sites” (Pew). That’s a large number of people that you can reach easily using social medial.

If you want to grow your audience, gain new customers, and keep your previous customers, social media is the way to go. The value in social media can be summed up in a few key points:

With social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you can send messages to clients and receive immediate feedback. You can ask your customers questions like, “which color shirt do you prefer,” and then, within a few seconds, you can have valuable feedback that would have normally taken a while to get. More feedback with less hassle.

Your presence on social media is another limb of your brand. This goes along with the whole brand relevancy thing. When you keep your topics relevant, your tone consistent, and your posts relevant, you can show your customers that there’s a real person behind your brand. When your customers see that there’s a real person in there, they’ll be more likely to re-Tweet you, share your Facebook updates, and respond when you have questions.

Decide what platform you want to use—each has its benefits and pitfalls. You can stick to one or you can diversify. To decide which platform to use, you must think about your goals. To sell products, Instagram and Facebook might be best. To inform readers of upcoming events or sales, Facebook or Twitter might be best. To get your products to go viral, any of the outlets would be helpful. Social media can help you get new customers, support the customers you do have, and help you receive valuable feedback.