Social media has long since become not only part of our everyday lives but also an attractive opportunity for companies from a wide variety of industries to do online marketing and address potential customers. In this blog post, we will show you why the use of social media in companies brings significant advantages and what goals you can achieve with social media.
WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?
Social media has been on everyone's lips for years, but what exactly does this term actually mean? The term social media refers to all digital media that enable users to consume content, but at the same time to create it themselves and to network and exchange information with each other. This includes not only social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram but also forums, blogs, wikis, and rating platforms as well as photo and video portals.
WHAT ADVANTAGES DOES SOCIAL MEDIA OFFER YOUR COMPANY?
With the help of social media, you can pursue a variety of goals as part of online marketing. The prerequisites for this are a well thought-out strategy designed for the long term and the implementation of defined, relevant measures. Some of the benefits of using social media in business include:
Social media in companies
1. GENERATE AWARENESS - INCREASE YOUR AWARENESS
In marketing-speak, "awareness" is a commonly used term. An "awareness set" means all offers on a topic that are in the awareness of the potential customer. Through social media, you generate this awareness among your potential clients and buyers. Put simply, you get into the minds of users and stay there for the long haul when you regularly post relevant content through social media. This is how you successfully increase the level of awareness of your company.
awareness
2. INCREASE REACH - REACH AS MANY USERS AS POSSIBLE
With the right strategy and relevant content, you can constantly increase your reach. Around 46 million people in Germany now use social media (as of 2018). There is enormous potential to reach users and your potential target group via social media. If users like one of your posts, their Facebook friends will also notice. With each interaction of a user, the reach of your content increases automatically. Another advantage: In contrast to classic print advertising, the reach that you generate via social media can be precisely measured. This gives you the opportunity to evaluate the success of your social media activities in terms of reach in detail and to continuously optimize them.
3. PUBLISH CONTENT - SHOW WHAT YOU STAND FOR
Publish social media posts that add value and are relevant to your audience. Use this content to show what you stand for as a company. With so-called storytelling, in which you tell your company history and vision, for example, you arouse emotions in your users and thus create a bond, which in turn increases loyalty to your company.
4. COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT - COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR USERe
With the help of community management, you stay in touch with your potential target group – your community. You can answer questions, exchange ideas with your potential target group and thus gain relevant insights for your company. The big advantage is that users feel valued when they react quickly and are happy to comment on your posts. This interaction in turn leads to increased engagement and – as already mentioned – also to an increased re
5. CUSTOMER LOYALTY - STRENGTHEN THE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS
Not only do you reach new people, you also retain existing customers in the long term via social media. As described above, you increase the loyalty of people who are already customers of yours through transparency, individual care and regular support. With good community management, your customers feel valued, are happier, and are more likely to remain loyal to your business.
6. REPUTATION MANAGEMENT - IMPROVE YOUR IMAGE
Social media gives you the opportunity to build or improve your brand image. If a crisis occurs, don't be afraid to react quickly and professionally to criticism on social media. Taking a stand shows courage and sovereignty. You cannot influence whether your company is a topic on the Internet and is rated. However, via social media you have the opportunity to moderate the discourse about your company instead of watching idly.
7. MONITORING - STAY UP TO DATE
The term "monitoring" in the field of social media refers to the targeted observation and analysis of mentions of companies, products and news in social media. Observe the current status of the industry and look at what your competition is doing, among other things. This will help you stay current, get inspiration from your competitors, but also identify what to avoid. Learn from the successes and failures of your competitors in your industry!
8. REFERRAL MARKETING – USE MULTIPLIERS
Social media also gives you the opportunity to use multipliers for your company. So-called testimonials and influencers have a lot of their own fans and followers on their social media channels. Take advantage of this immense reach by entering into cooperations in which the multipliers draw the attention of their followers to your company and recommend you. But you can also attract the attention of journalists via social media and prepare content for them in such a way that they are happy to report about you.
9. PLACE ADVERTISEMENTS – ADDRESS YOUR TARGET GROUP PRECISELY
Most social media channels offer the possibility to place advertisements. Through targeted targeting based on characteristics of the target group, such as gender, age, hobbies, place of residence, etc., you control who exactly sees your ads and how you address the individual target groups. The big advantage lies in the accuracy and low wastage of your advertising via social media.
10. HUMAN RESOURCES - FIND NEW EMPLOYEES
Not only can potential customers be found via social media, but new employees can also be recruited. Corporate networks such as XING and LinkedIn are particularly suitable for recruiting and employer branding. Publish job advertisements with a precise requirement profile, actively search the networks for new employees who meet these requirements and, within the framework of employer branding, present the advantages of working in your company.
Human Resources
SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN ALL-ROUNDER
As you can see, the use of social media in the area of online marketing in companies is worthwhile in many ways. The prerequisite for being able to fully enjoy the advantages described is that you think through your appearance in social media and continuously implement the right measures. As specialists, we are happy to advise and support you in all areas of social media marketing in your company. Feel free to contact us for this purpose or if you have any further questions!