Social media is interactive Internet technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, information and data via the Internet to cover a large group of people. It has various platforms like Facebook, Twitter etc. Users usually access social media through PC, Mobile, Tablet. There are various uses of social media like communication, business promotion etc. Therefore, it is a great platform for various ideas and ways to earn money and run a healthy and prosperous business.
POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS AND PLATFORMS
- Blogs: A platform for opinion and discussions on a specific topic.
- Facebook: The world’s largest social network, with more than 1.55 billion monthly active users. Users create a personal profile, add other users as friends, and exchange messages, including status updates. Brands create pages and Facebook users can “like” brands’ pages.
- Twitter: A social networking platform that allows groups and individuals to stay connected through the exchange of short status messages (140-character limit).
- YouTube & Vimeo:Video sharing and watching websites.
- Flickr: An image and video hosting website and online community.
- Instagram: A free photo and video sharing app that allows users to apply digital filters, frames and special effects to their photos and then share them on a variety of social networking sites.
- Snapchat: A mobile app that lets users send photos and videos to friends or to their “story.” Snaps disappear after viewing or after 24 hours.
- LinkedIn Groups: A place where groups of professionals with similar areas of interest can share information and participate in a conversation.
Importance of social media in today’s time as it is wide and can be used to share information among a large group of people in very less time. The importance of social media in business are:
- Brand Awareness – Interesting and relevant content will grab the attention of potential customers and increase brand visibility.
- Brand Reputation – You can respond instantly to industry developments and be seen as ‘thought leader’ or expert in your field. This can improve how your business is seen by your audience.
- Cost effective – Cheaper than traditional advertising and promotional. The costs of maintaining a social media presence are minimal. If you choose to invest in paid advertising, you can spend as much or as little as your budget allows.
- Website traffic – Social content can boost traffic to your website. This can lead to increased online sales.
- Evaluation – It is easy to measure how much website traffic you receive from social media. You can track to determine how many sales are generated by social advertising.
- Customer Interaction – You can deliver improved customer service and respond effectively to feedback. Positive feedback is public and can be persuasive to other potential customers. Negative feedback highlights areas where you can improve.
- Target Audience – Customers can find you through the social media platforms they use most. You can choose to maintain a presence on particular platforms that are in line with your target audience. For example, if you are targeting young people you could reach them through Snapchat. If you are seeking business customers, LinkedIn may be the best channel.
- Brand Loyalty – You can build relationships with your customers through social media. This can help increase loyalty and advocacy.
There are ample benefits of social media for business. It will drastically improve your business with leaps and bounce. It is a great tool to improve the revenue of the business drastically.
