Just like everything else, social media comes with its pros and cons. Social media is a blessing for many brands. Most businesses have adopted social media as one of their digital marketing strategies. This is because the world is going digital, and being on social media is one way to participate in the new digital world.
As many businesses have gone online on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., it then begs the question
Is Social Media all good for your business?
Although Social Media presents a lot of benefits to businesses, it has its bad side.
In the course of this article, we would highlight the pros and cons of social media for your business and how to effectively use social media for better results.
Pros of social media for your business
- Social media Improves your brand awareness
The world is online. The Internet community is growing rapidly as more and more people are getting into social media.
What does this do for your business?
You will reach more people than you would normally reach outside social media.
The advent of ads and promotions has proved your business can reach millions of people with one click.
If your brand harnesses the power of social media well, your brand awareness will reach its peak.
- Social media Increases the possibility of lead generation for your brand
Because you can reach more people on social media, there’s a higher chance of getting a lot of people into your funnel.
This would lead to a higher conversion rate and the generation of more revenue.
- Social media gives you a direct connection with your audience
Throughout the history of marketing, brands have not been connected to their customers the way they are doing with social media.
With social media, you can engage with your audience, communicate with them and create a deep mutual connection with them.
Social media has harnessed the emotional side of being human and linked it to effective business market and revenue generation.
If your brand can master effective storytelling, feedback management, and social engagement, it will succeed with social media.
- With social media, you will reduce marketing costs and get more results
The good thing about social media is that you can 10x your results without spending a lot.
Comparing digital marketing to offline marketing, we’ve seen that brand has been able to reach more people than they can with traditional mediums without spending so much.
Social media marketing is the best way to save costs with marketing.
- Being on social media will give you an edge over your competitors
If your competitor is not on social media, you would have a high chance of outperforming them when you’re on social media.
This is because you would reach more people beyond your business geography, connect with them and make them like your brand.
- Social media will promote a higher brand loyalty
A consistent social media appearance will place your brand in the hearts of your customers. This will increase trust in your brand a higher loyalty.
- Social media is easy to measure
The insights and analytics available on social media networks have made it possible to track your results. It helps you know what’s working and what is not.
You can leverage these analytics to make better decisions to improve your brand.
Cons of social media for your business
- There’s a higher risk of bad public relations with social media
Because you reach a lot of people with social media, when things go wrong, the impact will be widely noticed.
A single mistake in your brand’s message can ruin your brand’s reputation online.
Also, anybody online can come out to say negative things about your brand and this can spread if not properly managed.
You can handle this by setting a risk management guide for your social media activities and educating your team on how best to handle this kind of situation.
- Social media requires excellent technical knowhow to be successful
You will need a deeper knowledge of social media and how it works before you can be successful at it.
This can mean a higher hiring cost for your brand or a lot of time to learn on your own.
- It takes a lot of time to see results on social media
it will take time to see the results of all your efforts with social media.
Although the time it takes depends on how much effort you put in, there will still be a “waiting” at one point or the other.
Pros and Cons of Social media: How to maximize social media for better results
- Create a comprehensive strategy and KPIs
Plan all your activities from start to finish. Things as little as your social media tone should be planned.
This is to create a consistent brand identity around your business.
Having a planned strategy will guide you through your social media activities and better set you apart from your competitors.
- Professionalism
Be good at what you do. Don’t take your social media business lightly.
Let a professional handle your social media
- Measure your results
This helps to know what you’re doing and how it affects your brands. The analytics tool on social media networks can provide a deeper insight into what’s working for your brand. You can even make use of other external analytics tools.
- Innovate and grow with the trends
Don’t sit on a particular method, innovate and keep growing with the trends.
Adapting new trends and methods for your business will place you in the good books and give you a higher chance of connecting with your customers.
Pros and cons of social media: Which social media is best for your business?
Before you can tell the best social media platform for your business, you have to do thorough research on your audience demographics. This would better inform you of where they are and the kind of content they like.
The platform to base your social media presence depends on your audience and where they are.
Also, the age of the people you’re targeting is a factor.
For example, if you’re targeting an older audience, Facebook is the best.
For a younger audience, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tik Tok are the best
And if your brand is focused on creating mentally stimulating content, Twitter is best.
But then, it is always good to experiment with as many social media networks as you can to check what works.
Final Thoughts on the Pros and Cons of Social Media
The benefits of social media outweigh its disadvantages.
This stresses the fact that your brand can do way better with social media if you’re serious about your social media presence.
You can always hire a professional to handle your social media, or you can contact the Socialander digital Agency to help you get the best result for your social media.
With our hands-on experience in social media marketing, we would stop at nothing to see that your business succeeds with social media.
Book a free strategy session with us here to get started.