Comment: The benefits of social media for business users

Social media allows for laser targeting of relevant audiences, says Mousdale. Picture: Contributed

You know the expression “keeping up with the Joneses”? Well, thanks to social media we can now simultaneously keep up with the Joneses, the Smiths and every other person we are “connected” to on social channels. This ability to constantly see what other people are doing can leave us feeling flat, as we perhaps benchmark our own life against other people’s triumphs.

However, there will be around 2.77 billion social network users globally by the end of 2019, up from 2.46bn in 2017. So while you may have made the decision not to use social media for your own personal use, if you have a business and you’re not taking advantage of social channels, you’re missing out on a very effective way for your brand to reach half the world’s population. Most importantly though, social media allows for laser targeting of relevant audiences to your brand with real-time feedback on effectiveness and results.

Social media for business use greatly differs to how it is used on a personal level – if used correctly it is most definitely not bad for the health of your business. Of course, picking the correct social platforms for your objectives is crucial, but when done well, it will not only increase brand awareness and help push key messages to your target audience, it can ultimately help your bottom line.

Many in my line of work make a lot of money by making the online world unnecessarily complicated. In fact, social media is just another channel to communicate with your target audiences; the same rules apply to this channel as to others and indeed any other business tools. At Perceptive Communicators, we work with a varied range of clients who reap the benefits of using social media as a marketing and communications tool. Social networks are a natural place to reach new, highly targeted potential customers, partners and industry influencers. They are also the perfect place to learn what your competitors are doing and gauge how people feel about them.

If social media doesn’t currently feature in your marketing strategy, here’s why it should: Facebook has over 1.5 billion daily active users who spend an average time of 20 minutes per visit. Twitter has around 270 million users with over 500 million tweets a day being shared. LinkedIn has over 590 million professionals signed up in over 200 countries, with 27 million users in the UK alone. Are your audiences on these channels?

Social media platforms generate a huge amount of data that means you can measure the impact your content is having in real time. Not only does this give you brilliant insight, it allows you to very quickly adapt your approach if it’s not meeting your desired targets. In addition to the real results (often referred to as analytics), behind all the numbers there is a wealth of information about your current and potential customers and their behaviours, including who they are, where they are, what they are interested in and how they feel about your brand.

More importantly, though, the ability to create real human connection is one of the key benefits of social media. Humanising and developing a personality for your brand encourages connection and affiliation, and ultimately will give your business the all-important likability factor. LinkedIn is often referred to as “Facebook for business” and is a brilliant brand building and lead generation tool for individuals and businesses alike. It does require some sharing of professional personal information, but this is completely within your control. So while you may be on the other side in the debate about personal social media use, taking advantage of this channel for the benefit of your organisation could be worth considering.

- Julie Moulsdale is managing director of Perceptive Communicators