In a continually evolving age of digital media, businesses can often be blind to the relevance of social media integration for their business marketing activities and may fail to understand how it can further their product reach as well as diversifying their demographic over a wider area.
The majority of social media sites were simply a novelty even a few years ago; their use seen as no more than an easy way to communicate with family and friends globally. However since the introduction of business focused social platforms such as LinkedIn as well as existing platforms such as Facebook and Twitter developing more of a business focus, companies are beginning to understand the relevance and potential of harnessing these tools to their benefit.
Findings from the ‘social media examiner’ report in 2013 indicate some interesting traits and habits that can be used to suggest where this ever-changing world of social interaction will go to next. According to these findings, marketers see social media interaction as a vital part of their work. 86% of marketers reported that social media is an important part of their business (up from 83% in 2012). Social media is only going to increase in its relevance in this digitally consuming world.
Impressive facts and figures are great, but what people really want to know is how can this integration with social media help their business grow. It has been proven that the definitive benefits of social media do not stop with increasing brand awareness; marketers frequently express their use of social media as a way of developing connections and partnerships that would otherwise go undiscovered. Social media is changing the way we interact with both businesses and our customers and changing how we build professional relationships and work collaboratively.
An interesting figure from the ‘social media examiner’ showed that in 2013, 69% of marketers had plans to incorporate YouTube more into their business marketing strategies. It is then logical to fully utilise these trends in digital marketing in order to stay ahead of the game and make sure your company can consistently ride the wave of social media success.
The combination of social media and business has become so much more than just a broadcast of a service or product. It is much more about integrating a dialogue into every part of the business; to be able to communicate with your customers is invaluable in today’s market. It creates a way of developing brand loyalty with your customers, and gives them the sense of being fully integrated with the brand – what it stands for, how it is viewed and considered by the public – a feeling of belonging. With the majority of other businesses starting these two-way dialogues, those who do not move into open communication and transparency are likely to fall behind.
Social media is an ever-evolving market and it needs constant nurturing and attention if businesses want to successfully harness its power to help take their business to a new level.
