The appearance of social networks has come to change how companies interact with their customers, allowing more direct and faster communication, as well as the advertising or marketing strategies they implement. Added to this is the much lower cost of using social networks to advertise than using traditional media such as radio and television.
For all the above, and many other things, no one doubts the beneficial role of social networks in business.
Some important statistical data
Several studies have been carried out, concerning social networks, these are some of the results about its users:
84% of internet users access social networks.
27% of the time on the internet they use it on social networks.
74% of social media users think that these are a trusted means to turn to when they want to decide on the purchase of a product or service.
60% of consumers interact with at least one brand on social media.
Regarding companies:
91% of companies use social media for content marketing.
64% use them to investigate the state of the markets and the competition.
50% of companies that use social networks say that they have helped their sales increase.
52% of companies say that social media has helped them attract new customers.
On the other hand, the social networks most used by businesses are Twitter, especially in the technology and software sector, and LinkedIn, when professional services and marketing are offered; although we should not leave aside Facebook and Pinterest, which have a large number of users.
Each social network with its own advantages
All of the above leads me to the need to answer another question, which social network should you use? There is no single answer to this since it will depend on your target audience, the objective of your company, the sector to which it belongs, and your resources, among other things.
Here I will talk about the most popular social networks in business, their advantages and uses, which are five: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube.
Facebook, with the largest audience
It is estimated that, as of today, Facebook has more than 800 million active users, coming from different parts of the world, and various age groups. Being on Facebook is being able to reach a large number of people. Among its uses are:
Interact dynamically with your customers.
Build a brand.
Get feedback on the company and the products and services it offers.
Twitter, to generate interactions
The number of users is less than that of Facebook but, with its more than 200 million active users, it is not a negligible number either.
Its main purpose is to generate interactions between companies and their customers, however, it can also be used to learn about trends in a sector, answer questions, know what the competition is doing, etc.
LinkedIn, for professional services
To date, it has about 135 million active users, all of them professionals who seek to connect. Taking this into account, its main uses are:
Find new clients.
Create beneficial relationships for the company or the professional.
Publicize a company.
Pinterest, publicize your products
This social network, which allows you to share images and even videos, receives approximately more than 75 million unique visits per month. It can be used to:
Publicize products and services through creative and eye-catching photographs.
Generate commitment to the brand.
Increase sales.
YouTube, provide information
YouTube is considered the social network with the highest number of unique visits per month, we are talking about 800 million visits.
When it comes to using YouTube for business, tutorials and video-blogs stand out, as well as videos that demonstrate the benefits that a service or product can bring.
In conclusion, why should your business be on social media?
Most of the people search on social networks, among them are surely your potential customers.
People want to follow their favorite brands on social media.
You can get a lot of valuable information about your perception of the brand.
Improve communication with your customers.
These are just some of the reasons why you should have a presence on one of the social networks, right now. But remember, that all these benefits require having people interested in your brand connected to it, therefore do not be fooled by so many websites and people who are only dedicated to buying and selling followers that are not related to your company...
