Many businesses are using social media these days when it comes to getting more customers, generating more leads, generating clients (for entrepreneurs), and more. There are digital marketers everywhere who are swearing up and down that Facebook Business is “where it was at in 2020”. But is this true? Let’s dive right into the nitty-gritty and see the good (and the bad) of using social media for your business, shall we?
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Is Social Media Networking Truly Needed?
We hear so much about social media and staying connected, but how can it help your business?
Think about it this way – 2 billion users are online on Facebook at any given moment. Now, look at your competitors who are succeeding more than your company is. See if they have a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc., and see where they are getting the most respectable original views and followers.
If you lack in this department, and they’re way ahead of your on-site rankings, as well as revenue and income, then yes, having a Facebook in your marketplace can be a great thing. You can get a lot of potential customers and a positive online persona from using them. But is this needed? The truth is, yes. Do you need to have a dedicated team of Facebook representatives to handle everything? Probably not.
Some Positive Key Points
Let’s look at the pros you can find:
- You can get followers and create an original brand for yourself.
- It’s free and open marketing (until you incorporate advertising, but it’s still open).
- They’re global platforms.
- You can generate more ROI (returns on investments) with social media.
- Stay in the game with competitors.
- You can go hog wild with ideas and concepts.
- With social media, you can get a significant online following.
All of this sounds too good to be true, right? Well, unfortunately, it can get ugly quickly if someone happens to post the wrong thing. Simultaneously, everything comes with a price, and we’ll explain what we mean next.
How Social Media Can Cause Problems
Social Media can be used to impact your business, as well as negatively. McDonald’s decided to take a stand, and it bit them in the behind for a bit, but most people have forgotten.
Everything must have a balance of good and evil.
- It can get too personal (ask McDonald’s about their Trump tweet).
- Some companies that post ads on social media (like Dove) can cause more problems than good when people react to them. Some people may not like your post, which can cause problems if it’s taken out of context.
- People will like and share anything. Just because it creates leads, it doesn’t mean that someone who puts a “thumbs up” on your post will get you more revenue or customers.
- You have to follow the latest trends.
- Remember that just as you can see your competitors, they can see you too!
- While you can go viral, you can also downward spiral quickly if you get into the Facebook Ads debt game.
So What’s Our Final Take On All of This?
We believe social media can help your business, but you may want to install a chatbot to help you out. Just in case someone is having a bad day.
Anytime you have a generally good following, even with your local community (if you’re a smaller business), you can vary significantly up your game by building the right social media networking solution. However, one little slip, and you’re right back to square one again. Therefore, it may be worth adding some chatbot functionality or automated responses and even have some excellent marketing done on social media – but you need to focus on what’s important, and that’s your work itself.