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Beyond ROI: Why Social Media is Worth Your Time
by on September 4, 2012
When people begin to think about integrating social media into their business practices, one of the first questions they often ask is, “How will social media make money for my company?” Not being able to come up with a measurable value of social media often keeps people from using it, which is really unfortunate, as platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are free marketing tools that allow businesses to engage with and learn from their customers.
Here are a few of the many ways that a social media marketing plan can benefit your business:
- Connect with your customers regularly to make them feel valuable and to get in touch with what they want/need.
- Get instant feedback on what you are doing right — and what you are doing wrong.
- Respond to customer complaints immediately, before negative opinion has time to spread.
- Be front of mind when people are looking for what you offer.
- Make interactions social rather than transactional to give customers a reason to feel tied to your brand.
- Watch as customers become devoted advocates of your brand and do some of your marketing for you — for free!
Maybe instead of asking how social media can make money, we should think about the ways it can keep companies from losing money. Connecting to your customers through social media can create better word-of-mouth for your business and more loyal customers, both of which can easily lead to new customers and more profits. If you’re still deciding whether or not to use social media in your marketing plan, just remember — it’s hard to be loved if you aren’t even “liked.”