Relationships are at the core of any successful business. Social media speeds up the relationship-building process between you and your audience. With social media, businesses are now able to learn an immense amount about each consumer they interact with. What else can social media do for your business? Read below to find out!
Leverage connections
Social media is built on a network, allowing you to develop your own network while also seeing other people’s network. This includes the connections you currently have and the connections you hope to make. LinkedIn is the social media king at building your network and leveraging your current relationships to build new ones. Through LinkedIn, you can develop partnerships with potential investors or current influencers in your industry of expertise.
Adjust channel use
There are hundreds of social media outlets on the Internet and each one requires its own care and attention. While it is time-consuming and requires a lot of effort, think of all of the people you can interact with across these various channels. Different people are on different social media outlets and by recognizing this, your business can be at the forefront of social media interactions. Be flexible with your social media strategy and adjust to the constant changes that come with these various outlets.
Research capability
Social media is open to the public and allows you to see what other people are posting. This provides you with a huge research capability to be able to see what your customers and competitors are doing. You can evaluate how companies are performing across various sectors to adapt successful strategies and dismiss failed attempts for your business. Social media is a gold mine of research to explore and experiment with. Even as you gain information, be sure to give information as well. When you post valuable content, you have the ability to not only gain potential customers but also to educate those in your industry.
Bouncing board
Use social media as a bouncing board to enhance current relationships and start new ones. Social media is not the end-all be-all when it comes to forming relationships but it can be a great add-on to developing them. If you made a phone call to a colleague and they haven’t returned your call, follow up with them on LinkedIn. Odds are they just got too busy to call you back, and sending a little reminder can be the one step closer you need to make a new connection.
Forming relationships with customers and influencers is essential to the growth of any business. Social media, while not the only tool that should be used, was made for forming these important relationships. What other ways do you think social media enhances a business?