It’s fast, it’s cheap and it’s extremely effective. Yet surprisingly, only 60% of businesses have an active presence on social media.

In order to increase your revenue and grow your business, you need two things: great customers (old and new) and great staff. Here is how jumping on board the social media train can help you get both.

1. It Makes you human

The Pareto Principle applies to many areas of business, and social media is certainly no exception. It’s recommended that 80% of the posts you put out are not about direct sales.  This could mean you’re sharing photos of a cake sale you’re putting on at the office, or your opinion on something that’s recently happened in your industry. Use only the other 20% for sales and direct promotions, and you’ll build a more three dimensional brand.  One that has thoughts and feelings, failures and successes... a brand that is human. 

Humanising your brand helps you attract new, curious customers by building a sense of relatability and trust. It also helps you attract the best possible talent by opening the doors to behind the scenes and introducing the people and mentality behind the company.

It also helps you retain both current customers and staff by strengthening the relationship you have with them, particularly if you showcase a brand personality that aligns with their values.

 2. It opens up conversation

The era of transactional marketing is long over. With the evolution of the internet and social media, sales and revenue based ‘transactions’ have transitioned into more of a focus on people and the experience they have with you. 

Conversational marketing creates customer-centric environments, allowing customers to explore your brand and get the answers and reassurance they need before purchase.  They’ve spoken directly to you, and they’ve done so with ease, almost instantly. 

When it comes to making that decision, if your conversation has been positive, they’re going to choose you, and stick with you. In fact, 71% of consumers who have had a good customer service experience on social media will recommend the brand to others.

3. It keeps you front of mind

Most social media users log into their accounts at least once a day. When they do, make sure that you’re there. Posting regularly across all of your social platforms puts you in the precious front of mind position when they come to making buying decisions or applying for roles.

Even better, scheduling in posts for when people are most likely to be looking at specific social media feeds increases the chance of being seen even further.

It’s different for each platform, so it takes some planning, but once you’ve got the hang of it, patterns don’t change much.

4. Be where your customers are

Trying to be everywhere can be time consuming, so maximise your time by being only on the right platforms.

It may seem obvious that trendy restaurants should be on Instagram, showcasing their pretty plates full of colourful food. Or that if you’re selling to other businesses, LinkedIn is a good place to start. But what about something less visual, like a call answering service, or a maths tutor?

Try using Google Analytics to see which social media platforms drive people to your website most. Look also at your competitors and check which channels they focus on. If they’re putting daily posts out on Facebook and receiving lots of likes and comments, chances are it’ll be a good choice for you too.

Rudy Heywood