Social media is something businesses can no longer afford to ignore

Five reasons why your business can't survive without social media

No one anticipated how popular social networking would be become. Once viewed with trepidation, SMBs wondered whether social media would ever be something they would incorporate into their marketing strategy. Now social networking has changed the way B2B businesses interact with prospective clients and partners and how they market their brand. Social media has become a necessity for every business because with the right strategy, it has the power to positively impact the bottom line.

1: It's happening without you!

An obvious marketing technique is to go where your prospective clients are and market to them. Well, everyone is using social media and whether your business is engaging in social media or not, people are using it without you. They may be talking about your business - or they may be talking about your competitors! The fact is that they are talking and you're not there to interact.

An increasing number of businesses are engaging in social media everyday and the only way to reach out to them about your brand is to make your online presence known. You can't run from social media any longer so you might as well embrace it.

2: Customers want it to be personal

Engagement is the key to trust and conversation and social media gives your business a voice. A few years ago all you needed to do was create a product, and market it to as many prospective buyers as possible. Now traditional marketing methods are gone because social media has changed the way B2B businesses market themselves. Many businesses are now using Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin to engage with their audiences and some use it as their sole customer service function. People want to talk and interact with real people.

3: SEO & social media go hand in hand

Social sharing now also impacts your SEO rankings. If you're absent from social media, search engines such Google won't consider your website as important which makes your website harder to find. It's important to include social networking in your SEO efforts in order to be a leader on the SEO board.

4: Key to increasing brand awareness & conversions

Social media is no longer a trend, it's a necessity. It's a tool that fulfils a need - the need to communicate, interact and share. Interacting on social media platforms can significantly increase your brand visibility. While traditional marketing methods could increase your traffic, social media will bring you fans, friends and followers who are interested in your business and offerings. These can be turned into customer engagement which will then lead to increased sales.

5: Valuable feedback & crisis control

No business can survive without customer and client feedback. Social media is a dialogue where people with similar interests can interact and share things they like and dislike. Consumers don't limit their online expressions and opinions to those businesses with a Facebook page or a Twitter account. Today, they have their own accounts and blogs for sharing their experiences and opinions about your business. By not engaging in social media, you're ignoring these discussions and limiting your ability to participate, apologise or defend. Social media is the best way to find out what your customers are saying about your brand.

Now what?

B2B businesses that continue to conduct their marketing and PR the old fashioned way will undoubtedly find it more difficult to compete. Social media isn't going anywhere. Businesses that want to engage their audiences need to seriously consider their social media marketing strategies for today, tomorrow and the foreseeable future.

So the key message is don't get left behind. Social media is not just a passing trend, it can be a bonus for any company if the right strategy is implemented. For a B2B social media campaign to work, the campaign needs the same professionalism that businesses bring to every other aspect of their business. It need to be done regularly – a Tweet a day is a must, to build company brand and thought leadership. One way of achieving this is bringing on board a good social media service with the ability to help you present your business to the your community as a thought-leader and brand leader in your field.

This post was written by IBA International – the parent company of iBAengage, a global social media service dedicated to B2B for smaller businesses and start-ups – kick start your social media campaign today.

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