What benefits can African businesses derive from social media?

When you think of social media you probably think of personal profiles, but social media is also useful for promoting a business brand. It can help your enterprise to grow and there are several other plus points. Look at the following for ideas on how your business can benefit by using social media.

Business and social media

A vital part of building your business name is exposure – getting your brand known among potential customers. Social media is an easy and affordable way to achieve that, however, few South African businesses are taking advantage of the opportunities it provides.

Remember to utilise several social media platforms in order to reach a wider demographic. Older consumers use different social media than younger ones and you need to engage with as many potential customers as possible.

Social media benefits

• Social media websites can provide your business with information on your target audience and the people visiting your pages.
• Use social media profiles to connect with other businesses with crossover target audiences to further increase your follower numbers.
• Increase website traffic by driving social media followers to your website. Each time you post on social media, include a link to your website to increase awareness of your business.
• Creating social media profiles typically means better search engine ranking. When you have actively used social media for business for at least a year expect to see an improvement in your search engine results.
• Social media profiles allow you to stay relevant while improving your search engine ranking through the creation of fresh content. When you provide useful and interesting information about your business and relevant sharable content, users draw more people to your business by sharing and liking your content.
• The interactive nature of social media is linked with better customer service and higher conversion rates. Social media interactions are more likely to generate quality leads and lead-to-close rates than outbound marketing due to the personal nature of social media.

Social media marketing is incredibly cost effective, because most social networking sites allow you to create a profile for free. You only need to spend a few hours each week posting and replying to comments. While you don’t have to do social media paid advertising, if you choose to advertise it will be affordable.

Social media content creation

If you want people to notice the social media posts for your business, always include images. That is sure to catch the eye of potential clients more than text alone. When you aren’t posting photos, post video content. You can get video maker software from Biteable for professional videos to promote your business, to record interviews with the business owner or staff, for promotions, product descriptions, special events, and more.

Use fun but professional and appropriate filters when posting. Platforms that are based around images and videos are more casual and allow for more fun.

If you own a business, you should create social media profiles to promote it. Social media will increase brand awareness, give you insights about followers, improve conversion rates, and get the word out about your business on a budget.