Social Media: A Powerful Tool or Double-Edged Sword?
Marketing has always been a foundational part of any business. Businesses will stay stagnant without marketing. It makes it possible and effortless to gain exponential success by marketing products, projects, or even strategies on some level.
Online marketing is no longer an option for business owners - it's a necessity. If you want to give your business an online presence, you have a lot of options at your disposal today. But which type of online presence suits your company best? And which media is most appropriate for your target market?
There are usually two options - a website or a social media profile. The most common question asked is what are the benefits of social media? During the last decade, social media has surpassed many other forms of marketing and communication online. Businesses are now wondering whether they need a website in the first place.
These days, social media comes in a wide variety of forms – and you can set up a profile in just a few minutes. There are already millions of potential customers swarming Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, and other social media platforms and this huge opportunity can be taken advantage of by your business in no time at all.
Advantages
Establishing a business social media account is usually free, and social media pages are quick and easy to set up. This makes it simple for individuals to establish a basic online presence without much effort.
Social media profiles are not committed to, and if the business owner decides that the profile is no longer working for them, they can simply delete it. Furthermore, businesses don't have to stick with one provider - they can switch to another platform or have multiple social media profiles running simultaneously.
Using social media enables businesses to reach out to their customers and generate back and forth interaction. By making companies more approachable and human, the business can easily communicate with clients and build relationships. By reading daily or weekly updates, customers learn more about a company's values and purpose, and those same businesses will then be at the top of their list when they need someone to do that kind of work.
Daily interaction with a business creates a feeling of loyalty to the company and how it does business.
Disadvantages
Typically, social media platforms do not leave much room for customization since they follow the same layouts. Although business owners can add a profile photo and company details, the basic layout of the page is limited. Due to the limited design, businesses cannot show their originality and their pages appear identical to everyone else's.
The social media pages of companies allow consumers to ask questions and provide feedback. As a result, someone needs to monitor the pages and keep a close eye on what the audience is saying. Comments are completely controlled by the public on business profiles and comments can also be linked from the company profile to the comment on their own profile.
Probably the biggest problem when it comes to social media platforms is a lack of ownership. Many small businesses do not own their social media profiles. The social networks determine what content and promotions will appear on business pages, and business owners must abide by strict guidelines to maintain their pages. For years, companies can build a strong social media presence and then take it away in an instant. Imagine the consequences if a company's online presence was ruined by a social media provider shutting down the site. The damage would be significant if the only online presence was for that company. Even though it's difficult to imagine a world without Facebook, there have been plenty of other social networks that were incredibly popular before they vanished into obscurities, such as skype and yahoo messenger.
Conclusion
Social media can be considered more as a double-edged sword. It can be used to vanquish over business competitors as well as to intrigue the customers. To use social media efficiently, you should know some basics and try to have control. Additionally keeping an eye on algorithm updates will help you get updated with the market trends and use loopholes in a lucrative way.
