Social media started as a simple digital channel of socializing and has now grown to be a very powerful and interesting digital marketing channel that every small business is thinking about. Most businesses are available on various social media platforms because that is where they are expecting to meet their target customers in large numbers.
Small businesses are finding it hard to decide on whether they should start utilizing social media. This is because social media has its own positive and negative effects. Depending on the platform you choose, social media can help you grow your small business within a short period of time.
Learning the pros and cons of social media for small business can help you make a wise decision before joining any social media platform. After learning the pros and cons, you can then be able to choose the best social media platform that enables you to enjoy the most out of it without having to face many drawbacks. You can also find additional expertise in online marketing tactics and take advantage of what Click Consult has to offer in order to achieve your business goals.
Pros
Social media helps you reach many people
With social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, you can be able to reach to audiences who are as far as a continent away from you. Your brand can be known to the whole world within a short period of time.
Authentic relationships can be built
Most of the platforms enable you to post your brand, interact with the audience through comments, and also converse with them privately. This enables you to form a lasting human to human bond with the audience.
Utilizing the medium is easy
Most of the social media platforms available allow you to easily create a profile, control and enhance it. Publicizing your brand remains easy and can be promoted through the platforms so as to reach to more clients in a customized way.
Sharing your work to other platforms is possible
Through platforms such Google plus, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, you will be able to market more efficiently as you can prepare a post from one platform and share it with the rest. The platforms also allow you to backlink your web pages and this eases your process of reaching out to the audience through your own website.
Raises your search rankings
Social media platforms raise your SEO rankings in a number of ways. Using a platform such as Google plus raises your rankings in Google searches. In Facebook and Twitter, the hash tag feature makes your posts appear in searches related to it.
The platforms are continuing to grow
Most of the platforms available are continuing to grow in a drastic manner. This means that there is a large group of audience that is ready for your business and the crowd will continue to grow as time goes by. This is great for when marketing your business.
Cons
Requires active management
For your small business to highly benefit from your social media presence, your participation will have to be high. Responding to clients has to be timely and this may distract you from doing other important activities.
Can attract risks
Introducing your business to the networking platforms exposes it more. This leaves it vulnerable to information leaks, hacking, negative feedbacks and many other threats. So, it is important to keep your information safe and secure to avoid any potential cyber attacks while online.
Various platforms limits your potential in certain ways
In every platform, you will always find a certain aspect that limits you in a certain way. For example, Google plus prohibits contests and promotions, while Twitter limits messages to a length of 280 characters.
2018 ·