Social media is the new word of mouth. Surely you have heard that before. But what if your target audience isn’t on social media? It’s possible. But if social media is truly the new word of mouth then you would have to agree that someone who influences your target market is most certainly online and using social platforms. For that and many other reasons, it’s important that your business have some sort of presence on social media—even if it’s just LinkedIn and/ or Facebook. Here are some compelling reasons why.
Reasons Why You Should Create a Company Page on LinkedIn
Back in the day (you know, back in 2010) company pages on LinkedIn were something that was nice to have but wasn’t anything that you should rush out to create. Today, if you are a B2B business, LinkedIn is one of, if not THE, most important tools you can implement. Why? LinkedIn allows company pages to have followers. This means that when you post something on your page it gets published to your followers so they know immediately what you’re business is up to. Your company’s products and/or services can be easily added to your LinkedIn company page and you can add videos of those products/services right on LinkedIn.
Another benefit to having a LinkedIn company page is that the page showcases your business, not just a single employee working at your company. Take a look at Target. They have more than 500,000 followers on their LinkedIn company page. That means they have more than 500,000 people who are seeing their company updates every time they post. Not only that but every time one of their followers comments or likes what Target posts on their company page not only is the comment seen on the Target company page but also on the news feeds of their connections too. Bottom line, you gain exposure to many more eyeballs than just the ones following you—but only if you have a company page.
Company pages also have recommendations on it. Just like your personal LinkedIn page has professional recommendations from past colleagues, the company pages have recommendations from current business partners or customers. What better way to show the value of your business than through a testimonial?
The Benefits of a Facebook Business Page
When you have a business page on Facebook it helps gain exposure for your business. When people search for you on Facebook, and trust us, they’re searching, they will be able to find you. Once they connect with you they have the option to engage with you one-on-one. You can solicit their feedback through surveys, polls and other tools. You can learn what their true pain point or needs are. And you can better understand how they are using your product; as opposed to how you think they are using it.
With more than 1 billion people using Facebook you’re bound to run into at least one or two people who are decision makers or influencers in the buying process for your product or service. Facebook is a great way to gain exposure, earn more leads and drive people to your website. It’s an inexpensive marketing tool that can help achieve business goals such as increasing leads or brand awareness. It is also a great tool to help position you and your business as experts in your field. Without a Facebook page you could be losing out on increasing your profits.
Facebook business pages help you reach your audience in a timely manner. If you have an important message that you want to communicate to your customers or potential customers, Facebook is a great tool to facilitate in the dissemination of that message. This becomes especially handy if you ever find yourself in need of reputation management. It is also a great communications tool for building brand loyalty. If your page is a consistent source of valuable and relevant information, your target audience will be more likely to keep coming back. People are more likely to do business with a business that is active and responsive.
Get Started Today
If the reasons outlined above weren’t convincing enough, perhaps knowing that having an active company page on social media can help boost your SEO rankings will spark you to act. Google is using social media as part of their algorithm when looking for search results to display. So, even if your market isn’t using LinkedIn or Facebook to find you, they are surly using Google.
