The term “Social Media” is being used very often in our generation, yet not many people know it’s basic definition. In simple terms, it is a service provided on the internet for virtual communication between friends, clients and customers, and people in general. Furthermore, a recent statistic shows that more than 3 billion people use social media on a daily basis and that is 45% of the world’s population. The power of social media was made explicit when a survey exposed that more social media users follow brands. Indeed, 80% of Instagram users follow a business. Moreover, the use of social media for business basically comes in the form of posting videos, images, infographics, and even texts on your business account. Meanwhile, there are more than 3000 social media platforms that are not limited to chatting zones. Some of them include Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Blogs, Facebook, coupon sites, websites, and so on. Below, we will explain the benefits, uses, advantages, and risks of using social media for business, so sit back and enjoy!
How to use a social media platform like Instagram for business
Instagram is arguably the most popular and visited social media platform globally, therefore, we have chosen to talk about it in this article. Some features and benefits attached to using Instagram to do business are listed below:
- It helps create an awareness of your brand name.
- Helps in tracking competitors and your business progress.
- It gives a chance for customer reviews and interaction.
- It cost little to nothing to use social media for business.
- It provides a means for fast dissemination of information.
- It increases sales
- It helps to humanize your products so your customers get to see a real-life version of your products.
- It keeps your business at the top of your customers’ minds.
- It increases transparency and trust for your customers.
- It is more convenient for most of your customers.
To get the above-mentioned benefits to its maximum, there are certain steps and procedures you should follow. These procedures we listed below:
- Open an Instagram business account.
- Create a marketing strategy
- Define your target audience and goals
- Set goals and business objectives.
- Create a pre-defined and regular posting schedule.
- Share great content on your Instagram posts and Instagram stories.
- Measure your success and make necessary adjustments
- Connect with Instagram influencers and other Instagram users to grow followers on Instagram
- Use relevant Instagram hashtags for your niche.
- Try using IGTV for long videos.
In conclusion, any business that isn’t using the power of social media to promote its brand is missing out on a lot. Also, keep in mind that there are critical risks attached to the use of social media for business. Some of these risks include the dissemination of fake news, legal issues, and waste of time or resources for an unpredictable return time.