The use of social networks has become a fundamental element for the success of a brand, accessing them is very simple and possibly boosting a business is also very easy. But… do you know how to do it?
In this reading you will find out!
In addition, you will learn the importance of using these channels, their benefits, effects and how they can affect the world of marketing and sales.
What is the use of social networks in today’s world?
As we have seen in other spaces, these digital platforms are part of the daily life of society, of companies, of the world. It is inevitable not to use them, and that is why sometimes we do not know 100% of its operation or its benefits.
These channels have evolved in such a way that they not only affect personal connections, but also the way to position a brand.
Social networks mean a lot for fields such as communication, culture and business.
Below we will mention several elements of the use of social networks today:
- Communication: they facilitate the connection between contacts in the world, its great magic of being one of the main channels of communication today. Elements such as video calls, chats and email have broken down barriers and distances.
- Source of information and entertainment: most people use social networks as their main source of news, visual and creative content. For example, Facebook and Twitter have become important channels for disseminating events in real time.
- Learning: these platforms are also used as online educational resources, the favorite for this use is the digital platform YouTube.
- Networking: this skill is enhanced with the use of social networks such as LinkedIn, in order to expand the network of professional contacts.
- Marketing and sales: our favorite! Companies use social networks to promote their campaigns and sell their products/services. And of course, reaching a wider audience, is their main purpose when resorting to these tools.
- Tip: to be successful in social networks you must have a content marketing strategy, a social media plan and above all quality and consistency in the process. This guarantees excellent results.
Social networks have great influence in today’s world, from personal communication to the success of a company, since their versatility and reach make them part of the daily life of users.
Benefits of the good use of Social Networks
Social networks are so relevant and popular that it is necessary to know how to make good use of them, whether in the field of business, lifestyle or people’s well-being.
So the good use of these digital tools can bring benefits for both individuals and companies.
Let’s see how….
The most successful benefits for brands:
- Identify new business opportunities.
- Position the brand and attract traffic to the web.
- Generate leads and sales.
- Instantly feedback customer experience.
- Build online communities.
Social networks are an effective platform to promote campaigns, products and reach a wider audience.
According to IAB Spain’s Social Media 2023 report, “94% of users follow brands on social networks and 39% have purchased products or services through these platforms.”
So these are of great benefit to businesses. Don’t forget to include them in your marketing strategy.
The most successful benefits for people:
- Positive experiences with loved ones.
- Provides the ability to be informed at any time.
- They allow to have fun, to learn and to relate.
- Form communities of interest.
- Get a job or strengthen the online presence.
When you make good use of social networks you get a positive impact, so it is important to know their advantages and know how to take advantage of them.
How does the misuse of social networks affect Marketing and Sales?
From an art perspective, if you mix oil (which is oil) with acrylic (which is water), you will have the wrong result: an incompatible mixture.
Well, the same goes for the misuse of social networks, if you combine them with inappropriate practices, the effect will be detrimental.
Main effects:
- Bad user experience: one of the reasons why a brand’s reputation is affected and drives away potential customers. In addition, it can cause a loss of confidence in the company. A crisis manual and the role of the Community Manager are essential to manage the situation.
- Fake News: the spread of bad news can kill a brand in seconds. The number of users who share this information will generate a snowball within these platforms.
- According to the Netflix documentary “The Social Media Dilemma”, which we recommend you watch, it indicates that fake news spreads so fast that users feel “paranoia” and share it as many times as they can.
- Excessive content: publishing content all the time or irrelevant content can lead the audience to disconnect from the brand, have a disinterest that can directly affect the content marketing strategy.
- Privacy violation: when collecting so much information from customers, the protection and use of this information cannot go unnoticed, as it can generate legal repercussions against the brand, leading to costly lawsuits.
- These negative effects can have a strong impact on a company’s marketing and sales strategies.
The most important thing is to communicate effectively with your customers through social networks.
On the positive side, some companies have taken the importance of using social media seriously. For example, the financial sector, which since the pandemic has the purpose of informing and educating the audience on cybersecurity and the digital threats that exist.
It is essential to recognize that the inappropriate use of social networks is a complex issue, since it must first be recognized that there is a lack of control that generates negative effects.
Recommendations for a good use
Despite the great benefits and advantages of social networks, it is also useful to have on the radar some recommendations for their proper use:
Recommendations for personal profiles.
- Avoid providing sensitive personal data. If you do not fully trust the security of the profile to which you are going to send this type of information it is better to abstain, this will prevent extortion and theft.
- Avoid accepting friend requests from people you do not know.
- Carefully read the privacy conditions and settings of each social network.
- Exposure to social networks and their rapid access has led to misuse of these platforms, therefore, experts advise to set limits to their consumption.
- Doing other activities would be the ideal way to limit the use of social networks. What activities do I mean? Reading a book, going out with friends and sharing with family.
Recommendations for business profiles
- Posting photos of clients or partners without their permission could have negative consequences. Always ask for authorization.
- There are too many companies and brands creating content, making “noise”. The ideal here, so that they choose you, is to enhance the online content marketing strategy.
- Encourage the good use of social networks from the beginning, by being a reference of credibility of your service or product, you will reflect that responsible performance and you can be the inspiration for other SMEs.
- The brand must have parameters of corporate responsibility in the use of social networks, such as the regulation of content saturation. Of course, all companies will want to sell as much as possible on social networks, but ethics must not be lost.
- As they are such public channels, criminals can take advantage of them to steal confidential company information or data, so if the network allows it, try to limit access to your profile or use the two-step authentication option.
- Be very aware of what kind of content you are going to share, so that it does not affect anyone.
Marketing actions for the responsible use of social networks
Social networks are not only digital platforms, but also powerful marketing tools that can highlight a brand.
On the impact it exerts, these are the actions to take into account:
- Choosing the best social networks for the company and aligned to the marketing strategy will be a responsible action.
- The success of brands in social networks will depend exclusively on the management of crisis situations, a crisis manual would be useful in this case.
- Internally, with your team, make sure to promote clear policies on the use of these platforms.
- When creating and disseminating content, verify its authenticity beforehand to avoid the spread of fake news.
- Cybersecurity is being part of the companies, this in order to have safe digital environments for their customers. The creation of campaigns in favor of responsible use are booming, you can contemplate it in your social media plan.
- There are different actions that you can contemplate in the use of social networks, the essential thing is that you “put on the 10” and prioritize this issue in your professional, work and personal life.
To finish we want to share with you this phrase from the American entrepreneur, Grant Cardone when explaining his fourth pillar, communication, for companies to be successful: “most of my income comes in organic because I know how to communicate.”
Great, isn’t it? Everything you can communicate in a sincere and confident way on digital platforms will be profit and momentum to lead your business to success.
