I won’t be wrong to say that there are lots of benefits of social media for business in Nigeria. Moreover, its use has seen a tremendous increase over the years with different enterprises both large and small now applying it as a business tool for advertising and communicating with their customers.
I want to show you why you should use social media for your business. And if you already have profiles on them, why you should take it seriously.
Have you ever had these questions cross your mind?
- Why should I use social media for my business?
- Is it really worth my time?
- Can it deliver as much as these marketers say it can?
- Is it just one of those schemes that are here for the now and will fade away in the nearest future?
In answering these questions, I’ll want to show you why social media is valuable for the growth of your business in Nigeria and subsequently in future posts, show you how to use it profitably.
Outlined below are some of the key benefits:
1. INCREASE IN CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENTS AND SATISFACTION.
Customers are everywhere, they are either for one brand or another and at one point these customers have had various engagements with such brands on their social media platforms…
This could be through written or visual posts made by the brands to request that their customers review a product recently released and how it can be improved.
This communication is what we call ENGAGEMENTS.
It is a long-standing relationship created through communication between brands and customers. It might be a complaint, request, or about the release of a new product.
Over time, creating engagements help convert customers into loyal fans of your brand. Do you have a particular person you always buy a given product from in the market?
As for me, I do!
To demonstrate more clearly, most times I’ll walk pass other options just to buy from this person. Have you ever done that?
And if you have, ever wondered why you do?
It is simple… ENGAGEMENTS
Every customer interacting with you on your social media accounts gives you an opportunity to publicly validate your care for them. That way you provide rich customer experiences.
2. GREATER CHANCE OF NEW CUSTOMERS.
Have you ever shared contents you came across to your friends or followers? Where they times these contents were about a particular brand or a business?
If yes, which I know it is, you can guess what that means for the brand…
More people get to see what they have to offer…
And their chances of selling increases.
With the number of profiles on social media, the chances of getting across to newer customers are extremely high.
I might have a friend who might be interested in your product or might also know a friend that will be.
Sharing does the magic!
3. IMPROVED CUSTOMER UNDERSTANDING.
What would you give in return if you found a way to get your customers to tell exactly what they want, and how they want it?
Social media also gives you an opportunity to gain real information about what interests your customers, what they want and would pay for. Listen to their conversations and you will get a good understanding of them.
You can ask them which of your products or services they like and which they don’t.
Also, you can monitor which contents leads to greater engagements, in that you produce more of those types of contents.
Real-time outcomes of your various promotions on Social media is measurable. Measuring them gives you an insight into the ones that bring maximum conversions.
In other words, you get to know what combination of contents and promotion is perfect for the highest profits.
4. INCREASE IN BRAND AWARENESS
I recently told a friend about a book I came across on Facebook and how it changed how I viewed marketing.
The author of the book never asked me to do that and neither did he pay me for it. He only added value to me, and I just had to share it.
Telling my friend made him a potential customer to that author…
You may argue that this is achievable offline, after all, you’ve probably had people recommended you to their friends…
True, But then check out the number of people you can reach at a time. With one ad, or one page.
It is obviously killing multiple birds with one stone.
On social media, you can announce your brand and increase its visibility to those with interest in what you sell.
5. INCREASE IN SALES THROUGH TARGETED ADS
Advertising on social media is very effective and also inexpensive. These ads can be targeted by a variety of criteria such as location, demographics, and interest.
A good marketer running an ad on Facebook would run it in such a way that only people in a certain location, age bracket, and show interest in the particular product would be targeted.
Thereby increasing the chance of such ad getting noticed by the right people, creating engagements between the brand and the audience, and also getting new customers which will help establish the brand.
Furthermore, real-time analysis of ads is possible. This helps you to check the success or failure of the ad.
Now isn’t that powerful? Well carried out ads can boost the sales of your product by a very high margin.
6. COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
There is something called social media monitoring, it means researching and getting key information about your competitors.
If you study what your competitors are doing on social media, the kinds of contents they produce and their best engaging contents, you can find why they are successful online.
Take a look at what they do and learn from your findings. Make strategic business decisions to stay ahead of them. you can improve your products, service, or content.
7. BETTER SEARCH RESULT RANKINGS
Getting your site to rank high in search engines is important. Not only does it show your relevance in your field, It shows how seriously you take your business.
Google and other search engines may also calculate their rankings using social media presence as an important factor.
The fact that strong brands use social media can mean to search engines that your brand is genuine and credible.
To rank for a set of keywords, having a very strong social media presence is vital.
Social media not only helps direct people to your website but the more the shares you receive, the higher your search engine ranking.
In conclusion, every business in Nigeria should take advantage of this tool, learn how to use it and make the most out of it.
The benefits of social media for business in Nigeria is huge and by using it you learn more about your customers, engage with them, and also expand your brand, you’ll be flying high before you know it.
Do drop a comment if you read through this article, and check out this blog post on How To Run a Successful Facebook Ad Campaign In Nigeria.
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