Is Social Media for Business worth the Hype?

The allure of social media is getting harder to avoid in recent years. No matter who you speak to, social media is apparently the solution to all your business’s ills. Even our accountant is an evangelist, and for those who are not digitally native it may be a bit overwhelming.

The hype is huge, but are the returns worth the investment of time, effort and money?

The short answer is: possibly. Whether social media is worth the hype for your business will depend on the type of business you are in, the behaviours of your target market, and the digital strategy being employed.

Only once you have an understanding of these areas can an accurate analysis of your business from a social media perspective take place. The way that you use social media will vary greatly depending on the product you are selling.

Consumer Behaviours

The key factor to using social media to promote your business, is whether your target market uses social media. If so, what platforms do they use? How regularly and in what way? Once you understand these factors, you can tailor your message to suit your customer and what they are looking for from social media interactions.

Transactional v Relationship Based Businesses

If your product is transactional then the strategy will revolve around offers and short term wins. However, if your product is relationship based, then it is more about building a rapport with your audience and building long term funnels.

Finding the Right Strategy

The right strategy will take into account the behaviours of a business’s target market as well as the type of products/services that are being sold.

The right strategy varies from business to business, but is always grounded in the brand identity and message of the business both offline as well as online, as if these do not match the presence will be seen as false and damaging to the business.

Digital marketing and tech specialist Anoop is a well-known figure in the Harrow and North London community. Currently the Operations Director for Aspiring Panda, the company uses cloud and development expertise to solve some of the toughest business challenges – which has recently included consulting with East African nations to provide sustainable farming.