Should you be Making Time for Social Media?

Yes.

OK, that’s not much of a blog post, but it sums up what follows.

One of the main arguments for businesses not engaging in social media is that they don’t have time to do it.

Really?

You don’t have time to:

• Promote your business?
• Talk to your customers?
• Build relationships with new customers?
• Add value to your existing customer base?

Well, that’s a shame because if you did have time to do all of that, your business would be flying high, even in today’s economic climate.

You may think that you do enough face to face networking to bring in the new customers you need, so why bother with social media too?

Well, fair enough, you can find new customers that way, but what about looking after the ones you’ve already got?

We all know that it costs about 6 times more to get a new customer than it does to keep an existing one, so surely it makes sense to ensure the service you’re providing keeps your existing customers happy.

I’m not just talking about saying a big ‘thank you’ when they buy from you, or sending the occasional newsletter. Social media gives your customers the opportunity to engage directly with you. In an instant you can make them aware of special offers and events through your Facebook Business Page or Twitter.

Social media is all about a two way conversation between you and your customers, adding value to your connection with them through hints, tips, offers and entertaining conversation. It’s all about relationship building.

If you’re still not convinced, here are some facts for you that might get you to change your mind:

• Social media users’ revenue grew at 19%, whereas non-social media users’ only grew at 6%
• The client base of social media users grew at 12%
• 61% of LinkedIn users gained a client through social media
• 35% of Facebook users gained a client
• 47% of blog owners gained a client
• 36% overall gained clients through a social network

(Source: The Business Success Team)

Are you beginning to see the bigger picture now?