Social media for business growth: how to use social media to build your business and enhance customer experience
It seems that everyone knows that it’s good to use social media for business growth, but we could all do with some tips on how it all works.
Recent research by BT has found that social media is now the top sales channel for one in four small businesses, but the same research also states that over half of business owners would like to improve their skills in this area.
This month’s blog looks at the role that social media plays in both business growth and enhancing customer experience, so read on to find out more about the benefits of social media for business growth and how you could make the most of its positive impacts.
Table of Contents
How improved customer experience and business growth go hand in hand.
Customer experience is defined as the way that a business engages with its customers at every point of their buying journey.
And one of the great things about social media is how it makes companies more relatable and accessible to customers, which can only improve their customer experience.
Many would now say that their customer journey with a business began by discovering them on social media and engaging with them there, and this is a huge way that you can use social media for business growth.
Improving customer experience from their first engagement with you to following up after their purchase will make them more likely to return in future and recommend you to their friends, which will in turn drive more and more growth.
So how can you engage with a wider audience online to find those potential customers and give them the best experience possible?
Engaging customers through social media
In order to improve customer experience and use your social media for business growth you’ll need to be engaging with your audience throughout their customer journey.
Content creation
The key to creating engaging content, which will show up on your audience’s feeds, is making something that resonates with them.
Show them how you know what they’re feeling and meet their needs.
Often videos rather than static content are favoured, and user-generated content can go a really long way in establishing trust in your brand too.
Interaction and engagement
One of social media’s greatest strengths is that it allows two-way communication between customer and business.
So, it’s great to capitalise on this by engaging with your audience on social media in order to foster community and build relationships with your followers.
Replying to DMs swiftly, responding to comments on posts and replying to Xs is sure to make your business more approachable and improve customer experience, whether those responses you’re giving are to interested potential customers, or those asking for support with an order or query.
One of the most widespread uses of social media for business growth is utilising it as a customer support channel.
It allows for real-time response to customers and much more personable problem resolution than is often experienced through other customer service platforms.
Using social media for business growth
Closely linked to using social media to improve customer experience is how you can drive business growth with social media.
The better you relate to your customers and give them a positive journey the more they will bring others to your company and become returning customers themselves.
And that’s not all – here are our top three ways that you can use social media for business growth:
1. Raising brand awareness
It sounds simple but it’s true – being present on social media will immediately raise awareness of your business.
An active social media account will increase the visibility of your brand, building trust and making you more of a known quantity.
Brands like Nike and Adidas are known for their individual responses on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), whether the comments made are positive or negative.
Meanwhile the Museum of English Rural Life was catapulted into the spotlight for their viral funny tweets having been an unknown entity before, and other companies are known for their long-running social media campaigns, like Dove’s real beauty project, which is now synonymous with integrity in the beauty industry.
Whether you go for a comprehensive and informative approach or a fun social media persona, it’s clear that you could be raising awareness of your brand by using social media.
2. Lead generation and sales
Social media marketing campaigns are a huge opportunity for companies to generate leads and convert them into customers.
Regardless of the size of your business, you can tailor your marketing based on your audience, placing your campaign on the social media platform where your customers are likely to be, and reaching your target demographic.
3. Analytics and insights
Another huge benefit of using social media for business growth is that it provides great insights for business owners through social media analytics.
Particularly through the Meta Business Suite, there are loads of tools available to measure your engagement, find out more about your audience and therefore make data-driven decisions for your business marketing.
Using social media for business growth won’t just help your customers and enable you to reach more people but can also provide valuable tools and metrics to track the performance and growth of your business.
Not sure where to start? Ask Zoe!
It’s clear that every brand would benefit from better utilising what social media has to offer – but with so many options out there, it’s hard to know where to start.
Which platforms should you join?
How can you best reach your target audience?
And once you’re there, what sort of content should you be producing?
If you’re keen to find out the answers to these questions and start to not only improve your customer experience journey but also grow your brand through using social media, Zoe can help.
Get in contact today and we can chat about your business, work out how best you can utilise social media for business growth, and get you started with a social media marketing plan so that you can see results.
About The Author: Zoe Wadsworth
Award Winning Business Consultant of Ask Zoe.
More posts by Zoe Wadsworth