Most businesses are often saddled with the high cost of advertising and marketing coupled with increasing economic cost with regards to making the product or service known to the customers especially when they do not get the best out of the operations and business activity. Mostly, such businesses tend to hire additional personnel to boost their sales. These are tried and tested strategies and work to satisfaction, however, what is of concern is the high costs of putting in place these mechanisms like billboards, media coverage and other advertising media.
The good news is that the high cost incurred by businesses that spend so much on advertising and marketing can be balanced by social media. The advent of social media in this era has made it possible and easier for Firms to reach out to their product users effectively. Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter which are commonly utilized have been designed for both businesses and individuals. Delving a little deep into how it works:
FACEBOOK FOR BUSINESSES: Â Facebook is the fastest growing social media platform and its users are increasing by the day. The vast base of this platform makes it possible for your product or service to go viral and be seen by your followers and fans. Businesses can also communicate and interact with their fans or followers; however, customer service is very crucial in this aspect of the social media system. The following are the key features of a typical Facebook page that a business can utilize:
Profile and Cover Photo: It is highly recommended that businesses use their logo as their photo. This exhibits what they are really up for (branding). However, the company’s latest product or service can be on their cover photo. This is a perfect branding strategy for businesses.
Videos: Operations of the businesses, events, conferences, product reviews and others have to be uploaded on the page for customers to see. This is a great way of making your customers know what you are up to as far business proceedings are concerned.
Website and Page synchronization: Website of businesses has to be used in relation to the page. Any new updates and development on the site should be immediately linked to the Facebook page. This is because of the high traffic and usage. These fans or customers can also review your product as you interact with them on the Facebook page.
Administration Panel: These businesses can edit if there are any new developments or change in activity. One most important feature is that, they can build their audience by promoting the site through Facebook advertisement. One important thing to note is that, Facebook has the highest audience online and therefore making an advert to promote your product is worth it.
Analytics: The visitors and fans overall activities and interactions can be reviewed on the page using the “View Insights’ button.
TWITTER FOR BUSINESSES: Twitter comes with a wide array of business and marketing tools. The marketing aspect of it deals with the targeting, analytics and promotional tools. With Twitter, you can target the right people who need your services and are connected with your business operations. With the over 200 million people active on Twitter this is readily possible.
Ads Placement: You can place Ads on your business as a way of promoting it to grow your follower base. Follow your tweets and finally analyze it to see results.
Social Media is buzzing in this era and companies who make great use of it get the best out of it. Everybody is moving online with the advent of this media and therefore the best option is splitting your advertisement base on both online and offline media, but equal attention has to be given to the online platform.
 Charles Mensah
