The explosion of social media is a phenomenon that the business world can no longer ignore. If you own a business, it is something that you should really be taking advantage of. The Internet has ‘made the world smaller’, connecting people from every country, in every continent. The potential of social media is mind-blowing, and if you are not connecting with it, then you are going to be left behind and miss out on opportunities. Let’s take a look at the top five reasons your business needs social media:

1. The potential, for gaining new customers is huge.  It has a reach of millions, and if you market your business in the right way, you can connect to thousands of new clients. If your business goes viral and gets to the front page of Yahoo Buzz, it could generate between 100,000 to 1,000,000 views; from Digg around 2,000 to 60,000, and from Reddit around 2,500 to 30,000. This may sound delusional, but it has happened to others, so why not you? These connections will never happen offline applying traditional advertising.

2. People talk. And when they like something, they tell people. Having a presence online means that they could be talking about you! Here’s an example; you run a cupcake making company. You make some great cupcakes for the birthday party of one of your friend’s children.  The cupcakes are so great that other parents ask her where she got them. She passes on your information. You get six new clients from that one birthday, who then pass your information to other impressed parents, and so on. Now, imagine that online, and it’s not just a few parents but hundreds or thousands of followers on a Parents Help Group. You can create a buzz that gets people talking.  Word of mouth is a great way to promote your business. People trust the opinions of those they know. Virtual word of mouth is much more powerful than non-virtual.

3. Being online means people can interact with you and your business. You can build a reputation, and make your business more accessible. The ability to engage with existing and potential customers is so important, and through social media this is easier than ever before. Customers can gain a sense of who you are, and what kind of business you operate. What takes hours in the non-virtual world can be done online in minutes, and you don’t have to be involved. For example, having countless followers and positive feedback on your profile demonstrates that you and your business can be trusted.

4. Social Media usage boosts the likelihood of you appearing higher up on search engines, Search Engine Optimisation [SEO]. Having profiles and social media activity lets Google know your site is worthy of a mention. Your competition is using it and you should be too.

5. It’s free! This is the biggest advantage of social media to your business. It doesn’t cost anything to start a Facebook profile. To have someone recommend you is free! You have access to potentially thousands of customers, for free! You can have all the benefits of social media that I have mentioned, for free! Even if you decide to outsource your online marketing, it will cost a fraction of the cost of traditional offline marketing and advertising.

It’s about trust. People naturally assume that every business has a website, and soon people will naturally assume that they are on Facebook or Twitter, or similar. It’s a way of giving you credibility. Have you ever used a directory site like yell.com to look for a specific type of company and some of them don’t have websites? You begin to wonder if they are legitimate, are they worthwhile if they haven’t even got a website?  Most people will choose a company that has an online presence because that is what is most reassuring.
Ultimately, this is the future of marketing, and if your business is not connected then it risks being left behind.