Using social media for your business has its advantages in cost-effective advertising and reaching new customers, but it can also take away resources and productivity as you dedicate time to your online presence. Managing a successful social media campaign can yield great results, but it takes a lot of time to build a following and manage your profiles, especially with no certainty of seeing a return. Weigh the pros and cons to see if dedicating so much time to social media is right for your business.
Cheap, Targeted Advertising
- Social networks provide a cheap way to advertise your business and spread its name. Some networks offer paid advertising options, but they aren’t mandatory for people to find your page if you use appropriate keywords and maintain an active, consistent presence. If you do opt for paid advertising, you can choose very specific demographic options; your ads will only be shown to the demographics you specify, so you can show your ads only to people who are most likely to be customers. Most ad campaigns will only charge you if someone has clicked your ad, meaning you won’t lose money by showing your ads to people who aren’t interested.
Increased Exposure and Personality
- Business advertising only goes so far offline or by using banner ads. Posts on social networks are easy to share, so your followers can quickly and efficiently spread any news you post. Maintaining a social network presence also helps make your business a little more personable. Talking with your followers and customers — as well as any newcomers who discover you through word of mouth or have questions — helps you seem accessible and even fun. An online presence helps you avoid looking like a faceless entity; consumers enjoy a little personality, and it can help solidify their loyalty as well as convince potential buyers to choose you over competitors.
Risks of Dedication
- Using social media isn’t as simple as starting a Facebook page and checking on it every few hours. It takes time to learn how to properly use each network you start using, build a following, post consistent updates and interact with your followers. Monitoring and using social media well takes a lot of time and dedication to the point where it may detract from other duties. There is also no absolute guarantee of success, so you may not see a return on the investment of time you have put into setting up accounts.
Productivity and Reputation
- The availability of social networks may be a distraction for some employees, and it could affect their productivity if they are too focused on online profiles and comments. There is also a certain risk when giving control of company social networks to employees, as much of your business’s reputation rests on what is posted on your social networks. Mistakes are instantly noticed and hard to take back, and the speed of social media makes it difficult to discuss all content being posted without taking away serious time from your other priorities.
