{"id":40883,"date":"2020-02-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newrcblog.wpengine.com\/social-media-benefits\/"},"modified":"2025-07-03T02:37:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T09:37:35","slug":"benefits-of-social-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/benefits-of-social-media\/","title":{"rendered":"25 benefits of social media that sometimes get overlooked"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Updated May 2021<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media can seem overwhelming, especially when you\u2019re a small business. It\u2019s kind of like extra time you have to put in when you already have so many other things to do.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oberlo.co.uk\/blog\/social-media-marketing-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3.5 billion people using social media<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it\u2019s a fast and inexpensive way to reach almost half the world\u2019s population. There&#8217;s a reason why you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find a business that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">isn\u2019t <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">on social media.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You may still be asking yourself \u201cAre the benefits of using social media really worth it?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this post, we\u2019ll look at:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#one\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5 ways social media strengthens your brand<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#two\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7 ways social media allows you to connect with your customers (and potential customers!)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#three\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">12 ways it brings in more people\u2014and revenue<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"#four\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And 1 way it is a BIG advantage<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let&#8217;s get into the first big benefit of using social media.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\">\ud83d\udc40 \u00a0Are businesses actually fully remote right now? How many are already back in the office? Find out in our <i>State of Hybrid Work <\/i>report.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\n<div class=\"download-form-widget standart-download-form\" data-url=\"https:\/\/netstorage.ringcentral.com\/report\/2021_state_of_hybrid_work.pdf\" data-id=\"6a0ace944c62c\" id=\"6a0ace944c62c\">\n\t\t<button tabindex=\"on\"  on=\"tap:6a0ace944c62c.toggleClass(class='open')\" class=\"open-modal-download-action download-form-button\" type=\"submit\">\ud83d\udcd9 Download report<\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-body\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-content\">\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-title\">\ud83d\udcd9 Get this free report to learn how businesses are navigating hybrid work.<\/div>\n<form class=\"download-form SMB\" method=\"post\">\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Full Name\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"text\" name=\"fullname\" placeholder=\"Full Name\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"text\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input class=\"download-form-input\" aria-label=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" aria-required=\"true\" aria-invalid=\"false\" type=\"email\" autocomplete=\"on\" name=\"email\" placeholder=\"Email (please enter a work email address)\" data-dl-events-hover=\"true\" data-dl-element=\"email\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"popup_form\" value=\"1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"Lead_Entry_Source__c\" value=\"RC Blog\" class=\"download-form-input\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-part\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"download-form-submit\" type=\"submit\" data-dl-element=\"button\" data-no-auto-dl=\"true\" data-dl-additional-info=\"download form\" data-dl-name=\"Get it now\">Get it now<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<button on=\"tap:6a0ace944c62c.toggleClass(class='open')\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\"  class=\"download-form-modal-close\"><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"download-form-modal-thank\">Enjoy! <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\" style=\"padding-top: 20px;\"><a id=\"one\"><\/a>It\u2019s a great way to strengthen your brand<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/brand-awareness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building a strong brand<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that resonates with your audience can do wonders for your bottom line (more on that later). And taking advantage of the different social media channels out there is the easiest way to do it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1. Humanize your brand<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More and more businesses are using social media to add a human touch to their brand. Essentially, the point of this is to help customers connect to your business on a more personal level.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\ud83d\udca1 Pro-tip: <\/span><\/div>\n<p>One way to do this is to add a face to your brand\u2014literally. Showing photos of the people behind your business makes your audience feel like they\u2019re talking to people, rather than to a stuffy company.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, drop the formalities and let your brand\u2019s personality shine through on social media (but skip this if the nature of your brand requires you to keep things formal, like if you\u2019re a law firm or an insurance provider):<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2148\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2148\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2148 size-large\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image1-16-1024x817.png\" alt=\"MoonPie packs a lot of personality in its tweets\" width=\"840\" height=\"670\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2148\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">MoonPie, a snack brand, packs a lot of personality in every tweet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 25px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2. Create brand recognition<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a world where <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/how-branding-influences-purchase-decisions-infographic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">59% of consumers prefer to buy products from brands familiar to them<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, brand recognition is very important.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media allows you to get eyes on your brand much more quickly and easily compared to traditional media, which takes a while to produce your message and get it out there (like radio or TV). By just scrolling through social media on their phones, people can come across your brand multiple times every day\u2014and sometimes, even every hour.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"tip-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pro-tip: <\/span><\/div>\n<p>Make sure that when you do get eyes on your brand, all your social media profiles are ready for it. Keeping your profile image consistent across brands will increase your brand recognition while also making your business look more put together. Be sure to also fill out your profile blurbs with useful information that people might want to know at a glance, like when you\u2019re open and how to get in touch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3. Get people talking about your brand<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media is, well, social. That makes it an ideal place to facilitate conversations around your brand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of the most natural ways to do this are to:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask your community open-ended questions, like what they\u2019d like to see from your brand. Let them respond to build engagement.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Give shout-outs to other companies you work with or who are in the neighborhood.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A strong brand is important because it sets you up to have strong relationships with your audience\u2014and your audience is full of potential customers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which flows conveniently into the next benefit of using social media.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4. Establish your brand as a thought leader<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every company wants to be recognized by current and potential customers as being at the forefront of their industry. Social media gives you a chance to actively demonstrate your brand\u2019s authority on a topic by curating content for your audience. You can do this by promoting your content on the right social media channels.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But you can\u2019t just post anything. To start becoming a thought leader, you should focus on niche relevant topics in your industry. Make sure that the content you produce is accurate and not misleading and that the content is engaging enough to stimulate active dialog about your brand and the topic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This can be easier said than done, and the types of posts will need to be tailored to each platform. This can be tough to do with limited characters, such as on Twitter, but you can always link to a blog post on your website.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another option is to demonstrate your brand\u2019s leadership with content directly on the platform. By using a social media platform like LinkedIn, your brand will have ample space for longer and thought-provoking content. If you can demonstrate real authority as a thought leader in your field, your customers will<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/business.linkedin.com\/marketing-solutions\/blog\/best-practices--thought-leadership\/2017\/the-true-value-of-thought-leadership\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> better <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">trust your business<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5. Manage your reputation<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media is often a space where communication is unfiltered. On the web, people feel free to speak their minds. Whether <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketingcharts.com\/customer-centric\/customer-experience-83707\/attachment\/temkingroup-consumer-feedback-following-good-and-bad-experiences-june2018\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">good or bad<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, customers are as likely to share their experiences with those in their offline and online circles. The ability for a bad customer experience to blow up and become viral can be potentially off-putting for any business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But instead of fearing the fallout of social media, use your direct line of communication to your audience for good. Make use of active social listening to monitor all tags and mentions of your brand on each social media channel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"rc-bottom-cta rc-bottom-cta__landscape\" style=\"background-color:#FF8800;flex-direction: row-reverse;\">\n<div class=\"bottom-cta-img\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"930\" height=\"700\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/manandwomanlaughing.jpg\" class=\"responsive-image\" alt=\"Social media ...\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"bottom-cta-copy\">\n<div class=\"rc-bottom-cta__text\" style=\"color:ffffff;\">\n<h3\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"rc-bottom-cta__title headline-copy\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>Social media best practices for 2021: Tips for each platform<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"rc-bottom-cta__btn-wrapper\" style=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"btn btn-primary btn-lg rc-bottom-cta__link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttitle=\"Read the Blog\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/social-media-best-practices\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-name=\"Read the Blog\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-element=\"button\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-additional-info=\"bottom cta banner\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-no-auto-dl=\"true\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tonmouseover=\"\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tonmouseout=\"this.style.backgroundColor='';this.style.borderColor='';this.style.color='';\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>Read the Blog<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For small businesses who may not have a full-time social media marketer, employing the right tools to alert your company to any potential problems is vital. Having a communication plan for managing a potential social media crisis will help your business respond with quick action.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once a problem has been identified, do whatever you can to make it right. With any luck, a satisfied customer will update their followers on the situation. And a clever solution can be spun into a positive story that trends on your social media channels. Not only will you be managing your business\u2019s reputation on social media, but you can actually increase your brand awareness by generating and promoting content at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avoiding a crisis is one thing, but also be sure that when a customer posts online about a good experience it doesn\u2019t go unnoticed. When someone has nice things to say about your brand, give them a reply and share the positive vibes with your audience.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\" style=\"padding-top: 20px;\"><a id=\"two\"><\/a>It allows you to connect with your customers directly<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6. Reach the younger generations<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While traditional advertising is still very much alive, research is showing that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.adweek.com\/brand-marketing\/as-gen-z-reshapes-the-social-media-landscape-marketers-need-to-be-open-to-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gen Z is responding less and less to it<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Gen Z refers to those born between the mid- to late-1990s to the early to mid-2010s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may sound like Gen Z is too young to be important when it comes to potential customers, but a large part of them are actually in their 20s. (We did the math.) Meaning they\u2019ve been buying from businesses for quite some time now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And of course, you won\u2019t be limited to Gen Z either. On social media, your business is able to reach customers of all ages.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7. Level up your customer service<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As more companies provide customer service on social media, more consumers begin to expect that to be the standard for all businesses. It&#8217;s now just a part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-experience\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer experience<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sproutsocial.com\/insights\/data\/q2-2016\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sprout Social Index<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> showed that 90% of surveyed customers had used social media to communicate with a brand. That\u2019s no small amount.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While it does involve a time commitment on your end, it\u2019s ultimately a win for both you and your customers. Why?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social customer service is a great opportunity to connect with your customers one-on-one and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/happy-customers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">make them happy.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For one, you already have a leg up on more traditional forms of customer service that are done through the phone or email. People don\u2019t want to wait on hold for 30 minutes or have one tiny problem stretched out over a few days of emailing back and forth. (Which will probably help you keep up your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-retention-rate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer retention rate<\/a>.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/digital-customer-engagement.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RingCentral Engage Digital\u2122<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can help you manage customer service on all of your social media channels from one place! Social customer service is appealing because response times are quicker and problems get solved faster. So, it\u2019s key that you\u2019re checking for inquiries at least once a day. (Ideally, it\u2019d be much more often than that.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But what happens when you\u2019re too busy to handle the customer support work? Or maybe there\u2019s a question you may not know the answer to, but someone else on the team does.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is where a messaging platform can come in handy. You can use it to message your team in real time and work together to get to the bottom of customer questions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/teams\/overview.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RingCentral<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is one that you can use on both a computer and your phone:<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2149\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2149\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.glip.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2149 size-large\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image7-10-1024x603.png\" alt=\"RingCentral Desktop and Mobile App for team messaging\" width=\"840\" height=\"495\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2149\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Instant-message each other, share files, and create channels and teams for specific projects\u2014like handling customer service inquiries.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes, people will ask you a question on the public side of your social media channels (like comments and tweets) rather than through private messages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is a great opportunity to not only help someone out, but also show prospects how you interact with your customers. Showing how personable and helpful your brand is will go a long way in making your prospects feel comfortable about trying your product or service out\u2014and making your customers feel good about supporting you.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">8. Gather <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-feedback\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">customer feedback<\/a> the easy way<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having a presence on social media creates an accessible space for customers to share their feedback with you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of this will come through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-review-examples\/\">customer reviews<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/customer-support\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> customer support<\/a> conversations, but some if it will simply pop up in comments and direct messages from your community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a bonus, it\u2019s those same comments left on your posts that\u2019ll act as social proof for your brand and your products.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is social proof? Think of it as testimonials.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Potential customers might be unsure if they want to take the plunge and buy something from your business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If they see that other people have done the same and had positive things to say about it, it\u2019ll help them trust your brand and your products. In fact, studies show that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bizrateinsights.com\/resources\/shopper-survey-report-the-impact-reviews-have-on-consumers-purchase-decisions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">92% of online consumers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will look at product reviews before making a purchase.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9. Tune in to your audience with social listening<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social listening is basically the act of monitoring conversations on social media that involve your brand specifically or topics relating to your brand (such as keywords and competitors).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why is it important? It helps you tune in to your audience\u2019s wants and needs, giving you insight about things they like or challenges they may be struggling with. Can you help them solve that problem?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This will help you create content you know your audience actually wants\u2014and that\u2019s social media gold. Plus, you\u2019ll save yourself a lot of guesswork and time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And if you want to stay one step ahead of your competitors, social media listening helps you keep a pulse on the current trends in your industry, which will keep your content ideas fresh and inspired.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to take things up a notch, there are tools to help. We\u2019re talking dashboards set up with trends that matter in your industry or direct comparisons with your competitors to see who is getting more mentions. You could always start with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mention.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mention<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014it\u2019s free.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2150\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2150\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2150 size-large\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image6-10-1024x678.png\" alt=\"Mention, a social media monitoring and management tool\" width=\"840\" height=\"556\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2150\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mention is a social listening tool that helps businesses monitor and analyze conversations happening around their brand and in their industry.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oh, another thing, you might be thinking that you\u2019ll definitely see all mentions of your brand on social media anyways, because you get notifications for them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not exactly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While for the most part people will tag you when they mention you, it\u2019s not always the case. Sometimes people might just mention your brand by name without actually tagging (@-ing) any of your accounts. Which means you wouldn\u2019t get notifications for these messages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to do active social listening. Every mention of your brand, tagged or not, is an opportunity for you to leave a positive impression of your business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make it a habit to do some social listening once a day to keep up to date on what\u2019s happening around your brand and in your industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And don\u2019t forget to sync up your social media tools with your company\u2019s communications platform. Having everything streamlined in one place will ensure that all your customer inquiries get answered quickly and that none of them fall through the cracks. You could try something like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/ca\/en\/engage\/channels.html#social\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RingCentral<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for that.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10. Build brand loyalty<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building brand loyalty is a key task for any thriving business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What exactly is brand loyalty? It\u2019s when people strongly prefer one brand over its competitors (with or without a good reason).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re wondering what that looks like, think of Coca-Cola and Pepsi.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We all know someone who has drank Coca-Cola all their life and only Coca-Cola. Or someone who specifically requests Pepsi at every restaurant and will refuse to drink Coca-Cola as a substitute. Now that\u2019s brand loyalty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are a few ways to go about building brand loyalty. Think of it as making a new friend.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Call us jaded, but it\u2019s usually easier to make friends with those who come with friend perks. So offer special promo codes or discounts to your followers. Using codes that you only give out on social media will give them that aura of exclusivity\u2014and keep your social media audience more engaged.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can even go beyond promos and discounts and give away freebies. These can be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.printful.com\/merchandise-on-demand\">branded merchandise<\/a> such as shirts or lanyards, or small products from your shop. If you sell a service and not a product, you could offer sampler versions of your services, like a consultation or a trial.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, make sure to stick with inexpensive freebies, especially if you\u2019ll be giving them out often.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have conversations with these new friends to keep building on those relationships. Use your social media channels to ask open-ended questions your audience can reply to. And don\u2019t forget to reply to them! These personal, meaningful interactions may seem small, but they go a long way.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">11. Curate customer content<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brands and customers alike love customer content. You\u2019ve probably seen this before, in the form of photos and stories about your brand shared by your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/happy-customers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">happy customers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Luckily, social media is full of customer content that comes in steadily without brands having to ask for it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can catch wind of these through your tags and mentions. (And if you do social listening, you\u2019ll even catch anything that wasn\u2019t tagged.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another way to collect customer content is by playing the hashtag game. Be warned though\u2014many brands fail at this; few succeed. Starting a hashtag is no easy feat, and you never know when something will flop (or go viral). If you do have a brand hashtag that people use (congratulations!), you can also discover customer content just by searching it<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2151\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2151\" style=\"width: 695px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2151\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image9-8.png\" alt=\"Destination British Columbia instagram page\" width=\"695\" height=\"186\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2151\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Destination British Columbia uses the hashtag #exploreBC to encourage people to share photos of their experiences in BC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2152\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2152\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2152 size-large\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image3-15-841x1024.png\" alt=\"Tourists and locals posts IG pictures and videos using the #explorebc hashtag to share their BC experiences\" width=\"840\" height=\"1023\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2152\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">There are tons of photos of tourists and locals alike enjoying all that BC has to offer\u2014a bottomless well of user-generated content that Destination British Columbia could use.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, now that you have all this customer content, what do you do with it? Share it, of course!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can share a photo here and there on your channels whenever you need content, or you can use them for a marketing campaign. Just be sure to ask people for permission if you\u2019d like to repost their content.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">12. Keep your customers in the know<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is a huge advantage of social media marketing that is easily overlooked.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media is the fastest and easiest way to keep your customers and prospects updated on your business. What other immediate way is there to let them know about sales, upcoming events, giveaways, new products and everything else?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Updates through word of mouth, shop signs, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/email-marketing-examples\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">email marketing<\/a> just don\u2019t have the same ease and reach as social media.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\" style=\"padding-top: 20px;\"><a id=\"three\"><\/a>It brings in more people and more revenue<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">13. Drive traffic to your website, online shop, or blog<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media marketing is a great help with driving more people to your site.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your Instagram post showing off new products could bring people to your online shop to have a closer look. The Twitter thread you shared on kitchen-cleaning hacks might encourage people to see if they can find more useful tips on your website.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How do they get there? You guide the way with neat, shortened links.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Instagram, you can\u2019t include clickable links in the post captions, so throw your website link up in the bio and make sure to tell people it&#8217;s there. Twitter, Facebook, and most other social media platforms don\u2019t have that limitation, so you can just include your links at the end of your posts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, when we say links, we don\u2019t mean: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">www.yourcompany.com\/shop\/collections\/new-arrivals\/hey-look\/its-the-longest-link-in-the-world<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s a bit of an eyesore, and that\u2019s not even close to the worst of them!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s why link-shortening tools like <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bitly<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are so useful. They\u2019ll take a long URL and make it more pleasing to the eye by making it shorter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More traffic is always a good thing. Just keep an eye on what you\u2019re posting and how often, so that you\u2019re not constantly trying to get people to your site. They might start to ignore your posts or even get annoyed about being overly promoted to.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">14. Generate audience engagement<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With social media, you can source content for your business in a variety of ways. But one of those is to encourage your customers to create it for you! And since <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wedevs.com\/141859\/user-generated-content-campaigns\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">60% of consumers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have more trust in posts from other customers, there isn\u2019t a good excuse for your company to ignore user-generated content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because you have a direct line to your customers through social networks, you can simply ask them what it is they desire or would like to see in the future. Make sure your customer service team is quick to reply! Use <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/digital-customer-engagement.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RingCentral Engage Digital<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to make it easy for your busy team to monitor interactions on all of your customer communication channels, including social media.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And of course, you can also employ social listening tools to monitor what your target audience is talking about when discussing your products and services. With customer knowledge in-hand, you can give your customers what they want, and expect better-performing social media posts as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another option to employ your customers as part of your content marketing campaign is to create a contest. Your social media department can choose the winning posts and share them with your followers. A giveaway is nice, but there doesn\u2019t even have to be an award for winning. Many users feel rewarded just by seeing their posts shared with a much larger audience than they could reach normally!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You will want to make sure your marketing team comes up with a good hashtag to monitor user activity. Apple has used the #ShotoniPhone hashtag to great success. Besides promoting a large amount of user-generated content, the campaign has helped to solidify the iPhone camera as one of its best features:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-47813\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Screen-Shot-2021-05-24-at-11.56.55-AM-1024x434.png\" alt=\"shotoniphone example - photo of lac de chalaine\" width=\"1024\" height=\"434\" \/><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">15. Go viral (maybe)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Going viral is rare, but without social media it would be nearly impossible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It starts with your followers liking and commenting on your post. They might even send it to their friends or share it on their own social media channels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your content is now exposed to a new audience\u2014and potentially their friends and followers too. As this continues, your content spreads across the internet and eventually, the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s no one kind of viral post. We\u2019ve seen all sorts of things go viral.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might remember the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. It was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/social-media-campaign-planning\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">social media campaign<\/a> started to raise awareness for the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s how it worked: each person had to dump a bucket of ice water over their head and then challenge a friend to do the same. Eventually everyone was doing it, even celebrities.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2153\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2153\" style=\"width: 795px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2153 size-large\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image4-15-795x1024.png\" alt=\"Kim Kardashian's Ice Bucket Challenge with Ellen DeGeneres\" width=\"795\" height=\"1024\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2153\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ellen DeGeneres helps Kim Kardashian do the Ice Bucket Challenge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the other side of things, there was the \u201cDumb Ways to Die\u201d video to promote safety around trains. Metro Trains Melbourne made a cute animated video and a catchy tune to go along with it showing a bunch of silly ways to kick the bucket.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-presentation\" title=\"Dumb Ways to Die\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IJNR2EpS0jw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The great thing about going viral is that you can get a ton of exposure with relatively little effort. Your audience is doing the work for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That being said, your main goal shouldn\u2019t be to go viral\u2014when it does happen, it\u2019s often unexpected and doesn\u2019t happen frequently. And there\u2019s no step-by-step guide or secret formula to it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Focusing on creating quality content will benefit your brand the most. Think of going viral as an extra bonus.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">16. Gain valuable insights<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media will allow your company to gain valuable insights into many aspects of your business. As mentioned before, active social listening will give you valuable feedback and aid sentiment analysis. This real-time data can be used to spur action almost immediately. When paired with <a href=\"https:\/\/napoleoncat.com\/blog\/social-media-analytics-tools\/\">social media analytics tools<\/a>, it can help your brand improve its content and increase customer engagement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By gauging the sentiment around your brand, too, you can tailor and adapt your marketing strategies. This will help you widen the net of your social accounts and expand your audience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can also look to improve your brand\u2019s image and that of your products and services via customer feedback. By having one-to-one interactions with your customers, you will be able to identify the areas in your business most in need of improvement. And fix common issues with your service <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">before<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> losing customers. Again, by aggregating these interactions with each platform\u2019s analytics tools, you will be able to gain insight to allow for smarter business decisions. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">17. Keep an eye on the competition<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Any business, large or small, can benefit from information on its competitors. Your company is probably already monitoring your brand\u2019s interactions on its various social media platforms. But what about your competitors?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By using effective social listening, your business can keep up to date with the latest events in your industry. And even more specifically, just what is going on with your rivals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everything on social media is open and transparent, so it\u2019s not exactly like you are spying. It\u2019s all there in plain view. To not take advantage would be folly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You and your team just need to have the right tactics in place. The next time a competitor is in the headlines, your company can find an angle to engage in the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s say you\u2019re an eCommerce store that sells craft beer directly to the consumer. It\u2019s December, and everyone is trying to get their order in for the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/this-holiday-season-delight-customers-who-call-your-contact-center\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">holidays<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thanks to your active social listening tactics, you pick up on a competitor\u2019s recent struggle to fulfill orders in time for Christmas. In real time, your team can act quickly and take control of the conversation. You provide a solution to the spurned consumers by offering not only to deliver in time for the holidays but also offering a promo discount via a link in your social media posts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this instance, you would gain new and loyal customers. But you would also be able to take control of a social conversation and increase brand awareness, as well as your authority in the craft beer industry. You could also expect to see many positive social media posts about how your brand gave a superior <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/customer-survey\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">customer experience<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">18. Evaluate your performance<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As mentioned previously, effective monitoring of your social media accounts involves tools that help you listen to the conversations around your brand. But you can also easily monitor how well your content is performing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each platform supplies its own information and metrics like clicks, likes, shares, and more. This makes it easy to see which posts are performing the best and which ones didn\u2019t strike a chord with your customers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a platform like RingCentral will help you monitor your <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">social channel<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> performance by having all of your platform analytics available in one place. Your contact team can seamlessly move from one task to another from the same screen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media analytics also make it easy to segment your audience. You will get a clearer picture of engagement metrics that help you produce curated content for your different customer bases.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are promoting your brand via advertising campaigns on social media, too, you will be able to conduct super easy A\/B testing for generating leads and conversions. Use real-time data to hone and craft your advertising for its targeted audience. This optimization will save your business money by increasing the amount of leads gained per ad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">19. Drive conversions<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A conversion is when a visitor to your website completes a desired action. That action can be something like completing a purchase or filling out a form.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The exact conversion type will depend on your business goals. Some common conversion types include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Online sales<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Email sign-ups<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Quote requests<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Event RSVPs<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, let&#8217;s say you have an in-store event coming up that you\u2019d like to collect RSVPs for. You might post about it on Facebook a few weeks out to let people know what\u2019s happening and to encourage them to register. At the end of your post, you\u2019d include a link that\u2019ll direct them to the event RSVP page on your website. They\u2019ll have a look at the page and maybe register\u2014and there\u2019s your conversion!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The more traffic you have, the more likely you are to get visitors to convert. So by using social media to guide people to your site, you\u2019ll be increasing your conversions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A simple trick to help make those conversions happen is to add a call-to-action, also known as a CTA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A CTA is a statement that prompts your visitor to take immediate action. So pretty much exactly what you\u2019d expect from something called a \u201ccall-to-action\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CTAs can look quite different but still be effective. It comes down to what action you want people to take and your brand tone of voice.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2155\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2155\" style=\"width: 695px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2155\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image8-11.png\" alt=\"Unbounce offers Free Trial on its landing page builder\" width=\"695\" height=\"357\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2155\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Unbounce prompts their website visitors to take their product for a spin with a \u201cStart My Free Trial\u201d CTA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2156\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2156\" style=\"width: 673px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2156\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image5-13.png\" alt=\"Manpacks encouraging people to \u201cBuild A Manpack\u201d of their own\" width=\"673\" height=\"376\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2156\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Manpacks get creative with their CTA, encouraging people to \u201cBuild A Manpack\u201d of their own.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">20. Use #s to get more eyes on your brand<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A unique advantage of social media marketing is the hashtag integration. We\u2019ve touched on hashtags briefly before, but let\u2019s dive a little deeper into this neat feature.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The hashtag is a simple, yet powerful way to connect people with like-minded interests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By using existing hashtags or creating your own, you can expand your reach beyond your own community.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They\u2019re easy to use, so why not try it out? Especially when they work so well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tweets with hashtags get <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.quicksprout.com\/ultimate-guide-to-hashtags\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">twice the amount of engagement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (clicks, retweets, favorites, and replies) compared to those without.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But how do you pick which ones to use?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, take a look at the platform you\u2019re posting on to see how many hashtags you should use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Twitter, throwing a ton of hashtags into a post clutters your main message and is bad for engagement. One or two hashtags is the way to go, with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.quicksprout.com\/ultimate-guide-to-hashtags\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">anything higher dropping your engagement down 17%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Stick to one to two hashtags for Facebook as well (and make sure you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/facebook-audience-optimization\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">optimize your audiences<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram is where you\u2019ll see the most hashtag use. Eleven hashtags is the sweet spot, with a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.quicksprout.com\/ultimate-guide-to-hashtags\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">79.5% interaction rate<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, see what hashtags are popular.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look at what\u2019s trending and see which of those hashtags could apply to your content. They can be location-specific or industry-specific.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, there might be a marathon happening in your city. As a major event, it\u2019ll probably have it\u2019s own hashtag. Let\u2019s say it\u2019s #MegaMarathon. You can use that same hashtag in your posts to reach that audience. So if you\u2019re a cafe, you might post something like \u201cIn town for the #MegaMarathon? Come by for a cozy coffee with a great view of the track.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can also look at what hashtags influencers in your industry are using. If it\u2019s working for them, then it could work for you.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a021. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paid advertising options<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Getting onto social media and engaging with your customers costs nothing. There are so many benefits to your business from organic social media posting and social listening tactics. However, for some businesses, a paid advertising campaign can be a great way to capitalize on the opportunity afforded by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/social-media-best-practices\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">social media marketing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each platform will have different advertising capabilities, so it\u2019s best to have a content marketing strategy in place before looking at social media ads. Keep in mind that social media platforms will help your business generate leads from customers who may not find your business otherwise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think about who these customers are, and better yet, take a look at your platform\u2019s analytics and find what customer segments you are missing with organic content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Solutions like Facebook Ads will only reach those who fall into your defined audience. This can include demographics, geography, language, and online behavior. What you get is a higher click rate for your money than standard advertising. With paid ads, the quality of the leads will be improved. By marketing only to the groups you want, you also spend less on your advertising budget.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0205\/9582\/files\/heat_600x400.jpg?v=1591262196\" alt=\"Extreme Speed\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take Ooni, for example. Ooni was founded by a husband-and-wife team in 2012. They created a portable pizza oven for households of all sizes. And by using Facebook Ads for Black Friday, they saw spending returns of almost <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/business\/success\/ooni#\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">two and half times<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that from the previous year!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can maximize your social media ads by making sure potential customers get to a landing page with a call-to-action button in just one click. The chances are that a user who clicks a targeted ad believes they have found what they are looking for. So don\u2019t let the opportunity slip.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">22. Retargeting<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re an eCommerce retailer, you are well aware of the real problem that is cart abandonment. In fact, according to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/baymard.com\/lists\/cart-abandonment-rate\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Baymard Institute<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the average cart abandonment rate across all industries is 70 percent! And it is costing businesses upwards of 18 billion dollars in revenue each year!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No doubt, your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/top-tips-for-increasing-sales-on-your-ecommerce-site\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eCommerce<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> shop has implemented strategies like promo codes, exit-intent pop-ups, email cart reminders, and more. And all of those tactics can help. But did you stop to think about using social media to tackle those abandoned purchases?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your business is already campaigning with Facebook Ads, consider using a tracking tool like the Facebook Pixel. Trackers will log a potential customer\u2019s interaction with your website. This will help your social media ads find these customers and remind them about your brand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The online studio and eCommerce shop, Craftsy, made use of these dynamic ads to retarget their website leavers. They found the campaign to be a great success with a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/business\/success\/craftsy\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">50 percent<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> increase in incremental sales!<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">23. Influencer marketing<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are so many different options when it comes to social media best practices. Some businesses stand to gain even more from paid advertising that involves social media <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/how-the-leading-influencer-marketing-platform-keeps-content-flowing-and-marketers-happy-during-covid-19\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">influencers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Paid influencer marketing can lift your brand awareness and help you better reach specific segments of your target market.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it comes to appealing to hip members of your target audience, like Gen Zs, influencers can be the top-of-the-sale funnel hooks for your potential customers. And no place is better for sponsored posts with social media influencers than <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bigcommerce.com\/blog\/influencer-marketing-statistics\/#10-most-important-influencer-marketing-statistics-for-2020\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.emarketer.com\/content\/influencer-marketing-and-instagram-stories-a-perfect-marriage\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">third<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of paid influencer marketing on Instagram takes place in IG stories. At least a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/civicscience.com\/1-5th-of-american-consumers-have-made-a-purchase-based-on-an-influencer\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">quarter<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Facebook and Twitter users have made a purchase based on an influencer recommendation. Influencers, too, can have a positive impact on customer spending from all levels of income.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use these three simple questions to help guide you when finding an influencer to fit your brand:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are they relevant?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A relevant influencer will have a similar audience to your target market. Or they will at least have a significant crossover of followers with your brand\u2019s account. It should go without saying, but the content already produced by the influencer should be relevant to your business.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do they have reach?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A good candidate for an influencer campaign will be able to reach your target audience, big or small. It\u2019s not always about the largest number of followers but the type that fits your campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are they engaging?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your brand will want to partner with an influencer that receives a lot of engagement from their followers. A micro-influencer with an active but smaller following or 5,000 to 25,000 fans can <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tapinfluence.com\/influencers-micro-macro\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">produce higher quality leads<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than one with a larger number of followers.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">24. Level up your SEO<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Search engine algorithms are constantly evolving. When it comes to optimizing your website, it is not an exact science. No doubt, your business has spent time and money crafting on-page SEO for its various online channels. But did you know that social media can help you appear in more relevant searches?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employing an effective social media marketing strategy can actually boost your rankings in Google and other search engines. It accomplishes SEO improvement indirectly. When your social media posts generate more visits to your blog or eCommerce site, you can increase your brand\u2019s presence via traffic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your social media posts will not show up in any kind of SEO improvement. However, research has shown that there is a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/cognitiveseo.com\/blog\/11903\/social-signals-seo-influence\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">direct correlation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> between social media shares and site rank.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.cognitiveseo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Social-Signals-Influence-SEO--1024x570.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means that it is important to produce <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/10-tips-mixing-social-media-content\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">engaging content<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for your audience. The better curated social media content you produce, the more likely it will be shared. Use your monitoring tools to improve the quality of your business posts. You will increase your reach on social media platforms, but you will be doubling the positive results by also improving your website rank.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\" style=\"padding-top: 20px;\">Now, for the disadvantages<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the advantages of social media generally outweigh the disadvantages, there are a few things to keep in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You could receive negative feedback<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being on social media opens your business up to all kinds of feedback\u2014good and bad.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There will always be naysayers or people who are looking to damage reputations. But they\u2019re usually few and far between, and it\u2019s not worth giving up all the benefits of social media simply to avoid them.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can be time-consuming<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A strong social media presence is an active one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You need to post consistently to grow your following and your engagement. Aim for one post a day as a baseline to keep your channels active. If you have time to do more, then go for it!<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2157\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2157\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2157 size-large\" src=\"\/us\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/image2-14-1024x951.png\" alt=\"ClassPass posts tweets about new classes and health &amp; wellness topics\" width=\"840\" height=\"780\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2157\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">ClassPass keeps their Twitter feed active by posting regularly about new classes and health &amp; wellness.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just make sure you keep it up. If you post a few times and then go quiet for a few months, you\u2019ll probably see your follower count drop.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to posting regularly, you need to always be engaging with your audience. Liking their comments, answering questions, and being a part of the community you\u2019re building are very important aspects of social media. (And this is why many businesses hire social media managers\u2014it\u2019s tough to do this on your own, especially when you have other things on your plate.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can make things a little bit less time-consuming with the help of social media management tools like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/buffer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buffer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hootsuite.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hootsuite<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sproutsocial.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sprout Social<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measuring results can be difficult<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you put so much time and effort into your social media, you want to know it\u2019s making an impact.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media comments, likes, and shares are simple to measure. But at a certain point, you\u2019ll wonder if those things are actually making any difference when it comes to your bottom line. That\u2019s the tricky part.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And you\u2019re not alone. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/rebelmicro.weebly.com\/uploads\/8\/5\/8\/7\/8587486\/2015socialmarketingtrendsreporttrustradius.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sixty percent of brands<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> find that their biggest struggle on social media is successfully measuring their return on investment (ROI).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can be difficult to trace an exact path from someone who sees a social media posts of yours and someone who makes a purchase. But there are things you can track.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When someone makes a purchase on your website, you should be able to see which part of your website they came from using <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lovesdata.com\/blog\/navigation-paths\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Analytics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It tracks the path users take once they\u2019re on your website and can show you how long they spend on each page or where they\u2019re engaging the most.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And when you look at that page on your website, you can see how people got there. Some of those people will have come from your Facebook or maybe your Instagram page.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But before you get into all that, figure out what exactly you want your ROI to be. It could be an increase in home renovation quote requests on your website. Or it could be an increase in sales for your craft store. You can find more details on how to define your social media ROI <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sproutsocial.com\/insights\/social-media-roi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While it may all seem hazy at times, there are definitely ways to see the payoff from your social media efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading h2\" style=\"padding-top: 20px;\"><a id=\"four\"><\/a>Despite the challenges, let\u2019s not forget the biggest benefit of social media:<\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"heading h3\" style=\"color: #434343; padding-top: 15px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">25. It\u2019s free<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, it does take time, which is arguably the most valuable asset we have. But when it comes to cold, hard cash\u2014nada.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social media platforms are free to join and free to post on. Plus, most of the social media management tools out there have free versions you can use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So with this many (15!) benefits, why not give social media a go? Learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/small-business\/blog\/social-media-best-practices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">social media best practices here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Updated May 2021 Social media can seem overwhelming, especially when you\u2019re a small business. It\u2019s kind of like extra time you have to put in when you already have so many other things to do.\u00a0 But with 3.5 billion people using social media, it\u2019s a fast and inexpensive way to reach almost half the world\u2019s &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":47425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17901],"tags":[254,1805,17948],"class_list":["post-40883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-leadership","tag-marketing","tag-social-media","tag-social-media-benefits"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.3 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>25 benefits of social media that sometimes get overlooked | RingCentral Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why should a small business use social media? Is it worth your time? Here are the top benefits of social media that you might not be taking advantage of.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/us\/en\/blog\/benefits-of-social-media\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"25 benefits of social media that sometimes get overlooked\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why should a small business use social media? Is it worth your time? 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