What’s the true value of social media?

As we transition into this digital age, what’s all this hype with social media? Does it really help? Is it worth the extra energy?

We often see that clients are apprehensive about adopting a social media strategy because they do not see its value; organizations are often judging a campaign based on direct monetary ROI or a list of new contacts. However, the value of social media goes beyond analytics or basic networking.

If you’re questioning why you’re spending time and money on social media when you’re not seeing these immediate ‘results’, here are five reasons why you should stick with it:

1)    You’re creating a brand and personality.

If you’re active on a variety of social media platforms and you’re publishing engaging content, more people will share your stuff and more people will see it as a result.

Social media lets you create dialogue with the customer; you can share videos on YouTube, tweet and share photos, and blog articles from the industry. Customers will actively create your brand identity for you by sharing your own content.

2)    You get to compete with bigger fish.

 Before social media, smaller and start-up organizations didn’t really stand a chance against corporate giants; there were always gaps in budget for advertising and creating brand awareness and loyalty.

Things are different with the digital age. Social media done correctly has just as much of a chance to go viral for smaller organizations as it does for larger ones.

3)    People like to look at things.

Your publics are more likely to engage with visual stimuli, such as videos, graphics and images, than plain content. Social media is quite possibly the simplest way to share visuals relating to your organization with old, new and potential customers.

4)    It generates web traffic.

 If you tell your publics how and where to find you on social media, you’re likely to drive significant amounts of traffic to your website. Those customers tell their friends about your site, and before you know it there’s a wealth of new people directing their attention to your content. The best part about social media is that a little effort will take your organization a long way.

5)    It’s cost effective.

Compared to costs for various types of advertising, social media is without a doubt a great deal. Even splurging on tools like promoted content won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

(Image source: http://maziermedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/SocialMediaIconcollage.png)