Are businesses wasting their time with social media?

The world we live in is very online 'savvy' and technologically advanced and in my opinion, businesses are not wasting their time using social media platforms.  People are constantly on the internet, and even more so social media sites. Facebook alone has over 900 million users, and there are countless other social media tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+, to name a few. To back this up, I'm going to give you a few advantages and disadvantages (to keep things balanced) of using social media in businesses :)

With constant engagement and responding to customers, over time businesses will see an increase in revenue due to their online customer service/online presence.

For example: I do this all the time! it is so much easier for me to go onto twitter ask a company a quick question/find out what time they closing that specific day and get an answer. Instead of finding the number then calling the office. When you are on the 'go' like we PR professionals are all the time you want to do things quickly. 

Listening, engaging & interacting with customers in the 'social media globe' is the best way to keep them happy and dedicated to the business and the brand and will improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

Social media is an excellent outlet for improving a business's products and services by listening to what the customers have to say about them. Listening and engaging with customers will provide key insights about the quality of products and services and many times offer suggestions or recommendations to improve them.

Woolworths responding to their customers!

Social media can help leverage a business. By putting businesses brand out there across social media sites businesses gain exposure and more and more consumers will be more aware of the brand.

For example: Look at Woolworths, they are constantly updating their twitter, answering questions and interacting with their customers and people LOVE it! They have 58 106 followers loyal to the brand:) 

 

Sure, social media takes a lot of time and customers can openly complain or make nasty comments. However, it can be seen as constructive criticism and this cannot be ignored. If managed effectively one can immediately do damage control and respond and neutralize the situation. 

Social media may open possibility for hackers to commit illegal crime such as fraud, spam and virus attacks. But if the site is secured and managed correctly then no harm can actually be done!

If social media is managed effectively it can really benefit the organisation. Social media is here to stay so why should businesses not take advantage of that? 

Having a presence on a popular social network suggests to people that your business is on the cutting edge or at least is able to keep up with the changing times. Using social networking to promote your business has many advantages but also requires some dedication and work on the businesses part. 

So, I feel it is not a waste of time but I also feel that it should not be the only medium through which organizations communicate. Various target audiences have different needs and resources.