The power of social media proven

Social media has a massive impact on businesses

Social media is growing faster than any other medium that came before it, such as television, radio etc. According to Go-Gulf, 27% of the time spent online is spent on social networking.

With 85% of the Internet users having a Facebook account and 49% of them having a Twitter account, it is clear that social media can be used to reach a wide variety of audiences. Social media is good for business as it produces almost double the marketing leads when compared to other marketing methods such as PPC, Telemarketing etc.

Approximately 50% of marketers believe that social media has helped them improve sales, while 60% of online consumers follow or give feedback to brands and businesses through social media sites.

                                          

Nearly all marketers (95%+) who have employed social media marketing for two years or longer report it generates exposure for their businesses, this is according to Social Media Examiner.

For an infographic that gives in-depth information concerning the power and influence social media has on businesses, log on to Go-Gulf.

4 MOST CONDUCIVE SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS FOR BUSINESS

4 Important social media networks for businesses

Social media has become one the of the most important communication tools for PR practitioners and marketers. This is mainly because of its ability to create interactive and personalised relationships between the business and its stakeholders. The following are the 4 most important platforms for any kind of business.

At the forefront we have Facebook with 903 million users. It has been found that 67% of adult Internet users have Facebook accounts, this is according to Techcrunch. This makes it easy for businesses to reach their stakeholders. With a Facebook account, one can upload video, images, links to articles and post text, thus making it easy to communicate better with audiences.

Source: www.ethicalsocialmedia.com

Google plus follows with 343 million users. Businesses can use this network to interact with other businesses and stakeholders through the use of hangouts and circles. Like Facebook, this also allows the uploading of content such as images, video, audio and text.

Source: www.allthingsd.com

Number 3 on the list is Twitter with 288 million users. One can post content known as tweets of 140 characters or less. The ability to re tweet and reply to tweets increases interaction. Hash tags are important, they help increase traffic and including them after tweets will help your content show up in search queries and maximise your exposure.

Source: www.glam-dairy.blogspot.com

Last but not least is Instagram with 100 million users and 40 million images uploaded daily. This is a great way of showing off your products and services. To give your business a personal look, you can post images of your headquarters as well your employees in action.

Source: www.blackberryed.com

Social media has proved its ability to influence better business relationships, and with Facebook as the leader, the other networks can also enhance the relationships formed. Using multiple social media networks can help reach a wider targeted audience.