4 Ways Social Media Affects Our Business

Social media has changed everything. What’s more, it is hardly done. As social media becomes ever more pervasive we’re constantly discovering new ways that it can be used and realizing that old ways we were using it were only fads or not so very wise after all.

That means not only that social media has changed our cultural and business landscape but as it continues to evolve it continues to change how we’re interacting. No wonder so many articles are written about the subject!

It means business processes need to keep evolving

The first thing this means is that  almost as soon as articles are written they’re already outdated while those who don’t keep their finger on the pulse are often saying things about the state of affairs which are no longer relevant.

Social Media

Therefore, as a business you have to stay up to date and make sure that the sources you’re reading stay up to date as well. Equally important, it means that the strategy you use can’t stand still either. For a how different platforms are used changes, our strategies to use those platforms have to also evolve along with it.

For example, on Facebook you could get a lot of reach only a few years ago by building networks and using them to spread ‘viral’ posts and content. That really doesn’t work anymore and now if you want to be effective on the platform you’ll have to invest actual marketing dollars. Even the value of those marketing dollars is dropping, as more and more businesses clamor for the same amount of eyes.

Branding has become far more important

People now no longer just expect to buy a product. Instead, they expect to buy a story that comes along with it. This idea has its roots in the lifestyle revolution of the beginning of the 21stcentury when companies like Apple stopped simply selling computers and began to sell identities. If you had an Apple then you were this kind of a person. IF you didn’t, then you weren’t.

Though it might have started there, it very quickly indeed spread into social media, where it found its natural home. After all, social media is all about sharing stories – it doesn’t matter if they’re true or not (at least until recently).

That means that now it’s vital for a company to not just sell something physical but some idea as well. It’s become about giving your consumers something they can identify with. And social media is the place to build that identity.

Everything is being reviewed

For the longest time companies reputations existed as a nebulous concept that was only known by the people who regularly dealt with the companies, read magazines about the industry, or knew people who belonged in either of the last two categories.

Social media has changed that by allowing us to spread stories and review companies quicker than ever before. Everywhere there are review sites that we can consult, be it from Trip Advisor, Amazon or PickWriters - reviews for translation services, which grew out of this desire to share our experiences about the world and the products in it.

On the up side, it means that companies are now more accountable to their consumers. On the down side, it means that character assassination has become easier than it ever was. And though such companies supposedly have systems in place to prevent this kind of behavior, the 2016 election (and the drip drip revelation that Facebook was gamed) shows how flimsy these systems really are.

It allows business to engage with customers more quickly

One big change that social media has wrought on business is how quickly customers can give feedback to businesses and how quickly businesses can, in turn, respond to that feedback. This has both good and bad sides. On the good side, it rewards flexibility on the part of companies. Those that can turn on a dime and quickly change their behavior in response to feedback will be rewarded with loyalty from their customers and even positive news cycles.

On the negative sides, we can never know if a story will get legs or not. And when it does, that can be devastating – particularly as negative stories are far more likely to get attention than positive ones.

As a result, it is important for companies to stay on top of the news and what is going on so that they can respond to negative stories in a timely manner. As these stories can appear in a lot of places, this can be a lot of work. It’s both necessary to keep a watch on news channels and on review sites to see when you’ve experienced a negative news event. Then it will take careful consideration to see how you will react.

Only in that way can you shepherd your brand image through the storms and the negative interactions that accompany any business.

Last words

The truth is that the Wild West days of the internet are largely over. Where before small companies could easily gain nationwide attention simply by playing the game correctly, that’s a lot harder today. The reason is obvious. Companies are constantly trying to take advantage of the internet to launch themselves into national awareness and people have gleaned on to that. This has made them far more cynical.

Therefore, be aware that you now need a slick and well organized social media campaign in order to succeed. Unfortunately, you can’t really decide to avoid this field entirely as nowadays it’s expected that we have an online presence. To not have one is to not exist. This is particularly for the younger generation.

Of course, it’s not all bad news. You can still get a lot of positive attention if you play your cards correctly. It will take a lot of sustained effort, however. And one mistake can undermine all of that work. So make sure you have the right team in place who actually know what they’re doing.