As a start up, it’s easiest to reach out to your target market through a combination of social media sites. Even though traditional methods might be helping to you garner attention, social media comes with other benefits as well.
Here are few reasons you should be using social media as a start-up success tool:
1. Gaining visibility
We live in the times where social media has evolved greatly and gaining visibility through social media is one of the most important objectives every start-up should have. With a thoroughly constructed social media strategy spread across all important social media platforms, gaining visibility and spreading goodwill amongst different sets of people is a piece of cake.
2. Social Media Marketing is the new marketing
With traditional methods of marketing slowly going out of trend and social media marketing catching up, every start-up should instantly know which way they want to go. Social media platforms such as Facebook thrive on ads which are designed to attract a large number of people. What is unique about such methods are that you can make sure that the designed message reaches only your target group which you can classify in terms of age, gender, location, likes/dislikes etc. Hence, for a more targeted marketing, social media is the option every start-up should look to tap.
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3. Saving money on customer service
Building a website or a Facebook/Twitter page to handle complaints and issues of the customers is a cost-effective method as your social media manager can double up as your customer service representative. Also, you ability to address and respond to complaints makes or breaks your start-up’s initial reputation.
For example, companies like HDFC have a different Twitter page only to address complaints.
Dominoes has also been known to respond to customer complaints very well via social media.
4. Lead generation
The ability to grow according to the market you want to cater to helps you in generating leads. To be able to take control conversations which ultimately lead to lead generation, a start-up should educate and provide solutions to the problems people are facing.
For instance, before Xiaomi launched its first phone in 2011, they created a forum called MIUI OS and turned their first few buyers into loyal advocates by calling them “MI fans” on the portal. The portal soon became lively with all the discussions and feedback from MI fans which garnered attention from non-users as well. As a result, Xiaomi sells more than Apple in China currently.
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5. Helps you build an online community of brand ambassadors
Every successful market requires human connect and you can achieve this by appointing a band of social media influencers. Calling them brand ambassadors will make them happy and in return, they will provide your start-up with much required exposure on social media forums helping it build into a big brand.
For instance, Zomato hires campus ambassadors from colleges who promote Zomato through various social media sites. This in turn provides Zomato with a great reputation through influential platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
6. Gives you a chance to experiment
While it’s always easier to go by the tried and tested conventional methods, don’t be afraid to experiment with social media. Using the same techniques will soon seem monotonous to your followers. Instead, think out of the box and go for crazy ideas like making a Vine or a snazzy snap story to catch attention quicker and gain attention for a longer period.
Image credit: eetme.de
