10 REASONS, WHY AFRICAN BUSINESSES NEED TO EMBRACE SOCIAL MEDIA?

The date was December 2010 when I got myself signed up on Twitter a platform that was completely new to my life. Little did I know that I was watching Gold but did not know how to dig it out. It’s not surprising that there are many individuals out there who actually have been through the same state. For the first two years I actually thought Social Media was a waste of time until I actually got my first job of process minding at a spirits production company in 2011.

If Social Media has tremendous benefits for individuals, imagine what it could do for your business organization. Whether your business is small or a large organization, Social media has vast opportunities to offer. However it’s quite visible that African business organizations have not yet fully tapped into the power of Social web. Looking at the world’s large corporations and manufacturers like IBM, Samsung, Apple, Sony and Dell have all hired Social Media experts to include social web tools into their business operations. The Ten reasons include the following;

1.     Strengthening Customer Relationships Gone are the days when customers used to move physically to the product stores to register their queries about a specific service or product. On top of long snail lines at the offices, the response time from the customer care team would always delay due to the high numbers of clients. Today a business that has social media visibility is able to solve their customer issues faster and effectively.

2.     Meaningful Feed Back and Engagement Clients hate to operate with organizations that under looks their feedback on the services provided and products sold to them. Social media will enable the business to respond to customer feedback and this will increase engagement between the business and its customers. Engagement creates customer sustainability.

 

3.     Cost Reduction in Market Research Social media tools have the power to monitor the engagements between the business and its stake holders who belong to the community. Here the decisions to improve on a product or actually to create a new one will entirely depend on the experiences of customers that they share through Social Media. Your customers, suppliers and stake holders are the new source of future innovations and marketing hence drivers of long-term growth and success.

 

4.     Global Visibility Organizations that have fully inculcated the Social media tools in the daily business operations spend less on global ambassadors to represent their interests. With the Social web presence all details about a business and its operations can be found in one place. The global presence of the web makes Social Media the new global market. Social networking allows you to reach a wide audience. Consumers are increasingly reliant on technology and social media. By jumping into the social networking game, you keep your business current. Your business’s online profiles are likely to reach people who otherwise wouldn’t know about your company.

 

5.     Flexibility Online marketing through social sites gives you more flexibility in the type of promotion you do. Regular communication keeps your customers thinking about your business. You can send out information on special deals, general information or tips about your industry, company information and contests. The informal nature of the sites allows you to share things you wouldn’t with traditional print advertising.

 

6.     Increased Web Traffic Our social networking profiles provide a tool for driving traffic to your company’s main website. This is particularly beneficial for web-based companies who do most of their business virtually. Including your website address in your social networking profiles and mentioning it in your regular posts leads more people to visit it.

 7.     Hiring The Right People When you build an online presence for your company, you likely will reach potential employees who are savvy in social networking. The larger candidate pool of individuals with technology experience allows you to find the best candidates when you have openings. These individuals can then use their social networking skills to further promote the company online. LinkedIn is the best example of such a platform where experts can be found and contacted.

 8.     Branding  Social media aids in branding your company. The messages, photos and videos you post on your profile pages build an image of your company. Carefully planned posts that consistently carry the same tone and message build your company’s brand

 9.     Easier Referrals Word-of-mouth referrals from current, satisfied customers give you an option for gaining new clients. Technology makes it easier for your customers to share your information with their online friends and acquaintances. When your customers follow your profile online, they can refer it to their friends. When they post to your page or refer to your company, their friends see your information.

 10.  Timeliness  Social networking allows you to instantly send out information to your followers. Traditional marketing requires printing time and may only run a few times. You must plan out your marketing and promotions well in advance. With social media, you can post information immediately as the need arises.

 Sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube make social networking possible for business of all sizes and industries. These sites allow you to share written text, photos and videos with people who follow your business’s profile. When used consistently, social media helps you reach your current customers and potential clients quickly

 Contact and follow

Mwebya Fred (BSci.Finance)

P.O BOX 5431,KAMPALA UGANDA

             http://wwwitwitter.com/ugaman01

mwbyfred@gmail.com

             +256750061250