If you ask yourself “Do I need social media?”, the answer is Do you want to be where your customers are?

In today’s world full of new media and digital communication technologies, companies of all sizes and industries have a huge opportunity to spread their messages using social media.

Social media has the potential to attract and catch the attention of a vast number of people, especially those who are not paying attention to traditional media anymore and it can be used as a brand awareness strategy as well as a lead generation tool. The following are some other benefits available to your company through the use of social media:

• Affordable Marketing – There is no need for a large budget to conduct social media marketing
• Viral Nature – Users can easily share your messages with their friends with a click of a button
• Brand Enhancement – You can either build or enhance your online reputation through social media
• Credibility Building – User generated endorsements are more credible than traditional advertising
• Traffic Increase – A well-planned social media strategy will drive more traffic to your website
• Customers Engagement – Connect with your customers and give a real time respond to their feedback

The Internet has moved from being a one way informational or transactional media to an interactive media, first, and to a multichannel conversation, second. Today, the Internet is more like a conversation; and, although traditional one way communication strategies still provide excellent results, companies cannot exclude themselves from social media conversations that are usually public and involve friends, customers, prospects, partners, vendors, competitors, employees, and anyone sharing common interests.

Social media is a catalyst for communities and people with common interests. And for those who used to think that the Internet would isolate people and decrease social contact, the web has surprised us all once again! Technology around social media, has taken conversations to a higher and wider level.  Through online conversations you can interact with customers, users and friends; as well as discuss topics, ask for help or provide help, criticize and be criticized (with a good chance to reply), and make or receive suggestions.

So do not leave social media out of your marketing and strategic planning, your competition might be using it already and certainly your customers are active users already. So when you ask yourself  “Do I need social media?” the easy answer comes from another question: do you want to be where your potential customers are?…