14 Aug How Social is your Business?

In today’s connected world, it is not only expected but almost assumed that every business will have a social media presence, with regular activity on at least 2-3 platforms. Having a social media presence is essential for everything from marketing, brand building, to content awareness.

This informative survey of social media platforms being used by businesses in 2014, highlights noteworthy trends.

Facebook is still the top social media platform, with 90% of marketers using Facebook ads. LinkedIn continues to be one of the most widely used platforms for small businesses, the most obvious uses being (a) hiring new employees, and (b) making useful connections for building one’s business.  The latter point is especially relevant currently in Canada with the implementation of the Canadian anti spam law (CASL). While the motivation behind the law is well-intentioned with the idea of aggressively cracking down on email spam, it can also be extremely restrictive for businesses that have used email for their marketing campaigns.

In the context of the CASL, one of the possible ways to make new connections would be through referrals from existing contacts on LinkedIn, who might be likely to provide a friendly introduction to some of their connections. As one business owner in Toronto mentioned, “Although we make a compromise on quantity, the quality of the connections we make through referrals is much higher. You have the opportunity to sit down and chat over coffee.” This is a luxury that a conventional email campaign does not always afford.

Twitter is the best platform for promoting one’s business through microblogging in the form of content curation. YouTube still remains the best platform for building one’s brand. Other platforms such as Google+, Pinterest, Instagram are rapidly gaining ground.

It will be interesting to see how the social media space evolves for businesses in the next couple of years. Till then, it is imperative for businesses to re-evaluate their social media presence and strategies. A key point to remember here is that having a social media presence for your business is MUCH MORE than posting once a day on facebook and twitter!

by: Sohini Bhattacharya (Co-Founder & Managing Partner), Allegoro Communications