The Influence of Social Media on Business

Whether you own a clothing shop, a plumbing business or a bakery, unless you have been living under a rock for the past fifteen years or so, you’ll recognise the power and influence of social media, not just on business but in everyday life. It’s an incredibly persuasive and useful tool. If used right, it can transform  your business strategy and long-term goals. Before the days of pay-per-click, platforms like Facebook and Twitter were tools for friends to connect. However, now social media is so much more than that. It’s an extensive marketing tool for businesses. Let’s explore how it’s developed and changed over time.

How Long Do People Spend on Social Media and Why?

Social media is slowly taking over our lives. It has many great uses but it’s also sapping the life out of genuine communication. On average, people have roughly eight apps for social media. Spending hours a day scrolling through pages of GIFS, memes, pictures, videos and stories, it’s quickly become like a mental drug you need day and night. Before you go to bed – it’s difficult not to switch on your phone and check out the latest videos that have gone viral. With 3.5 billion people active on social media, it’s no wonder social media has slowly but surely transitioned into business.

What Do Businesses Do to Utilise Social Media?

It’s so simple but genius. Over time we have seen millions of businesses around the world build their online presence to connect with their audience. Businesses now even harness the power of social media to influence the thoughts of others. They recognise the influence social media can have on their prospective customers. It’s a gateway to how businesses operate. Before social media and the internet, to market a product you had to go to a trade show, use a local newspaper for advertising or send out fliers and business cards.

Now, that’s all changed. You can not just reach your local community through social media but reach worldwide through a hashtagged Instagram picture, a short quippy tweet on Twitter, a hilarious Facebook GIF that can be shared through an office during a midweek meeting or a Pinterest board demonstrating how to decorate your home. These are just a few examples from thousands of social platforms worldwide that tap into their digital clients obsessed with social media. The impact social media has had on consumerism is devastating and changing the way we live forever.

Can You Be Left Behind by Your Competitors Without Social?

It’s like falling asleep at the wheel if you have not reacted by now to the social media influence. If you’ve not cottoned on, social is everywhere. Did you know that roughly 54% of product browsers on websites use social media to aid their decision-making process? Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Tik Tok – all of these social media companies have become multi-billion pound companies by turning into business juggernauts. Allowing businesses to piggyback off their brands which reach billions of users means they maximise their profits through advertising while businesses capitalise on that following by expanding their customer reach. It’s a win-win situation.

Should you not use social media to harness the potential of your business, you need to change your ways. Nearly every company in the world now has a digital presence and social is a major part of that. After all, why advertise on a bus that drives past a few thousand customers when you can have a social channel that reaches millions? Before a person buys a product, they typically need to see the brand seven times and then they progress to snap up that product. It’s a numbers game – meaning the more visibility you have as a business, the greater your chance of success. Therefore, with seven being a powerful number, creating seven presences online where communities connect and read your brand message