The Social Media Marketing Pros And Cons in Your Startup Business

Social media is no longer a mere digital channel to socialize with other users. It has grown into a powerful digital marketing tool that you can use to grow your start-up business. It’s now one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your business as it allows you to advertise in a new, personal, and subtle way. However, you should not jump into social media marketing (SMM) without proper planning and assessment of how effective this form of marketing will be for your start-up business. SMM may harm your brand and bring in results that you never expected. Below is a highlight of the pros and cons of SMM in your start-up business.

The Social Media Marketing Pros

1. It is cheaper than traditional media marketing

Social Media Marketing is much cheaper than other digital marketing channels and traditional media. Most social media networks are free for anyone to join, and you get to interact with other users at no cost. To reap maximum benefits, you can consider investing in a full social media campaign strategy to reach more potential customers for your start-up.

2. It reaches a big audience

While traditional marketing only targets a fixed audience such as TV viewers and regular magazine readers, SMM reaches out to a much bigger audience. Its audience is global, and it is and potentially unlimited in reach and scope. That is why most digital marketers enjoy more exposure for their businesses and brands with the use of SMM. Besides, SMM can stretch way beyond the targeted demographic market. By sharing your content on social media networks, people’s friends, colleagues, and relatives open up new channels for your business to generate sales or leads.

3. It is faster than traditional marketing

Social Media Marketing can be relied on for fast results and action if you have something you would like to promote, or if you want to share fresh information or news. You can have your website synchronized with all your social media channels for automatic updates whenever your business has something new. This can be good for your start-up, as it can significantly influence your audience’s purchasing decisions.

4. It allows for interaction

Traditional marketing does not allow businesses to maintain a long-term relationship with existing customers. SMM, on the other hand, is based on social interaction, which eventually develops trust between a business and its audience. The more a business nurtures regular interactions with its audience, the more it will generate a longer and better relationship that can lead to profitable results.

5. It cultivates brand loyalty

This healthy interaction between a business and its targeted audience on social media boosts the business’s online reputation. An interactive relationship with your audience means that a genuine, emotional bond can even be formed. In turn, this generates trust and breeds brand loyalty. 

If you’re looking for a model to follow, look no further than the most admired companies in the world – Apple is in first place, followed by Amazon in second place. Both of these companies have clear brand identities, and communicate this effectively across their social media channels to further encourage brand loyalty.

6. It is an excellent customer service platform

Many customers spend a significant amount of their time on social media platforms. Those with something to say about your business or products will do so on their page. They can praise your products, give improvement suggestions, and register complaints through these platforms. This will provide you with a personal and interactive means to provide excellent customer service, as you are able to listen and respond directly to their concerns.

The Cons of Social Media Marketing

1. It consumes too much time

Digital marketers spend between six and eleven hours on social media each day. This may be too much time for many start-up owners who are keen to see immediate results from their efforts. If Social Media Marketing is not done correctly, your efforts and time can deliver useless traffic that may not translate to sales.

2. It breeds negative users

Social media attracts a wide range of people – both positive and negative. The negative elements include trolls, spammers, and scammers, who may be out to harm your online reputation by way of negative comments against your otherwise good brand.

3. You can easily lose control

What you post on social media can sometimes go viral and spread all over the world. Although this can be beneficial, you can easily lose control of what you publish because it is available for everyone to see. Malicious people can use it to spread erroneous information that may harm your online reputation.

4. It is difficult to define its return on investment

Many digital marketers are not entirely sure how to accurately measure return on investment with Social Media Marketing. Without the right processes in place, this can be a difficult metric to judge.

Conclusion

As online sales continue to grow, Social Media Marketing has the potential to deliver some real, tangible results for your start-up. However, it’s important to plan the right strategy – and stick to it. If you don’t inspire buyers, you may have negative results – and you could end up doing more harm than good to your business.

Guest Post: Harriet is a creative copywriter and blogger from sunny Somerset.