Hello World!
Welcome back to my blog!
Today’s post is going to be about the possible benefits and risks that accompany advertising on social media. You might be thinking, “Risks? What risks could there possibly be? Its free advertising!”. Trust me – there are quite a few. But first! Let us take a look at the many advantages to using social media platforms to promote your business #advertisingin2017:
- Most of them are free!
Creating a profile for your business and posting on your page daily is quick and easy to do; especially on sites such as Instagram and Twitter. The same can be said for Facebook however there is also the option to pay for advertising on Facebook and ‘sponsored’ Instagram videos (as these can be videos that appear on anyone’s timeline that Instagram thinks will find your page relevant to them – even if they do not ‘follow’ your profile or page). There is, however, an Instagram help page that gives you instructions on how to create these ads and you can find the link to it right here – https://help.instagram.com/537518769659039
- Exposes your brand to bigger audiences
In addition to Facebook, Twitter has 313 million monthly active users, Instagram has 500 million, and Pinterest has about 1110 million. Although you don’t need to utilize every single platform, creating accounts on just one or two can give you exposure to millions of people around the world (WebpageFX, 2017). The ‘reach’ of the content that you post on your social media page can be demonstrated by looking at the Social Media Integration Theory Model a
s it shows how content can be shared virally through connections (Social Media Today, 2017).
- It provides marketplace insights http://digitalmarketingphilippines.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-social-media-marketing-for-business
You will not be the only one using social media to advertise! It gives you access to see how businesses similar to yours create and manage their online presence. As well as this, you use the platform to gain info on your customers and see how they feel about your business and what comments they make.
- Encourages sharing
If the customers like your product and brand, they will be encouraged to ‘share’ your business profile or page to either privately to their friends or publicly on their timeline so that everyone can see their post.
- You can deliver improved customer service and respond effectively to feedback
If a customer tweets about a problem with your product or service, you can do ‘damage control’ and respond with ways to improve. This will help show that your business cares about the opinion of customer and provides a personalised touch.
- It helps to create brand loyalty
In addition to increasing the reach of your brand, social media also allows you to increase brand loyalty. And a study conducted by The Social Habit shows that 53% of Americans who follow brands on social media are more likely to remain loyal to those brands. (WebpageFX, 2017). Through social media you are able to communicate with your customers and vice versa. This allows you to build meaningful relationships with current and potential customers. This makes them more comfortable with your business and it encourages them to stick with your brand in the future.
This all sounds good but, “With great power comes great responsibility” – Uncle Ben (Spiderman)
Some of the risks that accompany this form of advertising are as follows:
- You might need to hire someone to monitor your online presence
As coming up with posts and witty comments that engage with the public can take time, some businesses have to hire a person or people to create a team in charge of social media and this can be costly as you will have to pay these new employees. 
- Users on these sites are free to post comments
And not all of these will be positive. Customers can post negative comments about products or services provided and this could damage the reputation of the business
- Potential for embarrassment
It’s easy to get caught up in social media and post whatever comes to mind, which can have huge consequences for any business. Take, for example, when DiGiorno Pizza noticed that “#WhyIStayed” was trending on Twitter, and jumped on board with a tweet that read “#WhyIStayed You had pizza.” This doesn’t sound awful until you consider that the hashtag was being used to discuss why victims of domestic violence stay in abusive relationships. For companies with a large audience, mistakes like this don’t go unnoticed. Thanks to social media users’ quick reactions and tendency to share, the tweet was all over major media outlets within hours (WebpageFX, 2017).
- Once on the internet, forever on the internet
As stated in the risk above, mistakes don’t go unnoticed for companies with big audiences and once it’s out there…
- Social media accounts can be hacked!
I have only outlined SOME of the benefits and risks of advertising on social media but hopefully it provided some useful insight into this new age of advertising to all you young entrepreneurs out there!
Also, check out this useful blog that provides a How-to guide on how to start advertising on various social media platforms https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-advertising/
Till next time! x
References
Social Media Today (2017) Social Media Integration Theory Model [Online] < http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/social-media-integration-theory-model> [accessed Feb 2017]
WebpageFX (2017) Internet Marketing: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media Marketing [Online] < http://www.webpagefx.com/internet-marketing/social-media-marketing-advantages-and-disadvantages.html> [accessed Feb 2017]