What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networks for companies?
Many people are interested in increasing the visibility of their businesses through Social Media, but few really know what are the advantages and disadvantages of social networks for companies.
First of all, you should be clear about what social networks are, in case you are still one of the few who does not know what these platforms are about and, above all, how they work.
And, when I talk about knowing the advantages and disadvantages of social networks within the corporate or corporate sphere, I am not referring to a type of social platform designed exclusively for business.
It is more about seeing how to correctly use existing ones.
A network used by a company is the way in which a business, entrepreneur or professional uses it to enhance their visibility, presence and online reputation in order to improve their conversions.
If I have a business, do I have to have a presence on these platforms?
This is perhaps one of the questions I receive most frequently, among the clients of my JF-Digital agency. And is that, if you have a business on the Internet, you may not know that you are not in favor of being in them.
Do you know the advantages and disadvantages of Social Networks?
However, let me tell you that these platforms, like it or not, are digital channels where users spend a large part of their time.
Therefore, to share with them valuable content about our commercial niche, will be very useful for the reputation of our Brand.
For this reason, and taking into account that both the positive aspects and the dangers of networks are many and varied, I will try to focus on the definition of those that for me tend to be the most common and common.
Mainly, because it seems that some of us have forgotten what they are really for and what are the advantages and disadvantages of social networks today.
Now, let’s start with the positive, to finally finish this article understanding the things that we will lose and the inconveniences that we will have if we are not well prepared.
What are the advantages of social networks for companies and businesses?
The following are just some of the benefits that these Online channels will have for your business, as long as you use them correctly since we could list dozens of them
- Increase the Online visibility of a Brand
At present, a large number of your potential clients, whether you are a company or an entrepreneur, have a profile in one of the hundreds of existing networks in the current digital landscape.
For this reason, they have become the ideal showcase to let you know in a radius of action much wider than you could get in normal conditions.
Therefore, my advice is that, after analyzing which platforms you should be on, start by creating an account and start generating quality content.
2. Help improve the online reputation of your business
Previously we said that Social Media puts you in touch or gives you access to a greater number of people or potential customers.
In the same way, have a good strategy or Social Media Plan that takes into account the quality of the content we share and emphasizes an optimal customer service (or Social Customer Service).
This will create over time an unbeatable way to enhance the reputation of your business.
For this reason, I always recommend that you surround yourself with personnel well trained enough to face content management and with enough professional experience to be able to face possible reputational crises.
Here comes into play the figure of a professional and properly trained Community Manager, who knows how to efficiently manage the criticism or negative opinions of people who may not agree with us and who are always on the Internet.
3. Attract more traffic to our website or blog
Another advantage of social networks, with the permission of the almighty Google, which thanks to SEO and SEM can mean more than 50% of the traffic received by any website or corporate blog, is that they also provide an interesting number of visitors Online to any company.
I would like to remark again that we are talking about the advantages of a good strategy and management of these social platforms, therefore, do not expect to increase your Web traffic if this is not your case.
4. They make it possible for you to scale your business
What good are they, if they do not facilitate us to open new horizons?
Moreover, these digital media have managed to be an option that rekindles the possibilities of many businesses that were practically at the mercy of large companies.
The rules of the game that each of them has been introducing in recent years have meant that some smaller businesses have new and greater commercial possibilities, to balance the balance a little more.
5. They help you increase your sales
Adding this to the three points above, we could say that another benefit is to increase your sales but, taking into account that social networks by definition can be a sales channel more indirect than direct.
6. Facilitate communication between the company and its customers
We have already said that they are an excellent communication tool, therefore, it should not surprise you that I affirm at this point, that another advantage of social networks is to be an excellent way to interact with your target or target audience.
7. Eliminate geographical and temporal barriers
In case you have not noticed, the Internet has no borders neither space nor time.
Therefore, these platforms have the same feature that makes them a window to the world 24 x 7 (or what is the same, without schedules).
In this way, you have the opportunity to attract and retain people throughout the day and throughout the year.
8. They are an excellent tool for collaboration and networking
I am convinced of the fact that I consider them an ideal environment for online communication.
And in turn, thanks to a simple networking strategy, it opens up new professional collaborations with other people or companies.
A sensational example of this, we have it in knowing the functioning of LinkedIn, to name the best known in the field “professional”, where we can connect with companies and professionals from all areas.
9. They let us know how the market is
Customer opinions, new products, latest technological advances, national and international news and a long list of others are the bread and butter of this digital environment.
What profit do we get with it?
It is clear that keeping ourselves always informed is an excellent advantage so that our businesses always remain competitive.
“Information is power”, this saying you’ve always known and in the case of Social Media is no exception to the rule.
10. They facilitate the study of our competence
Just as you are talking about your business and trying to attract new potential customers, your competition is carrying out the same tactic.
So, if you are smart enough to know how to listen, in addition to using some kind of competitive analysis tools, you will be able to know details about what brands or businesses similar to yours are doing.
11. They allow you to know what your target audience wants, needs and demands
At the risk of appearing repetitive, I can not help but repeat that another of the advantages of social networks by definition is that they are an environment in which people express their tastes, needs and interests.
Therefore, here you have another ideal place to take the pulse of what your target audience demands.
And, if after some time “listening” to the needs of your community, you have not been able to detect them, you can ask your followers about their preferences.
In this case, to encourage participation, you may have to “shake up” the interaction a bit by offering some kind of promotion, raffle or offer for those who show their opinion on the chosen topic.
12. They are the best speaker of the benefits of our products
We have said that networks have the advantage of helping you sell more, but that they are not the ideal place to sell directly.
Although they are great platforms to promote you and your product from the point of view of what he can provide your customers.
Therefore, do not transform your social profile into a bulletin board of your own, but promote information and provide real cases of your own or related to your products to reach your customers.
In short: Do not sell, better promote yourself and they will only come to buy you!
13. They serve to build loyalty to our customers
Provide quality information, make promotions, meet their needs in real time, solve their doubts, show your most human profile …
They are some of the hundreds of actions you can take on them and help you turn customers into brand ambassadors.
What are the disadvantages of social networks when they are misused?
Like almost everything in this life, and also in digital marketing, the advantages of social networks have their antagonist in some of these points:
1. Fall into the “noise” and just talk about our business
This is one of the most common mistakes and that many companies repeat in social networks: forget that all this is with a marked social profile and when we speak of “social”, we are talking about people.
And as with any person, they want to be heard and want solutions for their doubts.
2. Reputation problems for your business
I’m not going to lie to you: not everything is rosy, especially if you do not know how to handle these tools and more in such a competitive world as Online.
Therefore, if you are not a professional or do not make good strategic management, be prepared to add another hard stick to your reputation and that, in the end, if you do not remedy, you have until you close it sooner than expected.
3. Security or privacy issues
In many cases, social networks in the hands of people who do not know how to use or configure them correctly can leave the door open to hackers or malicious people.
Although this is usually a problem more related to personal profiles than business.
Anyway, we are already warned with the latest news that came to us in mid-2018, about the “leaks” of personal data on Facebook, for which its founders are still ambushed on legal issues.
4. They require too much time of dedication
Manage professionally your profiles or accounts is not a matter of a day.
A good Social Media strategy needs a lot of dedication and perseverance in the medium and long term, to provide significant results.
In addition, as we have already mentioned, in this environment there are no geographical or temporary barriers, which makes all this even more complicated.
Here I have to say that there are companies that consider one of the biggest disadvantages of social networks is this, without realizing that they have a presence in ALL of them, without considering where their target audience is.
5. They require a qualified staff
Although everyone thinks that this is simple and that anyone can do it, the reality is quite another.
If you want to get professional results, you should do professional jobs, do not you think?
For this, as I mentioned earlier, hiring a Community Manager and leaving all this management in your hands, will relieve you of headaches and unnecessary displeasure.
6. They are not 100% free and require an adequate investment
This is one of the biggest myths when talking about social media marketing.
Starting from the basis that even to have a profile you have to “pay” contributing part of your personal data and supporting advertising in many cases unwanted, it is not surprising that when referring to them, we can not believe that everything is free.
Today, platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are increasingly limiting their visibility and organic reach for publications from business pages, literally “inviting” them to invest in advertising.
Also, if I am telling you all the time throughout this post that the management should always be professional, you will understand as super necessary the hiring of qualified personnel to perform these tasks.
Except you want to add more errors to this list of disadvantages of social networks.
7. They expose us to very negative criticism or to the feared ‘trolls’
Related to point 2 that talked about reputation problems for your business, another disadvantage associated with social networks is having to deal with the odd troll.
These are characters who are always opposed to everything, never agree with anything, who enjoy bothering or who simply seek notoriety at your expense.
Sometimes they can even be employees or collaborators of competing brands, which are assigned the “task” of bothering other companies of the same commercial niche so that their online reputation decreases.
8. Errors are exposed to everyone
As this environment helps you to give visibility to your business and your products, any of the mistakes you make will also be exposed, especially if you do not perform good management.
This is the case of many large companies, which have had to face “beginner mistakes” of their Community Managers.
Again, a disadvantage that could knock down in a certain way everything you have built in years of hard work well implemented on the Internet.
9. Give clues of our strategies to the competition
Do you remember that before, in the advantages in social networks, I told you that you could get clues of what your competitors do?
Well, I also have to tell you that they can do the same with you.
For example, there are tools such as SEMrush’s “Social Media Tools” that allow you to analyze your social profile and compare it with other businesses.
10. They can give rise to blackmail or extortion
About 5 years ago, we talked about some customers extorting hotels asking for discounts in exchange for not leaving bad comments on Tripadvisor or similar platforms.
To this day, although this has not continued to be carried in the main newspapers of national circulation, this practice still exists.
Therefore, you will understand once again the importance of having qualified personnel in front of your social accounts
conclusion
We already know the advantages and disadvantages of social networks. But, the best thing that any of them has is that they open windows to new horizons and help you interact with your potential clients.
Therefore, and to avoid the dreaded disadvantages, it is best to bet on good professional management. Only this way you will be able to reduce the number of inconveniences that they have.
However, I think that its incredible advantages make these platforms very convenient channels for any type of business.
