How to Successfully Align These 5 Business Functions with Social Media

Most businesses use social media for the intended purpose of selling their products, services or both. But did you know that social media can support other business functions too? It’s amazing to see how far social media has come, especially when you find the right fit for it in your business.

Today I want to talk to you all about five business functions that can be aligned with social media!

1 Sales/Revenue

Most businesses sole purpose is to generate revenue through sales, in which social media has proven to accomplish that over the years. There’s unfortunately a negative connotation using social media to sell, but you shouldn’t shy away from that, otherwise how will you make money? Social media and selling go hand in hand, they’not mutually exclusive and should be strategically planned to align with your sales goals.

So how can you drive consistent sales? Well from the start, you need to have an interesting product/service that solves customer issues or enhances their lives. For instance, do you have skincare line that’s not getting as much traction as you’d like? Social media can definitely amplify your online presence by gaining and developing new customers, through reach (number of users who have come across your content) and influence (an individual's ability to affect other people's thinking through online communities).

Another way that will definitely get your product or service into customer’s faces, is the “pay-to-play” method; paid advertising using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram & Twitter. Before social media came into play, traditional marketing (which is still highly effective) involved developing TV ads, print, radio & billboard promotions, which can be costly. Now you can promote your products/services on YouTube, support them with blogs, infographics, webinars, etc.

Customer Service

My favorite aspect of social media is having real-time conversations with your customers, especially when they take the time to mention, tag or message you. Implementing a strong customer support strategy in your social media marketing program, can make a huge difference in how people view your company. If you have multiple ways that customers can reach you (online-chat support, commenting on your social posts, direct messaging you, etc) allows companies to be more efficient and satisfy their customers. There is nothing worse than using time out of your day to call a customer service line or waiting to hear back from an email.

Monitoring what your customers are saying about you is also important; someone could be complaining about how your product/service sucks , leaving a negative image of how your company is. But since you have an amazingly strong social media strategy, you’re on top of responding to complaints or praise about your business!

What you can takeaway from using social media to support your customers is that:

You’ll see a frequent flow of real-time feedback from users and customers
You’ll be able to respond quickly (I recommend no longer than 48 hours) to customer messages and comments
You’ll solve customer related issues faster
You’ll notice a decrease in cost when customers opt to use social media instead of calling a toll-free number
You’ll see an increase of happy and loyal customers

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HR (Human Resources)

As your business grows, so does your need to monitor, recruit and recognize potential employees to hire. One of the most popular reasons that HR uses social media, is to recruit. I’ve seen companies go beyond LinkedIn to Facebook job postings, Twitter & even Instagram to find the right candidates. It’s also important to note that what we post on social media is with us forever, even if it’s deleted, that information is still available, so be intentional about what you post.

Another cool way HR uses social media, is to engage with their fellow peers in online conversations, such as hosted Tweet chats, Facebook or Instagram live talks, discussing various topics in the HR realm. Having online events like these, allows for you to network with potential employees and even grow your own community of like-minded individuals. Social media has changed the game the for recruiting, as HR personnel are able to verify candidates through trusted social networks.

Public Relations

Over the years public relations has integrated itself with social media, it’s no longer a one off department in your business. Public relations is the maintenance of your company’s image and how the general public views you.

Businesses small and large now have the opportunity to monitor how their company is viewed in a cost effective way. You can respond quickly to negative comments, clarify where you stand on certain issues, offer a public apology (which we’ve seen countless times on iPhone notes) and address issues head on. Public relations and social media are not only about responding to negative activity, it is also a great way to foster deeper relationships with your customers and the general public. With any business that involves customers and/or clients, you want to establish trust and ensure that you’re staying in alignment with your core values.

Putting out fires is the name of the game

Business Insights

Having the access to knowing what you customers are saying about your business is a practice that needs to be taken serious. Using this data of what your competitors are doing, how many people are being driven to your business and your mentions, serves a great a purpose. You can analyze and use this information to make a product or service better, scout the competition, build a program for those loyal customers talking about you and so much more!

When building a social media program, I would suggest focusing on how you’ll use business insights to leverage your business. This allows you to stay ahead of the game and forecast any situations that could negatively or positively impact your business.

Social media isn’t just a place where you post your product and go, it has become the norm to implement these different business functions to sustain growth and maintain a positive image. So before you start working on your social media strategy, make sure to include how you’re going to align these functions in your business.

I hope this post shed some light into for you and your business, if you found it helpful, please comment and share!