Social media is one of the most important, free, marketing methods you can use to improve your business. Social media guarantees instant reach straight to your audience. We will run you through some advantages and disadvantages that your business may face while using social media so that you are prepared when it comes to using it within your business.

So how exactly can social media improve your business? Well, there are many reasons why social media should be implemented in your business model. The use of social media:

• Attracts customers - Social media instantly connects you with your customers and your target audience, this ensures that you will be able to generate new leads for your business. 
• Get customer feedback and build customer loyalty - As social media instantly connects you to your customers it also ensures that you will be able to receive instant feedback. Feedback is incredibly important for growing your business and meeting customers' needs. Social media will personify your brand / business- It is important to give your business a voice. This will enable your target market to feel like they are connecting with a human. Personification is a crucial step in social media as it gives your brand/ company a friendly voice which can often attract some more customers.  

• Social media will personify your brand / business- It is important to give your business a voice. This will enable your target market to feel like they are connecting with a human. Personification is a crucial step in social media as it gives your brand/ company a friendly voice which can often attract some more customers.  

• Gather information about your audience- Social media can be a great tool to use when it comes to getting to know your customer base and exactly what they are looking for from your business. This sort of information would be difficult to obtain if you are not using social media. 

Social media within the workplace is great but it is also important to recognise some of the disadvantages you may face while using social media. These include: 

• Time required- Social media and marketing requires a lot of time and patience. Developing content takes time and practice to perfect. So, be prepared to put the hours in. 
• Lacks connection- Social media can lack an emotional connection when it comes to engaging with existing customers or potential customers. Thus, it is important to create a friendly brand voice that will engage with your customers and potential customers.
• Creative content- You will have to ensure that you produce interesting and creative content that ensures engagement. Otherwise you may face losing interactions and followers. 
• Disputes can be public- Any problems that you may face, whether that will be unsatisfied customers or troubleshooting issues, it will be public. Unsatisfied customers can make a comment on your post which could deter potential customers. This is why it is important to be prepared with a few different responses that you have on hand to use. 

Although there are some cons to the use of social media within a business it does not outweigh the vast positives. Social media acts as a free advertisement for your company and it is well worth the time and effort. So, do not be deterred by these. Social media is important for your business and you should use it.