Nearly everybody nowadays has a social media account, including a lot of businesses. Social media can be a great way to get yourself out there and well known, but there are also some drawbacks. So check this list we’ve made of the main pros and cons of social media for business owners!
Pros
Information and Updates
Social media is essentially a news channel when anything big happens, this includes business news. Having a social media account will for sure keep you up to date with all the latest gadgets, ideas and news.
Sharing
This one is important, having a social account will allow you to share your business page to your personal page and therefore allow people to share it. The more people sharing, the more people seeing, perfect for your business!
Increases Connectivity
Have a new product you want to tell the world about? Or a competition you have going? Social media is great for telling people all about things like this. If you had a shop you may have a few customers a day, with social media you can share with potentially thousands of new or existing customers. It can also connect with other business owners to share ideas.
Helps Mental Health
There is a big stigma around mental health at the moment, and this section could also end up in the cons, however, with more people to reach out to, information about help you can get and support networks, we think it belongs in the pros! Running a business can be extremely stressful and tiring so mental health problems occur a lot in the self-employed, reaching out is a step in the right direction.
Increased Traffic
A little like the above, walking into an actual shop is a lot more work than a few clicks on a screen, having a social media account for your business and making sure to advertise your best offers and best sellers is sure to get you more customers. Be sure to have PayPal or such linked so people can purchase easily.
Customer Service and Feedback
It is so much easier to see any comments left by customers on social media, there are even options to have a tab specifically for any feedback or issues. Doing this allows any problems that arise to be dealt with efficiently.
Cons
Reduces Face to Face Contact
This can be a pro or a con depending on what type of person you are, but having an online store can become lonely and isolated. Not being able to actually see your customers isn’t for everyone.
Trolls
As mentioned in the pro section, feedback is a lot easier when doing it online. However, this also opens up your page to trolls, people who are set out to destroy your business for no reason at all. This means you will have to monitor your feedback section regularly to swiftly remove any non-genuine customers.
Hacking
Something everyone worries about whether a business or not is somebody hacking into your private information. When you own a business, this can be even worse as you will be breaching confidential data. Be sure to have a good antivirus and firewall on your computer to protect you as much as possible from any potential hackers.
Distractions
One of the worst things about having social media is the distraction it causes to your every day life. A lot of people spend up to 3 hours a day just scrolling through social media, if you have a shop to run as well as an online business and a family this can become very distracting. Be sure to make time for other things too!
Hire More Staff
This isn’t the case for everyone, but if you are a business owner you may or may not have hired staff members, adding a social media account onto this may mean you have to hire more staff to help monitor it. This may then cause a decrease in income and this will out-weigh the benefits.
Overall, social media for businesses can be a great thing, as long as you look into it and take all the cons into consideration. Be sure to stay up to date with the page as slacking will make you appear non-customer orientated and this will be bad for your business!
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