Last Updated on August 15, 2018 by Jessica Adams

As a business owner, you most likely look to your peers or maybe a mentor for advice. People who can offer such a priceless commodity as business advice are integral to your success because they’ve “been there”. So the idea of taking advice from a social media platform may surprise you at first. Still, one look at the incredibly fast-soaring rise of Facebook, Twitter, then Instagram (remember that Pinterest is a Visual Search Engine, NOT a social media platform) have shown us, that as businesses, they can probably teach us a lot! I also know from personal experience that it is possible to learn from social media about how to run your business. Here are the four best things to consider about how social media can teach you, about how to run your business.

 

4 Things You Can Learn From

Social Media About How

To Run Your Business

 

 

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Interaction Is Essential

Everyone bemoans the fact that traditional interaction is on the decline, and it’s true. Most people speak to one another via mobile apps, Chrome extensions and through various social media sites. Still, while face-to-face conversations are less popular than ever, new kinds of interactions are taking over. Customers want to be able to contact the companies they shop at and ask questions without the hassle of automated machines. As a result, businesses need to be present during the “Weekly Facebook Live” that their social media department hosts and reply to customer questions and instant messages promptly. Oh and don’t forget to be casual and witty wherever possible as formality isn’t a thing anymore, either!

And So Is Transparency

Recently, Facebook suffered a backlash after a scandal involving a data firm (maybe you read about it?). Although they didn’t do anything wrong in terms of their T’s & C’s, there was an immoral element to the collection of information. Anyway, it doesn’t matter if there was a problem or not when you’re dealing with a case in the “court of public opinion”. First, this makes network security services integral to ensure data is safe and secure. Second, it means companies need to be transparent when they collect numbers and keep records. Don’t do what Uber did or else the negative PR will be too much to handle.

 

Gaps Need Filling

Before the likes of Facebook, social media wasn’t big news. Yes, Bebo and Myspace existed, yet they didn’t attract the same number of visitors. The “big three” skyrocketed because they did something different. In short, they filled a gap in the market and blew up as a result. Today, too many startups have a similar agenda or setup to their rivals. The key is to take your idea and make it unique so that it stands out from the crowd. The idea of an app (like Instagram) where you can post pictures of your daily life that random strangers actually want to see and comment on, was mind-blowingly original ten years ago. Then again, so was just using 144 characters per tweet (has it really been 10 years? Actually, it’s been 11!).

 

Mobile Apps Should Always Be Readily Available

Not many people use the desktop version of Facebook. The same goes for Twitter and Instagram (pointless, really) too. Why? It’s because they all have mobile apps which are quicker and easier to use. In society today, these two things are essential as they link in with the culture. People can’t afford to waste time chained to a desk, so they skip the laptop. And since we’re always on the go, we need to be able to open an app and start shopping before we even make it into the store!

Ever since the introduction of smartphones and their instant availability to practically anyone, regardless of price, mobile apps have become the #1 way that people access their online applications.  Whether you’re accessing a social media site, a WordPress Blog (over 25% of the planet’s websites are built on WordPress), even your online banking, people choose to access their apps via mobile first!

 

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Can you think of any other examples of how social media sites can teach us about running a business?

 

This has been a guest contribution from Sarah Henderson, in the Small Biz “Mini-Post” Series. 1K words or less & open for Guest Posting!

 

Edited by Jessica Rose Adams