SOCIAL STUDIES: A Saurage Research Special Series on Social Media
To launch our Saurage Research Social Studies series, we decided to start with the biggest social media platform – Facebook. It goes without saying Facebook dominates social media. With over 900+ million users Facebook could actually be the 3rd largest country in the world. It is the club everyone wants to join. All you have to do is sign up and you are guaranteed entry. There are no fees, no approvals and no initiation. Socially speaking, being on Facebook is easier than trying to explain why you’re not.
One of the biggest concerns businesses claim about social media is that it is not measurable, so we decided to test it out ourselves. Saurage Research recently introduced a company Facebook page and we are pretty excited about it.
The question is: does Facebook make sense for businesses, especially B2B companies? We think so. Perhaps not as a stand-alone platform, but Facebook, combined with the more business-oriented LinkedIn, can definitely boost the social experience we have with our customers. According to Buzz Marketing, 93% of all business buyers believe that having a social media presence is important and 85% believe that interaction and engagement matter. Wow! Those are some pretty astounding numbers.
Facebook brings a more personal touch to our business and allows people to get to know us better. Facebook is all about engagement, and if we are smart, it is a place where we can gain valuable insight from customers. Let’s face it. Businesses are run by people, people make buying decisions, and Facebook engages people. A strong presence on Facebook allows us to engage with people who are interested in our business. We can thank customers for their business, respond to customer questions and communicate our business value to those who are most likely to benefit from our services. Considering that Facebook houses the largest group of potential customers, we can’t see any reason not to join in the fun.