When building your social media strategy for your business, it helps to learn from what other people in your industry are saying and doing. When it comes to your social media marketing plan, there's no point in re-inventing the wheel. Instead, take advice from businesses that have found success when using social media.

7 Reasons why social media is important for business

1. Learn about your customers and connect with your audience - All successful businesses have grown to know their audiences very well. The benefit of social media is that, getting to know your audience is now easier then ever. With analytics like Facebook Insights you can understand the major demographics and patterns of your customer behaviors.
2. Reach a new audience locally and across the state - Those familiar with Twitter will know that it’s easy to use Twitter to connect with current customers or seek out a new audience. Searching for certain hashtags can help you find what people are tweeting about in your neighborhood or what people are tweeting about in general.
3. Improve customer service - Because social media functions best in real-time, it gives you instant access to feedback from your customers. This insight is invaluable, as it can help everything from new product growth to customer retention.
4. Gain market share - On a less customer centric note, if you use social media properly, you can make it easier for potential customers to find you. Serious recruiting agencies with a strong social media presence are rapidly gaining market share. And those without, are missing out.
5. Create meaningful relationships that generate leads - Invest time in your social media relationships. The more you invest, the more valuable these relationships become.
6. An affordable way to increase brand awareness - The best part about social media is that if you have an internet connection and a computer, anyone can participate. Meaning that in terms of monetary investment, you can do a lot with just a little bit of budget. For small businesses getting started in marketing, social media is an easy and affordable option.
7. Establish your business as an industry expert - You can also use social to establish your business as an industry expert. Establish a reputation in your community as the go-to and trusted resource, which will help drive new visitors to your business.

Torr, Donne. "Why is Social Media Important? 7 Reasons you Can’t Ignore." Hootsuite. <https://blog.hootsuite.com/why-is-social-media-important-for-business/>