Introduction to me

I just want to start off with a little bit of background to my journey at risual LTD (I promise this blog is about social media and not me). I have been working at risual for over three years now, starting as an apprentice building my knowledge in the business and IT industry, then being promoted to Marketing Assistant where I progressed my skill set and really got stuck into event execution. Towards the end of 2017, I received a promotion to begin working as the PR and Communications Executive – I’ll be honest, I was extremely nervous to begin this role as I had no experience with writing press releases, blogs, articles etc… other than what I had done at risual. With this role I got to get stuck into social media, PR, working closely with partners and customers, case studies and much more. Anyway, that’s enough about me – time to actually start talking about why you’re all here reading this blog.

 

Why I love social media

I’m just going to focus a little bit on my personal life (boring, I know and also the last time I mention myself) just to discuss how and why I use social media. For the average person working on all social media channels every day of the week for a job is enough, but then also trying to keep up to date with your personal social channels on top of this – you’d think I’d be tired of seeing that retweet and like button, right? You’d be wrong! Surprisingly, I still can’t get enough of it. My friends and I all live very separate and busy lives, sometimes it can be hard to see them face to face and find the time to have that well needed catch up. It isn’t just my friends, I have quite a big family, and trying to juggle my work life, friends, family, social life and me time can become a little bit difficult. I’m quite an organised person, I like to have plans and know my schedule (purely so I have lots of exciting things to look forward to), but this doesn’t mean I always have the time to stay up-to-date with everyone – and that’s why I love social media! It provides me with the opportunity to stay connected with my friends and family (and of course my favourite celebs, which for those who know me, know I love seeing what The Rock and Kim KW has been getting up to!).

 

It’s like marmite, love it or hate it 

Like Marmite, you either love social media or you don’t. There’s not really an in between. Social media is huge, and is currently growing rapidly, with the average person on their phone spending 60% of their time on social media and the average person having five social media accounts. Let’s have a bet – I bet you if you ask your office to have a show of hands who has an active social media account, I’m sure ¾ of them will say yes. Social media is so big at the moment, love it or hate it, it’s here to stay, so why not just embrace it?  

 

Why use it 

Honestly, I could sit here and write you a million reasons as to why you should be using social media for personal or professional reasons – however, I do actually need to get this blog finished by the end of the day – for your benefit also, I’ll keep it short and sweet (or at least try to).  

 

  • It’s huge
    I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, social media is HUGE and it is only getting bigger as technology becomes better. Want some more stats and figures? 76% of adults in the UK own a smartphone and over 52 million people in the UK have a 4G mobile subscription. So if we think that the average person on their phone will spend 60% of their time on social media (remember that the average person also has five social media accounts), by putting two and two together – that’s a lot of people…and a lot of social media. I’m sure you couldn’t walk down the street and not see the majority of people on their phone, texting, having a call, taking pictures – they love social media that’s why!
  • Promote your business 
    It’s not just about posting them glorious selfies to the world, you can achieve great things with social media. The amount of people that are currently active on social media is crazy, so why not use it to promote your business? Using the right hashtags and targeted the right people, your posts can reach a million people within a few seconds – it’s amazing how fast a social post can reach. Let the world know how great your business is and how you can help them – benefits will soon show.
  • Build a brand 
    You’ve got a brand, you’ve got a face, you’ve got a personality – so why aren’t you pushing that out to gain more notice and generate a following? Make people know who you are and what you’re about, push out your marketing brand, your appearance, your style and tone and stand out from the crowd.  
  • Stay connected 
    As I mentioned earlier, for anyone it can be difficult to juggle your friends, family, work, social, and your own time – it’s just a lot to manage for even the most organised of people. You can literally use social media to stay connected with whoever you need to. And even the best of us love to stay up to date with our favourite celebrities and find out what they’ve been getting up to, well – social media is the place for that!
  • Be bold and stand out 
    Are you creative? Got a crazy mind? You can use social media to express exactly that. Social media is the perfect platform for you to not be the same as everyone else, be different and try something new. Be bold and stand out from your competitors, make a statement and make people notice you and your organisation.
  • Make new connections
    Just when you thought I was going to stop there… The power of social media allows you to find new people who share the same interests as you, or as passionate about the same work – you can make new connections and build a very strong platform.
  • Learn from others
    Have I converted you to be a social media lover yet? NO!? Well, you might not find all these exciting points very persuasive, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t use it and still can’t gain value from it. You might not want to be posting all the time and letting people now your thoughts, why not try and use social media for a learning perspective? There are so many inspirational and motivational people building strong platforms on social media that could really benefit you personally and professionally, have a look around and see if you can use a few accounts/people to learn something new.  

If all that is not enough for you, I’m just going to finish off with my favourite thing about social media.  

 

Hootsuite

Finding the time to tweet every day, and post on various other channels such as Instagram can be very time consuming. It can sometimes get to a point where you don’t make as much effort into the content you are posting, or you begin to post less frequently. Well, to avoid all the possible issues and more, a wonderful tool has been designed and tailored to suit our social media needs.  

We are more than a social media company. We are not just a social relationship platform. We are not just a tech company. We are creators, innovators, and builders dedicated to revolutionising the way you communicate.” 

– Hootsuite  

Hootsuite is such a clever tool allowing you to manage your social content and spark conversations from all across the world. Giving you the opportunity to analyse the content you are posting and really deep dive into finding out if it’s working and gaining impressions. Not only this, Hootsuite provides a platform that suits all businesses and its requirements and offers the right support across various social media channels. 

 

I personally don’t know what else you could possibly want me to say! Social media is huge. It is powerful. It can support you and your business with achieving above and beyond. 

Have I persuaded you to join social media yet?  

Why not just give it a go? See the power of social media for yourself. 

About the author