The Importance of Understanding Social Media for Business Leaders

Social Media has the power to reach millions of people worldwide with a simple post. For businesses, this has introduced an opportunity on an unbelievable scale to get our products and services in front of more potential customers than ever, and without the huge advertising costs usually associated with such levels of marketing. So why is it that Social Media gets such a hard time? Could it possibly be that we just don’t have enough understanding of the benefits and positive impact Social Media can have?

After speaking with many business leaders and senior managers, I often hear the same story “we have people for that” or “we outsource all of that”.

Now, although I understand this is some respects, I also have a very different view, and one which I gained from one of the most incredible business leaders I’ve ever met and have huge respect. At the time, she was Senior Partner of the law firm I worked for.

Very often she would ask us questions. Perhaps on how the dictation software worked, or how to set up email rules, or how to use a certain app on the latest IPhone. Being young and naive the thought process was ‘it’s an age thing’ – non PC I know. However, the fact was, she knew exactly how it worked, she just wanted to make sure we knew. She was always one step ahead of everyone else in the room. She knew her business inside and out, from every member of staff and their role, to every process and system which meant she knew the value she was receiving from each and element of the firm.

But what does this have to do with understanding Social Media?

If you don’t understand even just the basics of it, how will you know if it’s being done right, especially if you outsource to someone like myself, how do you know we’re delivering what we should be? Whether you have an in-house team or outsource, having a basic level of understanding will help you identify the value you are getting from such activities as well as enabling you to interpret any terminology we use to wow you.

Of course, there is the personal side of understanding Social Media, and this isn’t just specific to business leaders. There can be no shadow of doubt that Social Media is a huge part of people’s lives and is only going to continue to be, and with this unfortunately brings a dark side of Social Media. Trolling and low self-esteem is constantly being reported, so having an understanding of things we can do to prevent ourselves and the ones we love from being subjected to this is hugely important.

As one of the fastest growing platforms, particularly for young people, Instagram is where we put our main focus and is why we have created our Instagram Masterclass. We truly believe that Instagram is actually a very positive platform and allows more control over the content you view. Our Masterclass covers the practical elements from set up to posting and using hashtags, but also addresses some of the more negative sides of Social Media and what you can do to overcome these issues – the answer of which is literally staring you in the face.

We will be offering the opportunity to sample a mini version of our Instagram Masterclass at our networking day #TakeOverTuesday on 24th September.

Get your free tickets at Eventbrite.