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Social Media in a Time of Disinformation: How Can You Help?

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Social Media in a Time of Disinformation: How Can You Help?

Social media is a concept where people can post various types of media files on several types of platforms and interact with their family and friends. Today, some top social media platforms include Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. In most cases, people make use of social media platforms to talk with others, post images, view videos, etc.

Social media is very different from traditional media like newspapers, radio, and television. Social media sites first started with the emergence of the internet. While the difference between traditional and social media lies in the availability of the internet, the former also allows social interaction with others.

Of course, there are many benefits of social media. It has become the go-to communication method; it has also allowed companies and brands to connect with their audiences. For businesses, social media is quite helpful because it allows them to understand more about their target audience.

However, social media does have its share of disadvantages. For instance, one can spread disinformation. Additionally, now it is straightforward to find a person’s contact, which can sometimes contribute to online harassment.

In such cases, it is important to understand how you can minimize these instances so that you and your employees remain safe from such scrutiny that exists on these sites.

What Are Some Benefits Of Social Media?

Here are some important benefits of social media:

1. Ability To Reach A Large Audience

It should not be surprising that millions of people worldwide use various types of social media platforms. When it comes to business, you can easily reach many people who would potentially be interested in your products or services.

Based on research, it has been found that YouTube is the most popular platform today, with more than 73% of US adults using it. Other platforms include Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. From the stats, you can understand why such platforms can be great at creating opportunities for businesses.

2. More Direct Connection With The Audiences

Social media is one of the types of marketing planning and strategies that will allow you to connect with your audiences directly. If someone has followed your business on social media, it means that they are likely interested in your business.

You get to know your audiences better, allowing you to deliver more valuable and personalized content. Additionally, you will also be able to provide better customer service; your audiences can get in touch with you directly so that you can deal with their problems face to face.

3. Creation Of Organic Content

You can post organic content, which is extremely beneficial for all types of businesses. You will open several windows of opportunities at minimum costs. This is the reason why most companies and brands make use of social media platforms.

Another great aspect of social media is that there are no limitations on the amount and type of content you want to post, as long as it engages with the audience. You can post a wide range of organic content as well, ranging from photos and videos to songs and podcasts. The more content you add to your social media platforms, the more familiar your audiences will get.

4. Access To Paid Advertising Services

Aside from organic posting, businesses also have the choice to opt for paid advertisements. Every such platform has a unique take on paid advertisement. Overall, the type of advertising on social media will depend on your chosen social media platform.

Paid advertisements offer your businesses the chance to connect with audiences who are yet to discover your company. These ad services allow you to dictate the type of audience you are looking for who would be interested in your products or services. For instance, you can choose demographics like age, gender, region, etc., based on what type of audience you are looking for.

5. Brand Building

One of the most important advantages of such platforms is that you can easily build your brand. Once you have connected with the interested leads, you can start exposing them to your company or brand. If you are a new company, it is recommended that you stick with free organic content, as you will first have to build brand recognition with the audiences before you can even start your expansion plan.

Social media also helps in brand-building due to the sharing option – you can re-pin, re-tweet, and share content on various social media platforms. This means that your followers can share the content with their family members and friends, thereby exposing your company to more people.

6. Driving Traffic To Your Website

One of the best uses of such platforms is that they can be used to attract traffic to your business’s website. When you post content with a link to your website, there are always chances that people will visit your company website. Once your audiences visit your website, they will be able to learn more about your business or brand.

This can be considered a valuable opportunity since your audiences will get a chance to learn more about your company. For instance, they can learn more about the products or services you offer, their prices, discounts, etc. To grow your business, you must drive relevant traffic to your website.

What Can You Do To Prevent The Misuse Of Social Media?

Here are some important tips that can help you prevent the misuse of your social media profiles:

1. Conduct A Risk Assessment

Conducting a risk assessment is significant. This step will help you identify various positive uses of social media like research, recruitment, marketing, sales, etc. Additionally, you will also be able to monitor whether your employees are posting derogatory comments on these sites – this is important because your business can be held liable for the actions of your employees on social media platforms.

2. Training How To Use Social Media Sites

In today’s time, it is not uncommon to see companies training their employees on using social media platforms correctly. This includes using Twitter the right way, engaging with contacts on LinkedIn, organizing contacts on Google+, etc.

This type of training will help your employees understand how they can use any social media platform as well as their digital footprint; a digital footprint can be defined as a trail of content that gets left behind when you review, download, comment, or even like something on social media sites.

3. Monitoring Everything Happening On Social Media Platforms

Companies must try to know if people are talking bad about the brand on social media sites, including employees. With the help of social media monitoring applications, like Google Alerts, you can be able to keep a check on your company’s digital footprint.

You can set up alerts for your brand name, your name, your employee names, etc. Additionally, it is recommended that you also set up certain keywords. Also, ensure that you have charged someone with the task of overviewing the actions and gathering the reports. You need to keep following up with the reports as well.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to social media, you must learn to remain safe. There are many trusted volunteer organizations such as Kids In Distress in America, GoEco in Australia, or Come Back Alive in Ukraine that can help you deal with such issues. Social media sites should be used to achieve only the best, not harass others. You can leave them in the comment section below if you have any queries.

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