Social media platforms have become integrated into our society at a blistering rate, and since the onset of covid19 we are firmly in the era of constant connectivity and instant gratification. This is now a fact of life for both individuals and business operators. Businesses know that to remain relevant in this current landscape, they need to utilise these platforms both to engage new customers and to connect with existing customers in new ways. While a company may have a marketing strategy that includes various forms of advertising, social media should be considered a main component.

Using a conservative estimate, there are over 1.5 billion users of social media globally – each one a consumer in some form. Social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, among others – can be leveraged to create new opportunities for business growth. Unfortunately, the "how" of accomplishing that goal is not as clear-cut. It is more than setting up a page and occasionally posting about your day-to-day activities. Utilising social media for business is far more complex than it is for an individual, and far more difficult to engage beyond a mundane “like” and achieve a real, measurable return on investment. And what exactly is “engagement,” anyway?

Members of the public who are truly engaged will like, share, re-tweet, comment and follow your posts. While it is a long-term undertaking, providers may achieve see immediate results, especially for highly interactive sites. Overall, it ensures that your product or service is known and established in people’s minds. It has been demonstrated that in the US, customers who follow their brand on social media tend to be more loyal, as opposed to those who do not.

According to the website datareportal.com, TT’s social media users stood at one million in January 2023, or 65.5 per cent of the total population. This represents a 16 per cent increase (140,000 users) since January 2020.

With the accelerated shift to online technologies, it is reasonable to assume that social media usage will continue to increase. There is, one might say, a growing opportunity to expand the reach of your business.

For the customer, social media personalises the brand. Corporations today strive to get past the image of facelessness, and social media is the ideal tool for doing so. Through these engagements, companies can gain valuable insights about their customers through their comments and other feedback. It also allows companies to take a hands-on approach to customer care and cuts down on response time to complaints.

One common misconception, however, is that there is no cost to social media. While it can be less expensive than traditional advertising, marketing, and public relations, a properly developed and executed social media strategy is best undertaken by the experts. And as with any other business expenditure, care must be taken to ensure that providers are reputable and reliable.

Managed properly, social media is an effective communication tool for conversations about your b