Accelerate Digital Transformation: Utilise Social Media for Business Growth

By Maris Naglis, VP, Customer Success, Httpool 

The performance of an organisation can be drastically improved with an all around digital transformation. Organisations are being forced to operate with significantly more innovation and agility than ever before due to increased competition, customer demand and technological advancements. To keep ahead of the competition, multiple industry leaders are now using digital creativity to innovate, and utilising social media as one of their most effective approaches to achieve digital success.

Digital transformation has still been a hot topic for marketing in 2021, and with good reason. According to research from IFS, 70% of organisations increased or maintained their digital transformation spending throughout the pandemic. With COVID-19 expediting the plans of 58% of businesses that haven’t yet started their transformation initiatives. However, as marketers rush to check the digital transformation box, it’s worth asking yourself what digital transformation actually entails.

Digital transformation is the conceptual change of how you conduct business to satisfy consumer expectations and continue giving value through digital technology.

It is the mix of modern digital technologies and all elements of a business. Any organisation, from small to large, needs to go through a digital transformation to survive and thrive in the modern business landscape.

The term “digital transformation” has been used in various different contexts including research studies, traditional news platforms, and online articles. On the other hand, some business leaders are still unsure of what it means to transform a company digitally. With some executives believing the term, “digital transformation”, is so overused that it is no longer useful. Which is difficult to convey as digital transformation encompasses many different aspects.

There is no such thing as a generic digital transformation; it will differ from one organisation to the next. For company A, digital transformation may entail leveraging digital exposure through social media. But for company B, digital transformation could involve advancing operations systems through robotics machines. There are also multiple phases to how far your firm has progressed in its transformation. However, regardless of the stage, it is best to begin converting your organisation as soon as possible before natural selection forces you out of the game.

Using social media to accelerate digital transformation

Social media is one of the essential platforms for feedback in the modern-day world. Over 3.6 billion individuals around the globe use social media daily, with that number anticipated to rise to 4.41 billion by 2025. And it’s easier to evolve faster when 4.41 billion individuals can provide real-time input on your changes and campaigns. So what about the corporations that develop the technology? They are also aware of this.

Enhancement of Customer Service

When you incorporate social media into your digital transformation, you can keep your business strategy up to date based on your client feedback. 

An organisation with many delivery channels is under a growing pressure to ensure their experiences are integrated and seamless. Social media also facilitates communication between businesses and their customers. 

Companies can quickly learn about their customers’ experiences through social media, whether favourable or unfavourable, and use this information to improve their business strategy.

Boost your credibility

Organisations can use social media to represent themselves in a fun and engaging way, with high engagement leading to increased credibility. 

It is critical to provide relevant material to your audience and encourage them to share your content with their family and friends, for free promotion and immediate exposure. 

Treat your social media as if it were a physical asset instead of a digital one and humanise your brand by creating interesting, engaging content for your audience. While it’s not a good idea to exclusively post about your company’s products and services, your firm can still provide value through daily infographics, factual content, and contests on this platform.

Maintain your competitiveness

In this digital age, most organisations have social media, making your competitors’ strategy easy to access and compare against. 

Businesses can also use social media to grasp current trends, allowing you to stay relevant in a competitive and ever-changing environment. Organisations must be adaptable and quickly adjusting to market changes is a valuable attribute to remain competitive. 

If most of your customers are loyal to your company, good social media management will lead to solid customer trust, helping you stay ahead of the competition.

The number of individuals interacting with companies through social media is continuing to rise and this medium has fast become one of the core components to any digital transformation.