Afraid of Opening Your Mouth The Pros and Cons of Social Media Marketing For Your Business

nocence replied that surely closing the door to someone you don’t agree with was counterproductive in what should be a place of questioning and debate.

with Sinead Burke

A couple of weeks ago and quite by accident, I found myself an unwitting and very unwilling hero of the far right. I know what you’regoingtosay.“That’s terrible Sinead, sure we all know you’ve big liberal head on you. You and Mr Burkehavebeenknownto take The Guardian and wouldn’t you be fierce strong on the unions, how onearthdidthathappen?

Well, it was alarmingly simple. I responded to a postonTwitterandvoiced the radical notion that Universities should be places where ideas are debatedandchallenged.

That was it. Who knew howeasyitwouldbetoattracttherespectandadoration of everyone on the internetwhothinksEnoch

Burke seems like a lovely lad.

The original post on Twitter was from a memberofanIrish3rdlevelinstitution who was delighted to announce that they had cancelled a speaking engagement on campusfromsomeonenot particularly supportive of Trans rights. Me, in my in-

Well, the hullabaloo that followed. The woke crowd wentberserkatmeandthe anti-gay and anti-immigrantgangwelcomedmeas oneoftheirown.

Now look, I hardly have to say it, but I will anyway. I’m very supportive of Trans Rights. But, and this is the crux of it, I’m not so fragile that I can’t listen to and engage with people who have different views andbeliefstome.

I wasn’t supporting the anti-trans speaker in what they were saying. To be honest, I’ve read some of her stuff and she comes acrossasarightdose,butI wassupportingherrightto speak and more importantly, other people’s right to challenge what she was saying.

But isn’t this where a lot of us are. Sitting on horses so high, it’s hard to see the othersideoftheargument letalonehearit.This“cancelling” nonsense has got tostop.

There’s no point in shuttingpeopleout,you’llonly send them running to regroupandstrengthentheir ideas with others who sharetheiropinion.

Never being confronted, never being challenged.

I recently heard an interview with a woman who usedtobepartoftheWestboro Baptist church in America. You might have seen this crowd on television, they say really horrible stuff about people of colour, the gay community, people who have AIDS, I mean, it’s desperateandcruelwhattheyget up to. This woman was a true believer and ran the church’s social media accounts. Day after day she posted offensive and upsetting things. People shouted back abuse at her online.Butoneladdidn’t.

He kept asking her to explain why she was saying this one was going to burn in hell and that one was the Devil’s spawn. They went back and forth for a couple of years until eventually they met up and in the most unusual and challenging plot twist of any romantic comedy I have ever heard off, she ended up leaving the churchandisnowmarried tohim.

Now, I’m not saying an effective way to change people’s opinions is by wearing them down and marrying them. That would take ages and it probably wouldn’t work in allcases,butthere’salotto be said for talking to people.

Because that’s the catch with Free Speech. Everyonegetsachancetospeak.

MynameisHelenLeddy, MD of Back Office Marketing - I provide marketing services for the hospitality and tourism industry across the Island of Ireland.

This month, I wanted to talk to you about the pros and cons of social media marketing for your business.Isitawasteoftimeor can it help your business prosper?

Social media has revolutionized the way we communicate and interact witheachother.Ithasalso transformed the way businesses market their productsandservices.Withthe widespread use of social mediaplatformslikeFacebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Tik Tok, businesses can now reach a vast audience and engage with them in a way that was not possible before.

So, how can you utilize socialmediaforyourbusiness? Social media marketing (SMM) is the practiceofpromotingproducts or services through social mediaplatforms.SMMhas become an integral part of many businesses' marketing strategies due to its effectiveness in reaching a large audience at a relatively low cost. Here are some pros and cons of social media marketing.

Pros:

� WideReach: Social mediaplatformshavebillions of active users, and this presents an excellent opportunityforbusinessesto reach a massive audience. With well-crafted social media campaigns, businesses can target specific demographics and reach potential customers in different parts of the world.

� Cost-Effective: Compared to traditional mar- ketingmethodslikeTV,radio, and print media, social media marketing is relatively affordable. With asmallbudget,businesses can run targeted ads that can reach a large audience.

� High Engagement: Social media platforms allow businesses to engage with their customers in realtime. This means businesses can respond to queries and complaints promptly, building trust and loyalty among their customers. Social media also allows for user-generated content, which can help businesses build a community around their brand.

� Analytics: Social media platformsprovidevaluable data on user engagement, impressions, and demographics. This information can help businesses refine their marketing strategies and improve their campaigns'performance.

Cons:

� Time-Consuming: Social media marketing requiresbusinessestocreate and publish content regularly. This can be timeconsuming and requires significant effort to maintain a consistent presence on multiple social media platforms.

� Requires Expertise: Effective social media marketing requires expertise in content creation, analytics, marketing and advertising. Businesses that lack the necessary skills and knowledge may struggle to achieve their marketinggoals.

� NegativeFeedback: Social media platforms are open to public feedback, and businesses may receive negative comments orreviews.Handlingnegative feedback can be challenging, and businesses must have a plan in place toaddresssuchissues.

� Competition: With the popularity of social media marketing, competition has increased, making it challenging to stand out from the crowd. Businesses must be creative and innovative in their marketing strategies to capture their audience's attention.

Social media marketing has significant potential for businesses of all sizes. The ability to reach a wide audience at low cost, high engagement, and valuable analytics are just some of the benefits of social media marketing. However, it requires significant effort and expertise to execute an effective social media marketingcampaign.

Businesses must carefullyconsidertheprosand consbeforedecidingtoinvest in social media marketing and develop a sound strategy that aligns with their marketing objectives.

To enquire about social media services that can benefityourbusiness visit our website www.backofficems.ie