By Staff Writer | for Moakanyi Magazine

There are new benefits being discovered everyday of using social media for a business or a brand, but we compiled twenty from Hoosuite.com, one of the largest social media management websites for companies and advertising agencies worldwide. Hootsuite says these are the twenty reasons why your business must not ignore social media.

Increase brand awareness: With nearly half of the world’s population using social media platforms, they’re a natural place to reach new and highly targeted potential customers.

Humanize your brand: A UK study from Trinity Mirror Solutions found that more than half of adults do not trust a brand until they see “real-world proof” that the brand is keeping its promises.

Establish your brand as a thought leader: No matter what industry your business is in, social media offers the opportunity to establish your brand as a thought leader—the go-to source for information on topics related to your niche.

Stay top of mind: Most social media users log into their accounts at least once per day, according to Pew Research Center, and many people are checking social multiple times per day.

Increase website traffic: Social media posts and ads are key ways to drive traffic to your website. Sharing great content from your blog or website to your social channels is a great way to get readers as soon as you publish a new post participating in social chats—like the weekly #HootChat on Twitter—can also be a great way to increase your visibility, get attention from new people, showcase your expertise, and drive traffic to your website.

Generate leads: Social media offers an easy and low-commitment way for potential customers to express interest in your business and your products. Lead generation is such an important benefit of social media for business that many social networks offer advertising formats specifically designed to collect leads.

Boost sales: No matter what you sell, social media can help you sell it. Your social accounts are a critical part of your sales funnel—the process through which a new contact becomes a customer.

Partner with influencers: Word of mouth drives 20 to 50 percent of purchasing decisions. When you get people talking about your product or company on social media, you build brand awareness and credibility, and set yourself up for more sales.

Promote content: Promoting your content on social channels is a great way to get your smart, well-researched content in front of new people, proving your expertise and growing your audience.

Go viral: As people start liking, commenting on, and sharing your social posts, your content is exposed to new audiences—their friends and followers.

Reputation management: Your customers are already talking about you on social media, whether or not you’re there to respond. If you and your team are on the ball, you can pick up on important social posts about your brand to highlight the positive and address the negative before it turns into a major issue.

Crisis communication: When a Philadelphia Starbucks store had two black men arrested, the hashtag #BoycottStarbucks went viral, and fast. The hashtag was used more than 100,000 times in just three days. That is officially a crisis. Starbucks, to its credit, responded quickly.

Customer and audience engagement: Social networks give you the opportunity to interact directly with customers and fans, and likewise give them the chance to interact directly with your brand. Unlike traditional media, which offers only one-way communication, social media is a two-way street.

Customer service and customer support: People expect brands to be available on social media and seek out their social accounts for customer service. Research published in the Harvard Business Review shows that brands who don’t meeting those expectations damage their bottom line.

Monitor conversations that are relevant to your brand: We mentioned social media monitoring above as an important element of audience engagement. But it’s also important as a key source of intelligence about your brand, your competitors, and your niche.

Learn more about your customers: Social media generates a huge amount of data about your customers in real time. You can use that information to make smarter business decisions.

Gauge sentiment around your brand: Lots of mentions is a good thing, right? Sure, in many cases. But if you’re getting lots of mentions with a negative sentiment, you need to do some quick thinking to figure out what’s gone wrong and address the problem.

Keep an eye on the competition: It’s also important to know what people are saying about your competitors. For example, tracking mentions of your competitors might reveal pain points with their products that you could reach out to address, winning new customers in the process.

Stay on top of industry news: In the online world, things move fast—and you can’t afford to be left behind. Keeping a virtual ear to the ground through social listening makes sure you’re always informed about upcoming changes to your industry that could affect the way you do business.

Targeted advertising: Social ads are an inexpensive way to promote your business and distribute content. They also offer powerful targeting options so you can reach the right audience and make the most of your budget.