Do you participate in social media? It’s a lot of work coming up with something to say, not to mention monitoring what’s being said, and then responding. Do you do it? And if you do, is it just for the SEO?  Or because it’s the hip thing, so you can have working social icons on your website?

I get excited when businesspeople explain to me that the old ways of attracting customers no longer work and that, after thinking that social media was a fad, they’ve realized that there may be something to it. They’ve noticed their mothers online, their friends using mobile devices to share YouTube videos, or even a co-worker circulating an insightful blog article about business innovation. They’re wondering how might this make sense for their businesses. Will it allow them to connect with customers?

Although social media delivers SEO benefits (and not having a business presence on LinkedIn and Facebook says something about you), the most critical aspect of participating in social media has to do with connecting with people. And, yes, people (customers) are expecting to be connected with.

After all, these are social tools that enable interaction with other people. The more you embrace connecting with others, the more benefits the tools deliver.

Yet lots of people in business don’t get that---people in large, sophisticated organizations and smaller ones, too; people advising those people; people in love with traditional one-way communications. People who’ve perhaps lost sight of what business is about.

Why do we engage in business? Isn’t it to connect with potential buyers and establish relationships with them, so they trust us and eventually purchase from us? That can only happen if we connect as human beings and develop an understanding of the world our customers live in, no? Interactions mean a greater likelihood that transactions may take place.

If that’s the case, shouldn’t we be more than willing to interact with customers using digital and social means? Shouldn’t we be ready to banish the traditional shout messages (sale, buy now!), in favor of ones that allow us to listen, customers to speak, and for both of us to exchange meaning? How effective is a phone call to a valued customer when the entire call is about how wonderful you are and your customer never gets a chance to relay what issues s/he is dealing with and how you might help? It’s as bad as an automated phone call or tweet.

Although using social media can be scary at first, once you realize the benefits, I bet you’ll wonder what took you so long! To get you started, here are 10 reasons for participating in social media to benefit your business.

1. You demonstrate to potential customers that you are human and care about their world.

2. You bring to life an externally focused mindset. (See Retail Outward Not Inward: Time To Refocus.)

3. Social media allows you to bring to life your otherwise static brochure-like website with a dynamic presence.

4. You address in a public forum the questions and concerns your customers have about your products and services---which are being asked anyway without your participation.

5. You participate in the conversations taking place that relate to your business, products, industry … and have the opportunity to shape the agenda.

6. You manage your reputation.

7. You build a customer community

8. You direct prequalified prospects---with whom you’ve already established a relationship---to your website, so you can engage in business.

9. You build your digital visibility and online presence.

10. You remain relevant to customers.

Whereas traditional advertising attempts to bypass the brain and go straight to the heart, social media addresses potential buyers’ needs for intellectual satisfaction with specific knowledge (i.e., content and context). The result: You build a business brand that customers not only feel is great, but know it is, too.

What are your reasons for involving your business in social media?