By an increasing number of metrics, e-mails are becoming obsolete.

Initially regarded as a way to connect to your peers and communicate without using a phone, emails have undergone but a minute, mostly cosmetic change in their design and purpose over the years they’ve been around.Today, they’re mostly seen as a serious, business-meaning platform for communicating with your clients and sending important information back and forth. That being said, even this is slowly changing.

Introducing social media! - an informal, at times a cheeky bunch of online platforms that serve to connect people and enable them to share their thoughts and experiences whenever they like. Now, while social media is typically considered a place of relaxation and idle chatter, more and more businesses have been moving their customer support services toward these bustling online venues lately!

In this article, we’ll discuss the question of why this may be the case, and why you, as a business owner, might want to consider following suit with your colleagues across the board!

The Disadvantages of Using Emails for Business Communication

• It’s time-consuming – Sending messages back and forth through email can be a drag. Even if you do send an initial message on time, there’s no telling when the person on the other side is going to see it, so waiting for a response can waste valuable time!

• It’s impersonal – Possibly one of the worst aspects of email communication is the sense of distance and detachment. While sending a well-structured email surely does have a certain archaic appeal (similar to sending a letter, really), there’s always a certain impersonal sense involved, as the email dynamic excludes the feeling of real-time communication.

• Viruses – Last but not least, email accounts are notoriously prone to virus attacks. Considering the massive amounts of spam messages and other sneaky content that circulates on these platforms, doing business over email becomes less and less appealing for a customer, especially if they need to share some confidential data with you!

The Benefits of Using Social Media to Connect with Your Customers

• Real-time communication – If social media platforms are good at one thing, it’s connecting people in real time. Even though chat pop-ups are generally considered a rather informal way of conducting a conversation, they can be a perfect ‘weapon of choice’ for resolving a problem with a customer as a part of the customer support-related task!

• Transparency – People typically feel safe and at ease on social media. Therefore, working with a customer through messages or posts on one of these platforms will make them feel more secure and trusting when it comes to sharing their business problems with you!

• Natural brand promotion – Make no mistake, working openly with customers on a social media platform requires a great deal of dedication and more importantly- accountability on your part. In return, however, you will enjoy free advertising and brand recognition, as you score more and more successful deals and come up with clever solutions for your customers!

All things considered, migrating to social media as your venue of choice for dealing with your customers may seem a bit of an intimidating prospect at first, but in the long run, you may reap a host of benefits that come with working in a transparent and open way!

Remember, endorsing social media as a new outlet for your business doesn’t have to mean scrapping the email altogether- you can have both and decide for yourself where you feel the most comfortable!