With all the marketing channels available, should your company focus on social media marketing? If you sell anything online, then the answer is yes. Every company from mom and pop to multi-channel industrial behemoths benefit when they are active on social media.
Each social platform has a unique audience. Companies can target those audiences, segmenting them by multiple specific demographics and interests. It’s the most cost-effective method of advertising businesses can use. However, social media is more than a business tool. It’s a vital communication link between consumers and the company.
Below are 10 reasons why businesses use Social Media Marketing:
1. Increase brand awareness
The fact that all most everyone around us is on social media makes these platforms a natural place to reach new and highly targeted potential customers. There is a myth that people follow only the brands they already know. Well, the statistics say something else. It says, 60% of Instagram users discover new products on the platform.
2. It’s Where Your Customers Are
59% of people visit a social site every day, and a third of those people check their accounts over five times per day! A business that posts regularly becomes more engaging to their prospects.
There are over 800 social channels, making it easier for marketers to target the right demographics. For example, Pinterest’s users are 68% female and 32%, male. LinkedIn users are 35 or older, and the most followed brand on Instagram is Nike. When you know your audience, you can concentrate on the social arenas they frequent.
The top 6 media channels are still the best place for any business to start their social media marketing:
Facebook
YouTube
WhatsApp
Messenger
WeChat
Instagram
Monthly Active Users (MAUs) for these sites are in the billions and growing. Marketers can target specific demographics based on their gender, age, location, interests, the brands they like, hobbies, or other specific interests.
3. Improved Search Engine Rankings & Website Traffic
Businesses are using social media not just for daily postings and engagements with their followers. It is also being used for advertising. There are different advertising options available on every platform like lead generation, likes campaign, boost post, website visits and more. So, sharing a new blog of your website on social media and boosting it is an excellent way to promote your website. Participating in social chats are also an effective way to increase your visibility, showcase your expertise, get attention from new people and drive traffic to your website. Just make sure that you are adding value to the conversations and not busy promoting your brand.
4. Provide Customer Service
Social media is being used more and more as a customer service tool. By being readily available to prospects and customers and offering support on sites such as Twitter and Facebook, companies are able to show prospects how responsive they are and keep their existing customers satisfied.
5. Social media helps increase trust in the business
If you are active on social media, it will be very easy for customers to authenticate the status of your business. By doing this, they will give you the benefit of doubt and opt for your services. If your service is good, they will become your potential customers because of the trust that they feel with regards to your business or any other brand. Being on social media is also an indication that you will always be in a position to communicate with your customers which will satisfy them and make them confident with what you do.
6. It is the best platform where you can promote your content
Search Engine Optimization is the trend in this generation but you can use social media to attract customers who are not brought to your site using SEO. Social media increases the level of awareness of your business which is more effective because if the content is right, it can attract large volumes of customers in a small amount of time.
7. Grow Your Company’s Network
Networked companies perform better in sales than those that are less networked. Amassing a large base of fans, followers, and connections enables you to communicate directly with consumers who are interested in your products and services.
8. Learn about your customers
Have you ever taken a trip to the insights or analytics tab on your social media page? If not, then you are missing out on a massive amount of data that every platform generates about your customers in real time. The data can be used smartly to make business decisions based on customers’ demographic information. It can help you modify your strategy to communicate effectively to your real audience.
9. It helps you effectively manage your own reputation
Reputation is something that many business owners are worried of but being educated about social media, you will have no issues when it comes to managing your public perception. The instant feedback that you give whenever you are asked a question or when customers leave comments matter a lot. You can deal with all the issues effectively and in a swift manner.
The manner in which you respond demonstrates who you are; if you know how to carry yourself, all the negative feedback from unhappy customers can be diffused instantly and transformed into a positive experience for the customer. You have to know that you always have the upper hand when it comes to your own business. You can turn a customer’s bad experience into a positive one which will convert in to good publicity and customer satisfaction.
10. Marketplace Awareness from The Source
One of the greatest advantages to marketers is the marketplace awareness that social media provides. Market awareness is understanding the customer’s needs. By monitoring your social accounts, they are more than willing to let you know.
It’s like having personal conversations with hundreds of shoppers and learning their thoughts and opinions. You can observe customers’ interests and views that you might not know otherwise. And, you can respond to problems immediately rather than letting them faster.
Brand recognition, customer loyalty, increased conversions, and cost-effectiveness are excellent reasons to make social media marketing a priority for your company. It offers plenty of opportunities to measure conversions and other metrics to see if ROI’s are worth the effort.
There are still 3.2 billion users on social sites almost every day. That’s 42% of the world’s population. If you haven’t created a social media strategy, there is no better time to jump in.
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