Social media is an important part of any business marketing strategy. It allows you to connect with your audience on a personal level and create a brand image that reflects your company’s mission and values.
It also gives your business credibility and increases both marketplace awareness and sales. Determining your social media course of action may seem daunting, but there are many resources to help you get started.
1. It’s Free
If your business wants to increase sales, it needs to get seen. Social media marketing is one of the best ways to do that. Unlike traditional marketing and advertising, which can cost you thousands of dollars, social media marketing is free (well, sort of).
Plus, it’s effective. People spend 147 minutes per day on average on social media, so your content can reach millions of potential customers. And if done correctly, you can see a significant return on investment. In addition, social media marketing allows you to take a stand and become a thought leader, which builds trust with your consumers. Then, when they are ready to purchase, your business is top of mind. This creates brand loyalty and customer retention. Additionally, social media marketing enables you to provide fast and effective customer service.
2. It’s Effective
When done right, social media marketing is a powerful way to promote your business and drive traffic to your website. It can also help you stand out from your competitors by establishing you as a thought leader in your industry.
Through the use of relevant content, such as engaging Instagram posts or thoughtful blog posts, you can become an authoritative voice that your customers look to for advice and recommendations. This can lead to an increase in brand trust and ultimately sales.
In addition, you can humanize your business by fostering one-on-one customer conversations at scale through social media. This is especially important since most consumers learn about brands and companies through social media rather than traditional advertising methods. Consumers also expect businesses to respond to them on social media within a reasonable amount of time.
3. It’s Easy
Social media marketing allows businesses to engage directly with their audience and can help them discover and understand what consumers want from the brand. This information helps in the development of content that resonates with them, and is a crucial component to a well-rounded marketing strategy.
It also allows businesses to quickly respond to questions, concerns or complaints, which is very important to customers. In fact, Sprout Social reports that over 36% of customers who receive a response on social media say they’ll share the company with friends and family.
It also provides a platform to become a thought leader in your industry by posting engaging content, and can drive traffic to your website or business. With features like Instagram/Facebook Shop, call to action buttons on profiles and direct messaging, it’s easy for businesses to generate leads and convert visitors into customers.
4. It’s Fun
Social media marketing gives you the ability to connect with your audience in a very personal, meaningful way. Sharing creative content, engaging with your audience in conversation, and responding to customer inquiries all allow you to establish a personality for your brand that sets it apart from its competition.
You can also use social media to become a thought leader in your industry. Share insightful blog posts, contribute to relevant conversations, and show a fresh perspective to your followers through tweets. This helps you stand out from your competitors and makes your business memorable.
Ultimately, your goal should be to get your audience interested in your brand. Once they’re engaged, they will likely go to your website to learn more about you. This leads to conversion, which can result in sales.
5. It’s Personal
Social media is the place to showcase a company’s personality and values, and to connect with customers in meaningful ways. Whether it’s Discord’s quippy, casual tone that is beloved by both casual players and moderators or a company chiming into topical discussions, there are plenty of opportunities to humanize a business and build trust with their audiences.
With the right team and program strategy, social media marketing can be a cost-effective tool that yields impressive results. The key is to stay focused on metrics that align with business goals, rather than chasing vanity metrics such as likes and follows. For instance, monitoring social media engagement allows organizations to know when and where their audience is interacting with them online. This allows them to respond quickly and improve customer service in real-time.
