8 reasons why social media marketing is crucial for your business?

Today there are 3.1 million social media users all over the world. It seems outrageous as social media turned up only 15 years ago. But, today 1 in 3 people are active on social media. All you need to reach them is an internet-connected device. This means that any business can find its customers online. In addition to that, social media marketing is an awesome tool that can help your target them more efficiently.  

Wikipedia says social media marketing is the use of social media platforms to promote a product or service. In simpler words, social media marketing is marketing that takes place on social media platforms. Moreover, this type of marketing includes both free and paid promotions and provides your business with a deeper knowledge of your audience. Specifically, it includes activities like posting text and image updates, videos, and advertisements that ultimately drive customer engagement. Hence, if you know how to use it properly, social media can be one of the most compelling advertising platforms for your success. 

What are the goals of social media marketing? 

Brands use social media marketing to connect with their audience. It can reduce hassle for their buyers to reach their products or services. Additionally, consumers also expect businesses to be online ready and waiting; to answer their questions and address their problems.

The most crucial part of any social media strategy is to set social media marketing goals. Posting blindly and expecting to achieve massive amounts of new sales would be like cooking without the right ingredients and expecting perfection. But, if you set goals before you begin, it’s easier to measure social media success or failure. With this in mind, here are some goals that you can set before deciding your social media strategy: 

1. Brand Awareness: Brand awareness is the extent to which customers can recall or recognize a brand.
2.  Enhancing Public Relations: Answering promptly with a sense of urgency elevates brand trust.
3.  Building brand loyalty: It is extremely important to focus on what sets you apart from your competition.  So, know how you are different and then focus on your strengths. 
4. Research and Development: By continuously engaging with customers, your company can stay up to date. Know the problems they’re facing and develop solutions.
5. Generating Sales: With social media, you can present your company as a trusted advisor that people want to buy from.

 

Now, let us look into the various benefits that social media offers for businesses: 

1. Huge, a global market 

Currently, there are about 2.6 billion users on Facebook, 2.1 billion users on YouTube, and 1 billion users on Instagram. However, the same users overlap on all the platforms but, the numbers are still huge. As the customer’s tastes are evolving, the way people purchase is constantly changing. Hence, there are so many new opportunities for businesses to experiment online. If you’re not present on any social media platforms, then you’re missing out on a huge amount of consumer traffic. And with less than 30 percent of companies using social media, there are big opportunities for businesses that invest in it. 

2. Building a community 

One of the benefits of social media marketing is that it allows you to play in your niche forum. Such a framework helps businesses grow out of a strict circle of audience and creates brand awareness. Also, different social media tools and platforms provide like-minded people with a safe space. They can discuss, purchase and interact with brands dedicated to their niche.  

3. User-Generated-Content (UGC) 

It’s no surprise that customers have outsmarted businesses when it comes to advertisements. Most people these days just don’t trust online ads. In fact, they know there’s an ulterior motive at play. And this is where UGC comes in.  

UGC is nothing but a real-life customer endorsing your product or service. Not only it’s different from a regular sales pitch but also refreshing to the audience. Hence, it’s not boring, or vague, and that’s why it works!  

4. Customer Service 

Generally, users rely on social media for more than sharing content with friends and family. In fact, they also use it for connecting with companies, whether by highlighting a positive shopping experience or requesting a company’s assistance. And there’s no other communication channel like social media for an instant chat service. Customers are increasingly expecting brands to be available on their social channels for customer support. In that case, not being attentive to customer needs on social media can also be harmful to your brand. 

5. More web traffic 

Having a social media page and having your website listed can direct huge traffic and a large number of sales. For instance, if you make your brand seen on social media, it increases your brand’s visibility among customers. In addition, this traffic is considered an important ranking signal by Google. Generally speaking, if a customer can find your brand easily on a search engine, it increases trust in your business.

6. Competitive Analysis 

One critical benefit that social media marketing provides is the ability to spy on competitors. Understanding what your competitors are doing online enables you to compete with them directly and more efficiently. Not to mention, social data from competitors can unlock opportunities that you might’ve missed before. You can find new influencers to expand your reach. Henceforth, keeping an eye on which direction your competitors are moving towards lets you analyze the industry better. It helps you prepare for any challenge ahead.

7. Cost-Effective  

It’s arguably one of the biggest benefits of the social media marketing that it can massively raise brand awareness. And that too with the least investment required. To be specific, social media marketing costs include the cost of managing social media accounts, the creation of content, and paid social ads. With that in mind, depending on what you’re trying to achieve through social media marketing, the cost will vary a lot. But, the bottom line is, time and money invested into social media marketing (SMM) can have benefits to a company, and like no other marketing platform.  

8. Link building 

Yes, that’s right, social media can have a massive impact on SEO and link building. Like, if you’re sharing entertaining or valuable content on social media, many of your followers will probably re-share it. Then this leads to your brand being more visible and Google recognizing you as a trustable brand.  

Social media marketing offers numerous opportunities to grow online for companies if they are willing to invest in their social presence. The many benefits social media marketing has for companies small and large, can have a positive impact and differentiate them more against their competitors. 

Not using social channels will negatively impact businesses in the long term. It might seem like your business doesn’t need it now, but, eventually, it will hurt your bottom line. 

With TOS as your partner, you can count on having a competitive and in-depth social media marketing strategy that delivers the results you want. Discover the potential of your social media by contacting us online! 

Check out our social media marketing (SMM) services.