Social media marketing has become a very efficient way for business owners to increase the popularity and sales of their products. With about 70% of the people in the United States alone having at least one social media account, it is certainly an opportunity that should not be missed.
Indeed, social media marketing is not the only way to get your business out there – but it certainly plays a very substantial role in it. If you have a business that you need to advertise, social media advertising is a good way for you to step ahead. And here are 15 good reasons why that’s the case.
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- Your Customers Are Likely on Social Media
- Potential Customers Will Be More Receptive
- You Can Reach Specific Audiences
- It Increases Brand Recognition
- It Offers New Customer Insight
- It Increases Inbound Traffic
- It is Cost-Effective
- It May Boost Your Search Engine Ranks
- Your Competition Is Also Using Social Media
- It Has High Conversion Rates
- It Helps Connect You with Different Customers
- Customers Use Social Media for Recommendations
- It Increases Brand Loyalty
- It Helps Build Brand Authority
- It Allows Targeting and Retargeting
1. Your Customers Are Likely on Social Media
As mentioned, more than two-thirds of these people are on social media, with 59% accessing their account every day and more than a third accessing every other day. Even if they do not go on social media every day, there is a big chance that when they do, they will come across your content.
According to Statista, by the time 2021 turns a corner, the number of people using social media will go at around 3.1 billion. With so many people online, it’s safe to assume that a very good number of them will come across your business – even if they do so randomly. Having this in mind, there is a big chance that if you log in quite often and post your content on your channels, your followers will have all the chances of seeing what you are posting.
That being said, you may also make sure that you are active on the channels that they use most of the time. Don’t expect them to come to you – but instead, you go to them. Make a profile of your ideal customer and see exactly which platforms they are most likely to use. Are they more likely to be Facebook users – or are they more likely to be on Instagram instead? Based on this, choose your “weapons” and start working on your strategy.
2. Potential Customers Will Be More Receptive
When a user goes onto social media, they are likely doing so as an attempt to have some fun or to connect to other people that are on that platform. They want to talk to their friends, family – and overall, keep a close eye over what is happening in the world. If there’s anything that we can appreciate about social media, it’s that no news ever stays secret; if it’s good or qualitative, then it will be spreading like wildfire.
When people are being marketed on social media, they usually don’t even have a clue that they are actually being particularly marketed to. That being said, this does not mean that they are not in any way following or connecting to a brand. It just happens more in the background – somewhere in the back of their heads.
When a user follows a brand on social media, they do not necessarily do so because they want to buy the product from them. They do so because they find the information that they share quite valuable. They may be looking for a future deal, they may be seeking entertainment – or they may be looking for more about the brand. In this case, social media may bring them closer to the brand.
Consumers tend to be more receptive to social media for a variety of reasons – but most of it is because social media has a more conversational vibe. This allows you to show off your brand in a different light – one that has more personality and makes it easier for you to connect with your audience.
3. You Can Reach Specific Audiences
One of the main perks of using social media marketing is that you may use it to strategically target your audience. All of this can be done based on the channels that your brand is currently activating in. This way, instead of showing your message to everyone in the world (people who might not even be interested in your product), you are targeting it for a specific group of people that might be interested.
First things first, you may want to create a list based on the demographic values of your followers – and the more details it has, the better it will be. This list may include their location, gender, interests, age, hobbies, other brands they follow, and so on. To put it simply, by knowing these values, you will be able to get a better reading of your ideal customer – and therefore, determine exactly which social media platform suits you best.
Social media will there on use that data to deliver the ads only to the customers that are relevant to your product. Since some types of social media advertising are paid for, it would be irrelevant to show products delivered only locally in California to people living in Canada, for example. When you get relevant traffic, your conversion rates will also be boosted.
4. It Increases Brand Recognition
One more important benefit of social media marketing is its efficiency in improving your brand recognition – all because your brand gets more visibility. Since you’ll be able to share your content for more people to see, you will have more opportunities to show off the personality and voice of your brand. Plus, by providing content that is compelling and brings a fair amount of value to your customers, you should be able to create even more leads.
For instance, let’s say that a new potential lead comes across the social media page for your brand completely by chance. If it’s their first time coming in contact with your brand, the chances are that they may not know much about it – but by reading the content you posted on social media, they might find value in it. The same thing applies to your current subscribers – the more content they see on social media, the better acquainted they will become with your brand.
5. It Offers New Customer Insight
When advertising their brand, most businesses just focus on their website content creation – on adding the right keywords to their texts in order to make it more searchable. Digital media consultant Norm Elrod speaks with exactly those thoughts in mind:
“Search is about figuring out what people are looking for when they enter keywords into their favorite search engine. Social media is what people are actually saying to each other; they’re telling us what they’re looking for. We, as marketers, should be able to fit it all together pretty nicely.”[1]
As a result, the purpose here is not to give them something that you think will become beneficial for them. As businesspeople, we all believe that our ideas are very good and that we actually know what people want – but we can’t know that unless we actually listen to people talk amongst themselves.
Think about it as an analogy with a hairstylist: Let’s say that you just got a new haircut, but the hairstylist got it all wrong. Because we tend to be polite with people and avoid confrontation, we say that it looks good – but on the inside, we are kicking and screaming. We then talk to our friends and tell them what it was supposed to look like – how they should have done it instead. This is social media: you gain new insight from a “review” that is not directly given to you.
6. It Increases Inbound Traffic
With each new post that you make, you have the opportunity to bring a new visitor to your page. The more you post on your page, the higher the chances are that the followers will be interested in what you have to sell.
Bear in mind that if you wish to increase your inbound traffic, you also need to publish content that is interesting and engaging; otherwise, the only thing that your website will be getting is just a lot of bounce. People will be accessing your website and see that there is nothing of value there – so, if you want to turn these new leads into actual customers, then you need to provide them valuable content that they can actually benefit from.
7. It is Cost-Effective
One of the main perks of social media marketing is that it allows you to cut from the costs without actually influencing the results. This happens because instead of investing money in your advertising, you are investing in time for creating quality publishable content, as well as interacting with your potential customers.
That being said, you don’t have to give all your time to create that content. You just have to spend a couple of hours every week, and you may easily get some quite significant results. On average, it should not take more than 6 hours to generate a few good leads.
Some ads will have to be paid, indeed – but even so, the prices are more affordable in comparison to other standard methods of marketing. In the end, by creating a well-thought-of social marketing campaign, not only will you save on money and resources, but you will also be bringing more people onto your website. No matter how small your budget may be, you should still be able to generate results.
8. It May Boost Your Search Engine Ranks
If you are running a business, there is quite a good chance that you may have already put a lot of work into your SEO strategy. However, what you probably did not know about search engines is the fact that they use your presence on social media as an important factor in increasing your rankings. A successful brand will likely have quite a healthy presence on social media – which will tell the search engine that the brand is actually trustworthy and valuable.
At the same time, during most searches, the social media profile of a brand is the first thing that will appear on the search engine. Naturally, the first thing that the user will check is that page – so, if they see that your page is currently outdated or does not have any recent content, they will not have much trust in your brand. This is why you may want to be active for as much as possible.
9. Your Competition Is Also Using Social Media
You may think that the smart idea here is to be unique and act differently in comparison to your competition – but in truth, it is not actually true. Considering that pretty much everyone (businessperson or not) is currently on social media, everyone will be going for the brand that is on the platform that they are using. By refusing to bring your business onto social media, you are allowing your potential customers to connect with your competition as we speak. Plus, it keeps you up to date with what your competition is doing – as Louie Ortiz from Monbi.com also points out.
“When I go onto social media, I don’t only post content and connect with my followers – but I also keep a close eye on what my competition is doing. If you want to remain at the top, the last thing you want to do is turn a blind eye and adopt an ‘I don’t care’ attitude. You should care. If your competition has more success than you do, then they must be doing something right. It’s not about copying; it’s about taking notes and turning it into something even more efficient.”
If you wish to stay competitive and be successful with your brand, then you have to start working in creating a social media presence. This way, not only will you be able to show off the personality of your brand, but it is also quite an effective outlet for you to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise.
10. It Has High Conversion Rates
It has been shown that social media has some of the highest conversion rates in comparison to other outbound marketing tactics – and it makes sense. Every post that you make along with every interaction with a new potential customer, you are one step closer to turning your lead into a happy customer. And the more consistently you post, the easier it should be for you to improve your trust and credibility – therefore, increasing your sales.
Plus, perhaps one of the most important social media elements is the fact that it can take your brand messaging to a more “human” level. Social media is a place where people go to socialize and network – and this applies to business pages as well. You may present your brand through a more “humanized” angle, showing warmth, humor, and personality. By adding this type of conversational content to your page, you will be getting quite a lot of people interested in your brand.
11. It Helps Connect You with Different Customers
One convenient thing about social media marketing is that it allows you to connect with potential customers you probably did not even know were there. Facebook marketing expert Marl Smith also has quite a good input on that:
“With Social Media so prevalent, we are all extremely visible. Your prospective clients, your peers and your competition can drill as deep as they wish searching, reading and gathering information online about you and posted by you without you ever knowing who’s searching. Depending on what they find, your prospects may choose to do business with you or not.”[2]
As mentioned, people going on social media tend to talk quite a lot among themselves – leaving reviews and comments that will make your brand grow in popularity. By the time your brand catches some wind, you probably may not realize that some of your customers are coming from categories you never even realized you targeted.
In this case, social media listening is quite a good way to connect with customers – and see exactly who would be interested in your brand. Follow certain keywords and listen closely to your brand mentions. This way, you should be able to get quite a few good lead opportunities.
12. Customers Use Social Media for Recommendations
In the past, people would look to forums and website testimonials for reviews and opinions – but nowadays, everything may be easily found on social media. When someone wants to find out more about a product, they go to social media to ask for recommendations. Louie Ortiz, CEO of Monbi, also has a few words on that:
“I follow quite a lot of brands on social media – some of them my competition, and others just interests of mine. What I tend to see quite a lot is people asking for recommendations through the comments. They ask whether the product is any good and whether it can help with any other issue that they may have. In some cases, the page owners answer it – and in other cases, they get replies from other previous users. That being said, most of those customers bought the product simply because they received the recommendation on social media.”
Word of mouth is a very powerful tool – one that every person should learn to take advantage of. Customers have always trusted a product that has received quite a number of recommendations – which is why you should encourage your customers to leave a review on social media as well.
13. It Increases Brand Loyalty
A larger company will have the funds to invest in costlier customer loyalty programs, efficiently bringing customer satisfaction up a notch. However, those who cannot afford that can only rely on social media to improve their brand loyalty. Considering that social media allows you to connect with your leads at a more intimate level, it makes it very easy for them to build a stronger relationship with a potential customer. Plus, if you engage with your customer using compelling, valuable content, you may easily turn a happy customer into a person that also advocates your brand.
14. It Helps Build Brand Authority
When people purchase a product, they want to be sure that they do so from a brand that has authority in the field – and if you use social media right, you can easily do that with your brand. The more valuable content you share, the more opportunities you will have to prove that you have a lot of expertise in your domain. And the more people talk about your brand on social media, the more it will inspire other audience members to follow your page. If you bring value to others using social media, they will catch on to it as well and will perceive your product as a high-authority one.
15. It Allows Targeting and Retargeting
Since social media allows for highly targeted ads, you may use it to customize the product/service around your ideal customer’s needs. Thanks to the fancy targeting capabilities of most social media platforms, you can see where your ideal clients are and you can drive your content straight into their direction.
This can help you get the most of your marketing spending – because as your brand evolves, your ideal customer will also evolve. This will ensure that your content only goes to the clients that are relevant for that particular time and that the resources are not wasted on those who do not necessarily need to interact with your product.
Final Thoughts
In the end, social media marketing is quite an efficient way to get your business out there. It is cost-effective, and in most cases, all it will take is a little time of your day. You need to provide valuable content and interact with your customers – because after all, that’s what it means to be social.
A good social media campaign should be able to build trust with your customers, mostly because it creates a different intimacy level in comparison to other campaigns. When a customer trusts someone, they buy – and that is exactly what social media can help you build.
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