Social Media Marketing Isn’t Just for Show

An article by Hubspot suggests that 92% of marketers consider social media marketing to be beneficial to their business. Here are the main reasons why:

Increased brand awareness is one of the main positives of social media marketing. When a company uses social media as a method of representing their brand, this allows their content to reach any individual who chooses to follow them. This type of marketing allows for a business to reach an audience that would not have been available to them otherwise.

Richer customer experience is a major upside to social media marketing. Social media marketing allows a brand to create a personal relationship with their customer or client. Social media apps such as Twitter or Instagram allows a business to reply to tweets, mention, tag, and even post photos of their clients in order to close the gap between customer and business.

With this, comes higher brand authority. Businesses such as Wendy’s and White Claw are great examples of a brand who have increased their brand authority while also interacting with their customer base. This becomes incredibly important in situations such as public relations, new product releases, and even something as simple as small product updates. Social media creates an atmosphere of relatability which then increases traffic and business.

Search engine rankings are a massive part of building a base of new clientele. In fact, 97% of people search online to find a local business. However, if a business does not have an online presence, or if their business isn’t optimized for online search, their business won’t rank highly enough to gain any traction. Therefore, it is incredibly important for a business not only to have an online presence but to also optimize on Google in order to increase traffic to their social pages and also increase business. This is an effort that can be made at very little effort.

Social media marketing isn’t as expensive as many think. In fact, according to Hubspot, 84% of marketers work six hours or less per week while increasing traffic and providing desired results. If a business chooses to start small on the budget, regarding marketing efforts and paid advertising, it is not unlikely to achieve desired results.

With an increase in audience, this creates an opportunity to increase conversion rates. Due to the fact that a social media presence automatically increases the amount of reach a business has, this makes it possible to interact to a level in which conversions from a competitor to your business increase significantly. Although not every interaction with a client results in a conversion, it does increase the likelihood of another interaction which can build a richer customer experience, which then can lead to a conversion.

With an increase in audience and an increase in interaction comes an increase in brand loyalty. According to a study by Texas Tech University, brands with a social media presence who interact with their customers and followers have a significant amount of brand loyalty associated with their brand.

This study suggests that “Companies should take advantage of the tools social media gives them when it comes to connecting with their audience. A strategic and open social media plan could prove influential in morphing consumers into being brand loyal.”

Although there is a negative stigma surrounding social media marketing, it has proven to be an incredibly effective tool in order to increase brand awareness, richer customer experience, brand authority, search engine rankings, an increase in conversion rates, and also brand loyalty. Social media marketing is an incredible tool that allows a brand to create its own standard, its own audience, and a client base that normally would not exist upon conventional circumstances.

Social media marketing may come across as a daunting obstacle, especially for a business that is starting from the ground up, however, there are a number of resources that make it much more attainable but even easy task for a company to undertake. In fact, every business should consider their digital marketing strategy and how social media plays into it.
Social media marketing is not just a passing trend. It allows for an increase in reach to a whole different type of audience that never would have been an option under any other circumstances, making it an incredibly valuable resource that should most certainly be taken advantage of.