Leveraging social media in your marketing strategy can be a game-changer in meeting your business goals and objectives.
Think of social media as an important piece of the marketing pie. In general, social media shouldn’t replace other elements of your marketing mix, like email marketing or public relations. Instead, it should enhance, support, and add to them – helping all of your marketing elements to work together to meet your goals.
Social media marketing is the use of social media to market and promote a company’s products and services. Using social networks like Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube, and others, you can elevate social media in your marketing strategy to attract new customers, develop brand loyalty, and offer direct support to increase customer retention. Social media marketing opens the door to building relationships with your ideal customer that leads to further social network engagement, website visits, email sign-ups, increased sales, and more.
Social media marketing allows you to market to your ideal customers through applicable content that helps show how you can solve your customer’s problems and challenges. If you desire to apply the inbound marketing approach to your business, social media is one of the best ways to support that strategy.
Read more about the inbound marketing approach
Today, Advertising is the Fuel for the Social Media Marketing Engine
Many small businesses invest in creating great content and social media posts, yet they don’t see positive results in reaching the right people and achieving their business goals. Why? Organic reach, particularly on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, is very hard for businesses to generate.
Social networking platforms like Facebook are for-profit companies that operate off of paid advertisements. Thus, they’ve shifted their algorithms to encourage businesses to advertise if they want to reach a large audience.
Facebook has about 2.89 billion monthly active users, according to Statista in August of 2021. If you want your content to reach your target audience, investing in advertising is the key to success. Don’t waste time and money creating content that people won’t see. Take advantage of the reach, affordability, and precision of ads.
Now that we understand how to look at social media marketing and advertising, let’s discuss the benefits of social media marketing.
Social Media Marketing Increases Brand Awareness
You have the opportunity to increase the impact of your marketing efforts by creating a social media presence that reaches a new, wide, and diverse audience.
Be where your audience already is
As of July 2021, 57 percent of the world’s population is on social platforms, which is about 4.48 billion social media users worldwide, according to HubSpot.
You have the opportunity to enter the conversation and carve out your spot in the social media world. Presence is key.
According to Hootsuite, users spend about 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media per day. You have the opportunity to remind your future and existing customers that you are ready to come to the rescue with your product or service.
Think of social media as the front door of your business
For many people, social media is the first place they go in search of products and services and you can have some control over that first impression. Ensure that your brand messaging, style, and voice are consistent across channels. Consider if you are clearly communicating your unique mission as a business and your solution to your customer’s problem.
According to Sprout Social, 57% of consumers follow a brand on social media to learn about new products or services. Meet your potential customers where they’re at. Make it easy for them to understand who you are and what you can do for them.
Your social media profile is the doorway to building your brand-engaged customer base.
Your social media “hello” matters.
Find your ideal customer
While consistent and organic content is vital, you can’t get away from the fact that social media paid advertising is the key to success. Thankfully, social platform ads are a fairly inexpensive and worthwhile investment.
Social media platforms collect data from their users that not only tell basic demographic information but dial in on psychographic information. This feature allows you to target ads to your ideal customer. You have the power to seek out people who would find your product or service as the answer to their needs and challenges.
Your ad can drive people to your social media profile, website, or e-newsletter — choose the action that matches your goals and aligns with where the prospect is in the buyer journey. Social media marketing empowers you to find and connect with your target audience in personalized and results-driven ways.
Read more about why you need a social media advertising budget
Social Media Marketing Builds Brand Loyalty
Building brand awareness is a crucial first step in drawing in your ideal customer. However, this is not where social media’s benefits end. You have the power to shape your brand reputation and positioning and retain your target audience. By building brand loyalty, you have a higher probability of reaching your goals.
Lead the conversation
After users follow your business on social media, you want them to continue to engage. Your content should reflect your authority, expertise, and beliefs as a brand. As a leader in your niche, you can offer educational, entertaining, or promotional content that proves that you can be trusted. Continue to foster that relationship with your followers by becoming a consistent and transparent voice.
For those who follow a brand on social media, they are more likely to increase in engagement:
- 91% visit the brand’s website or app
- 89% will buy from the brand
- 85% will recommend the brand to a family or friend
(Sprout Social)
Engage with your customers
Social media marketing gives you the unique opportunity to talk one-on-one with your customers. You can answer their questions, offer support, listen to their feedback, and resolve issues.
Your loyal customers can offer positive reviews that will boost brand loyalty and awareness. Even negative feedback allows you to connect with customers and show other followers that you care about their concerns and input.
It’s important to note that you must be highly aware of the power of social media and your brand image. Consider that 49 percent of consumers who experience poor quality of support or customer service will unfollow a brand on social media, according to Sprout Social. And worse, they might give a negative review!
Your poor response time may also be a way to kill a lead. Your odds of qualifying a lead decreases by 80 percent when contacting leads within 10 minutes vs. five minutes, according to studies.
Recognize and take advantage of the accessibility to customers that social media offers.
A New Outlook On Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing puts the power in your hands. This dynamic form of marketing allows you to engage with future and present customers in direct, human, and personal ways. You can shape the conversation. You can position your brand and make it known.
Most of all, you can leverage social media advertising to attract your ideal customers and build relationships that develop results.
Are you excited about this new perspective on social media marketing? Are you ready to take your business to new heights and experience results-driven digital marketing through paid social media advertising?
Schedule a free consultation call with us to get started.
