“If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business.”

— Bill Gates

Social Media Marketing or SMM is an essential component of a business marketing plan. It serves as a key ingredient in growing your business exponentially. Through social media, your business can reach millions of customers irrespective of their location. 

It is also worth noting that having a strong online presence will help your business stay relevant in the competitive digital marketplace. Social media allows the demonstration of your industry knowledge by posting valuable content, and ingeniously answering customer questions. By showing your brand personality and level of authority through social media, you can help generate higher traffic to your site. 

The higher the amount of traffic that goes to your website, the higher the number of leads that you can convert. A substantial boost in conversion rates often reflects bigger sales, enhanced business-to-customer relation and effective customer acquisition and retention. This only proves that posting great content daily and maintaining consistent interaction with customers build customer trust and loyalty. With this, social media marketing is undoubtedly significant.

Marketing one’s business using social media channels is rife with advantages, the most prevalent of which include:

1. It Serves as the Customers’ New “Home”

Most customers, regardless of age, spend most of their time on social media. Social media has now evolved into a so-called ‘new community’ where most users flock to stay updated on current events and entertainment news while keeping touch with their loved ones. Using this as a reference, your business should capitalize on social media to gain a stable online presence. Making your business available online enables interactive communication, a strategy that will prove even more significant by the year 2021. Digital marketing experts predict 2021 as the year when social media users will have reached its peak at a staggering  3.1 billion users worldwide.

2. It Encourages Social Interaction

Apart from providing accurate information about your business, you can also use social media to get your followers acquainted with each other. Observe how potential leads and existing customers react whenever you upload entertaining and valuable content on your channels. The uniqueness and entertainment value of your content, paired with increased user interaction attracts more followers and engagement to your social media pages. Additionally, social media allows you, the business owner, to connect with leads and customers by answering their questions in real-time. It is worth noting that prospects and customers are more receptive to informative content compared to direct marketing messages.

3. It Improves Brand Recognition

Leads and customers will become more familiar with your brand if your business’s unique voice and personality is represented by a suitable logo and human-centric content. Actively posting informative content across all social platforms will stimulate customers to consistently choose your brand over your competitors and reinforce the likelihood of repeat purchases.

4. It Increases Internal Traffic

Content that is both engaging and well-aligned with the interests of your core audience drives potential buyers to your site more often. Potential leads are becoming wiser and more meticulous with how they invest their time and choose products or companies to support. That said, you can use your social media channels to pitch your content and entice leads to check your website. Once potential leads are able to see the value of engaging with your brand, they will willingly convert into buying customers in no time.

5. It Reaches your Target Audience Fast as Lightning

Provided that you have a detailed list of your target audience’s age, gender, location, hobbies, product preferences and purchasing behavior, you can create helpful content customized for your followers. You can choose to work on topics based on the customer’s interests or values to effectively increase their level of engagement. Once your content is ready for publishing, choose carefully where to share it. The right social channel will help drive qualified leads straight to your website.

6. It Allows Retargeting Through Ads

Social media advertising through different platforms complements organic campaigns. On Facebook, you can choose a specific group of audience by refining demographic targeting based on location, age, gender, political views, life events, job titles, product interests, behaviors, or language. Each channel you highlight and focus on enables you to retarget high-value audiences who may have shown previous interest in your ads.

7. It Boosts Search Engine Rankings

Search engine algorithms always sort content on the basis of relevancy. This is why brands with a solid number of followers, positive reviews, likes and shares on social media are more visible on search engines. Attract potential leads and make every effort to keep them interested and committed to your brand. Listen to customer feedback and build your audience base in such a way that their support and interaction with your business becomes instrumental in convincing search engines of your credibility.

8. It Supports Recommendations 

Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool that businesses use to build their credibility. With the advent of social media, the platforms are used to encourage existing satisfied customers to leave reviews about a company’s products and/or services, recommend a brand to their loved ones, and even share their user experience on their own social media accounts. As more and more brands continue to surge, there is also an increase in the number of customers seeking recommendations. These customers are more likely to buy products from brands that have online positive reviews or personal recommendations, as opposed to products that lack user feedback. 

9. It Gives New Insights

Through extensive research, you will be able to decipher what interests leads and customers. One of the best methods of figuring out the interests, challenges, and concerns of your customers is in the form of social media research. Using social media to market your business and connect with your audience expands your perspective on what affects your customers and how you can provide a viable solution to their concerns. By lending an open ear to your audience’s concerns, you can tailor your products and content to enhance the customer experience. 

Final Thoughts

Social media marketing is a cost-effective tool. Failing to incorporate it into your business plan gives your competitors the opportunity to thrive. 

Instead, now is the time to establish your brand on social media channels where most of your target audience is active. If your leads and existing customers notice your active participation on social media, they will begin to trust and choose you over your competitors. Your active engagement also signifies that you aim to bring consistent value which is worth remembering. 

Are you planning to get started with social media marketing, or have you already started but you are somehow not getting the best results? Our team of dedicated virtual assistant social media specialists are well-trained and possess the right skills to help make your social media marketing strategy more effective, audience-specific and successful.