1. Social media posts
drive targeted traffic.
No matter what industry, segment and audience your market
entails a substantial portion of your customers and leads are on social media.
A recent Pew Research Center study found that 68% of American adults are Facebook users.
Among 18 to 24-year-olds, 78% use Snapchat 71% use Instagram and 45% are on
Twitter. Even among Americans 65 and older, 37% are social media users.
Having access to all those customers helps you boost
traffic. Social media posts provide an opportunity for the public to find your
new web content and click through to your site. And because those posts will
primarily show up in the feeds of followers and people interested in your
product, that traffic is typically very targeted. It won’t just boost your
traffic numbers — it will bring in the type of visitors you want to attract.
2. An active social
media presence builds relationships with your audience.
Consumers see Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as social
networks, not marketing machines. That can be a challenge when you’re first
developing your social media marketing strategy. A lot of companies
instinctively take a hard sell approach, inundating their followers with
discount offer codes, new product announcements and customer reviews.
But customers don’t want to be pitched to — they want
authentic engagement.
When you stop seeing social as a way to pitch your customers
and start seeing it as a way to connect with them, it can transform your brand.
You help customers by answering their questions, entertain and inform them with
relevant content. Over time, you’ll become more than a brand — you’ll be a part
of a community.
And that comes with serious ROI. Exposure brings in new
leads. Over time, those leads become followers, followers become customers and
customers become dedicated brand promoters, continuing the cycle.
3. Social media is
key to customer service.
Quick customer response time isn’t optional anymore. If
there’s a problem with your product or service, your customers expect you to
solve it right away.
A recent Sprout Social study found
that customers want responses to social media companies within four hours, but
yet the average response time is 10 hours.
This isn’t just an isolated data point, either. Study after study has
shown that consumers reward companies that respond to customer requests and
complaints. A strong and engaged social media marketing presence will help you
keep customers happy, and keep your public image positive.
4. The social media
marketing arena is a (fairly) level playing field.
Everyone can start a social media account for free, and most
SMEs can dedicate either the time to maintain a social media channel, or the
the budget to outsource social media marketing.
If you’re an entrepreneur with an inspiring story, a local
company with ties to your community or an underground brand offering something
new and exciting to early adopters, that can resonate with consumers — even if
you don’t have a massive ad budget.
Ultimately, you don’t have to beat all your competitors at
their own game to win on social media. You just need to find a way to connect
with your own market in a way that builds your own brand. If you’ve got a good
team and a strong brand voice, backed up by a solid product, that’s something
you can do.
5. Social media
marketing will get you more sales.
Did you know that 70% of business-to-consumer marketers have
acquired customers through Facebook?
Or that 84% of CEOs and VPs say
they use social media to help make purchasing decisions?
Not surprisingly, when you stay in front of your customer
base, they’re more likely to buy from you when they need the products you sell,
but social media marketing does far more than increase brand presence. You can
influence customer buying decisions at multiple points along the sales funnel,
from amplifying the reach of white papers and blogs targeting top of funnel, to
answering customer questions and addressing pain points, to incentivizing
buyers with coupon codes.
6. You can directly
find potential customers who don’t know your brand.
Social media marketing enables you to search out customers
looking for information related to your product — even if they aren’t familiar
with your particular product. For example, on twitter you can use Hootsuite to set up streams, following particular keywords
related to your industry or products. When you spot people tweeting about that
product, you can direct them to your site, or explain how your product can
address their needs.
This strategy can also be valuable for customers, who tweet
about your brand, but may not be familiar with a new product or use case. By
reaching out to them with new information, you can not only influence a sales
decision, but also show customers how your brand is growing to better meet
their needs.
Source: The Content Factory
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