Does Your Business Actually Need Social Media Presence?
Today, positive social media presence is not just an option, it is necessary for all brands. Or at least those brands who want to remain relevant. In the past three years, marketing in social media channels has grown exponentially. Newer features like SnapChat and Facebook Live are helping brands to connect instantly with their customers.
Marketing budget spent by brands on social media is expected to double (from 11% to 24%) in the next five years according to a study conducted by The CMO Survey. Additionally, as noted by Statistica, almost 95% of young adults follow a brand via social media networking and the count of social media users at the end of 2018 will be 2.5 billion. I can't think of any business that would not like to have their brand instantly in front of a portion of that audience.
Regardless of the impressive statistics, there are many business that just aren't convinced that they need to spend sufficient marketing dollars in the social networking space to be successful. Even as a social network marketing agency owner, I would agree there are some industries that do not fall within the target group which would benefit sufficiently from this form of marketing.
For most small to medium size businesses however, here are 5 reasons why your business can benefit significantly from a strong social media presence today:
Building Trust
Social media presence has become vital to earn customers’ trust. You can survive today without a physical store location, but not having a social presence will lead to a gradual demise. Also, social media marketing helps business leaders keep their clients updated about new launches, policy changes and relevant business activities. Your online presence also gives you a chance to build a narrative to capture your customers' interest or to openly engage in dialogue. Each Facebook post, tweet or Instagram can share company values, ethics, community involvement and more.
Market Competition
Do you really think that your competitors don’t care about social media presence or its potential benefits? Is that a chance you willing to take? There's high probability that they are investing their time and resource into building a positive online social presence to gain business. Take a look at the competition.
Every business wants to increase their traffic and customer engagement, but are you sure that this potential customer traffic can find you virtually? In todays market, social media profiles help you dominate search result pages, leading to connection, conversions and subsequent increased profits. As noted in the introduction, consider the fact that millennials spend large amount of time on social platforms, and this looks to only increase going forward.
Virtual Connections
With the surge of virtual companies in todays marketplace, It is critical for both virtual companies and traditional brick-and-mortar to prove they are credible and gain customer confidence and loyalty. Social media platforms give you the opportunity to create a bond with your customers that is just as significant as if you met them on the sales floor.
To expand your brand awareness it's important to engage your customers where they are and thus uses different social media networks to promote product and services. For example, creative Facebook posts, tweets, Instagram pictures and YouTube videos can be used to interact directly with customers and conversely, give them a chance to engage with you and your business.
Lead Generation
Social media is a must in generating leads. With modern social channels like Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube that now allow direct purchases, social media has become even more powerful and can be thought of in terms of point of sale (POS). Instagram also launched a "call to action" button that helps its audience to shop and install applications.
Social media is evolving at the speed of light and it will soon drive more and more sales in a huge way. Those business that stay on the sidelines and don't get into the social game will be destined for the losing locker room.
Marketing Today
One of the biggest benefits of social networking sites is driving sales. Which is also the major goal of most marketing campaigns in business since the dawn of time. All social media channels have well-defined marketing mechanisms in-place to help business connect with their target audience. Facebook marketing campaigns combined with twitter feeds and email are powerful tools within the marketing arsenal.
The power of social media today is huge! It can open the doors leading to success for your business when used correctly. Additionally, unlike many past marketing strategies, the benefits generated by social media channels are measurable, tailorable and repeatable.
What Are You Waiting For?
When deciding on social media, ensure you choose the right social channels and enter the process with a detailed strategy. Just posting random images and status updates will not help your business and in fact, will do more damage to credibility. The right combination of posts and social outlets are required to generated your desired results. Few companies have the organic knowledge base within their team to accomplish this. Therefore, search carefully for those social media marketing agencies that can handle the entire process and allow you to focus on running the business and handling the leads that will pour in.
