How Important Is Social Media Marketing?
Whether you’re a business, a smaller brand, or an individual influencer, there’s no overstating the importance of social media marketing. The 2019 estimates suggest that there were 3.5 billion social media users worldwide during that year, which is a pretty staggering number; that’s around 44% of the world’s population.
While that number is obviously spread across different platforms, it should still be obvious to you that social media marketing is crucial for getting a message across. With that said, many brands and businesses still don’t quite understand exactly how social media marketing can help them.
There are some who suggest that it’s actually impossible for businesses to survive in the modern era without some sort of social media presence. We agree with that viewpoint; even if you’re running a business and you’re the sole member of staff, you still need social media to promote yourself. Here’s why social media marketing is important for every business and brand out there.
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More followers mean more exposure
The more people you have following your brand on social media, the more folks you’ll theoretically be able to be interested in your product. It stands to reason; exposure doesn’t always equal conversion, but it certainly won’t if you don’t have the exposure, to begin with.
There are even sites out there like ProfileFollower that will help you grow your brand and gain new followers, showing how important this is to your business. Social media means you’ll reach more people, and that’s always a good thing.
It’s incredibly cost-efficient
No matter how many resources you want to commit to your social media strategy, it’s generally agreed that social media marketing is staggeringly cost-effective as a marketing tool. After all, it costs nothing to sign up for most social media platforms and start posting.
If you want to get into paid advertising, you’ll have to put forward a little more money to see results, but there are different tiers that mean you’ll be able to adjust your strategy according to size. From a financial perspective, there’s no reason not to have a social media presence.
SEO doesn’t just mean content
Once upon a time, it may have been enough to generate content for your business and to make sure it’s optimized for SEO. Now, however, that’s simply not the case. With Google’s algorithms improving by the day, only the most well-respected brands will be able to establish a presence on the dominant search engine. You’ll need to keep your branding consistent across several platforms; that way, Google knows your brand is legitimate and that you’re working hard to establish it.
Customer conversation is important
While you may be tempted simply to think of your follower count in terms of numbers, it’s important to remember that behind those numbers are real human beings. Those people want to know that your brand isn’t just a corporate face, and social media is the perfect forum in which to prove that. Start a dialogue with your customers.
Talk to them when they have grievances and make sure you’re there for the good times too. A successful brand is one that regularly engages with its audience on social media.
Influencers can help your brand
Social media is the home of influencers. Increasingly, marketing is done through influencers on social media, especially when it comes to smaller brands with less of a global advertising reach than massive corporations. You could also hire a social media agency that would be able to reach out to these bigger corporations easier.
If your brand wants to connect with an audience, it’ll need to reach out to influencers, and to do that you’ll need a social media presence. Picking the right influencer is key, of course, but once you’ve done so you’ll notice the benefits immediately.
You have a chance of going viral
Let’s begin by saying this: going viral is one of the most difficult things you could possibly do as a brand. There are so many ways it could go wrong that it almost seems like it’s not worth trying. If you persevere, though – and if you have social media staff that know the difference between organic and overly engineered content – then going viral could result in a massive boost in sales for your brand. This is a reasonably advanced way to interface with social media. Not everyone can be Wendy’s.
You can promote your content
As a brand, no matter what audience you’re trying to reach, it pays to have a blog. You can post tutorials for your products, engage with your audience, or simply post content that’s relevant to your brand. Having a blog shows that you’re human and that you want to do more than just sell your products. Social media is a good way to promote blog content, and doing so can come across as more organic and natural than simply trying to promote your products.
Social media can de-escalate crises
By being there for your audience on social media, you can de-escalate crises and manage conflict. Many brands have managed to defuse tense situations by simply interfacing with customers and interested parties on social media.
The more open and communicative you are as a brand, the more chance you have of being able to move on from a situation without doing permanent or lasting damage to your brand. Social media isn’t just for promotion; it can be for resolution, too.
