Advertising for any business, large or small, may often be expensive and a little complex, however, social media can make that easier and cheaper. It doesn’t matter if you run a small local shop or a large national company, 96% of marketers are using social media to promote business and here are 10 reasons why you should too...
1. Increase Brand Loyalty
Using social media is a key way to build brand loyalty. Gaining and maintaining a following of consumers means that they are constantly seeing your content and keeping your business, products and services at the forefront of their minds. Using social media creates a two-way communication between you and the consumer, this means you are getting their attention and listening to what they have to say which will increase brand loyalty and form a better relationship.
2. Satisfy Customer Needs
The two-way street that social media creates means that not only can customers see what you have to say, but it allows you to see what they have to say too; allowing you to develop a better understanding of the customer's wants and needs. 71% of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand to others if they have a positive experience with it on social media. Understanding what the customer wants and needs means that as a business, you can create a better strategy to keep the customer at ease, as they know that their wishes are known and catered for.
3. Build Brand Recognition
Creating a presence on platforms to spread who you are, and what you do, allows you to reach a larger range of people. Once you have the attention of consumers, you can convey your brand message easily. Having a social media page for your brand will allow you to show your brand message and with regular use can build a wide audience for you to share this with and ultimately sell your products/services.
4. Lower Costs
Compared to traditional marketing methods such as print, TV, radio etc… Social media is a very low-cost solution to your advertising needs and can be tailored exactly to reach your target customers. Traditional advertising doesn’t allow for interaction and is more expensive than using social media. By utilising social media, you can advertise your current products, services, sales promotions & even industry-related news to keep a current customer loyal. However, it can also be used to target potential customers by simply getting your brand out there. Having a platform where current customers can share their views, also allows you to present yourselves as more trustworthy to potential new customers.
5. Real-Time Performance Analysis
Unlike traditional forms of marketing as mentioned above, Social media allows you to constantly keep track of how well your posts are performing. Social media gives you the opportunity to see what kind of interaction you are producing and allow you to constantly change/update this accordingly. With such a wide range of social media analytics tools available nowadays, you can constantly be updating your strategy based on real results.
6. Promote your products and services
This one might come across as obvious but the use of social media marketing is an essential way to communicate your products and services to both current customers and potential future customers. Studies have shown that 54% of users, use social media to research products, meaning that Google now isn’t the only way to search. Using social media is a quick and easy way to both remind current customers of your products as well as introduce your products to other people!
7. Increase Website Traffic
Reaching people with your brand message generates curiosity for the consumer. By sharing content across social media you are giving people the opportunity to click through to your website, generating more people to convert to customers. People might also then decide to share your content on social media which could also further increase website traffic. On search engines such as Google, people discover content when they type in a keyword, but on social media you’ll be reaching people who didn’t even realise they needed you.
8. Better Search Engine Optimisation
As well as acting as a search engine in itself, social media can also help to boost your SEO. Having social media profiles across multiple platforms and optimizing them can increase your search engine visibility as they rank in results. As well as this, some platforms can allow you to geo-tag your posts which will allow you to gain more visibility to a local audience, helping you expand your reach into the local community.
9. Build a Better Brand Image
Social media can be a great way to create and maintain a brand image, this can be done through text, images and videos and is a great way to show customers who you are as a brand. Social platforms give you an opportunity to create a voice for your brand and create a more personal experience for the customer. Share more than just your products by sharing who you are and what your brand morals are. As well as the content you produce, you can also build a better brand image by sharing customers’ reviews. If people give you feedback- share it! This will spread the message that your product is effective enough to generate positive feedback.
10. Raise Engagement levels
As well as engaging with consumers online, social media evokes conversation and could establish word-of-mouth communications between consumers as well as creating conversations online. Interacting with customers and allowing them to interact with each other allows you to develop a better relationship with consumers and look more inviting to them.
Social media is seen to be the future of advertising … Are you a part of it? If you’d like to find out more about how you can add social media marketing into your strategy, have a chat with the team now!