Social media entails apps or websites that enable you to interact with your clients and share information in real-time through networks. It can help you reach your customers more easily by allowing you to create and share content, including promotional messages.
Some commonly used social media platforms include:
· Facebook
· Instagram
· Twitter
· LinkedIn
· TikTok
· YouTube
· Snapchat
· Pinterest
These social media platforms can enable your business to reach a broader market. It allows you to engage prospective customers and keep up with existing clients from all over the world. You can promote your business through social sites and apps by sharing information about your services and products and get feedback to help improve your business. What's more interesting is that social media is free marketing- you don't have to pay to be on social media. If you're not investing time and energy into your social media, you're missing out.
Social media can help you grow your business but there are techniques you can use to get the most out of your social media. That's why it is advisable to have a social media marketing strategy for your business to help you get it right!
Importance of a Social Media Marketing Strategy
A
social media marketing strategy is a well thought out and structured plan that allows your business to achieve it's goals by leveraging the right social media channels. A strategy is crucial because it ensures your efforts are fruitful and geared towards helping you hit your main KPI's.
A strategy includes developing your business goals and objectives, so you can create content that reinforces them. If you're struggling to create a working social media strategy, you can approach a
digital marketing agency that offers professional social media management.
9 Secret Benefits of Social Media for Business
1. Social Media helps Increase brand recognition and awareness
Brand recognition is a key part of your business' success. Clients are more likely to transact with companies they are familiar with, so it's important to leave a lasting impression on your customers.
You can frequently post about your business on social media, which keeps you front of mind. Once you're recognized in the market, you can use social media to increase awareness for specific product launches, campaigns, or specific messages. When increasing your brand recognition, it's important to use a consistent tone of communication and language. Having a number of different people managing your account can cause your messaging to become inconsistent. This is key for maintaining a consistent brand voice.
2. Increased web traffic
Posting on social media allows prospective customers to see your products and/or services. If they're interested, your customers may go to your website to learn more about your offerings. This increases your website's traffic and can result in a free boost in sales.
Increasing your web traffic comes down to using the right content at the right times. Content should be 70%+ informative and entertaining and less than 30% promotional. Your customers want to see tips and entertainment more than promotional posts. This ensures they stay engaged and will be more motivated to click the link to your website.
3. Social media channels are a great way to address customer feedback
The comments section of any social media post is gold for getting feedback from your customers. People aren't shy of voicing their opinions on social media regarding how they found your services or products.
Read the comments, see what others are saying about your business and use that as a way to improve your offerings.
4. Increases brand loyalty
Brand loyalty is essentially why your customers would continue to choose your products over someone else. Perhaps you charge more than your competitors but your followers understand you offer a higher quality product and service. Addressing their issues and replying to their comments helps create a connection between your brand and the customers, enhancing brand loyalty. Customers are more likely to do business with individuals rather than the company itself. By responding to social media comments and replying to direct messages, you humanize your brand and increase the chances of collaboration.
Besides, replying to comments and direct messages shows that you're attentive to your customers' needs and aim to offer the best quality services. In turn, this increases their satisfaction with your business.
5. It's the perfect tool for competitive analysis
According to experts, using social media to "spy" your competitors is among the most significant benefits of social media marketing. It helps you uncover new opportunities to step into in terms of advertising or content. Observe the content they use, the way they interact with their customers or check the hashtags they add to their posts. All of this is gold for getting insights into what's trending, content ideas and how to effectively communicate with your customers.
6. Social Media can increase your conversion rates
With increased visibility and traffic to your website, you gain more opportunities for conversions. Each image, blog post, or video you create and share will increase your brand recognition and help convert your customers into the mind set of making a purchasing decision.
7. It's highly cost-effective
Social media marketing is potentially the most cost-efficient advertisement strategy there is in any industry. It is essentially a free marketing tool. Even if you decide to invest in paid promotion, it's also relatively cheap compared to other marketing methods. It's important to have the right
marketing strategy however to give you a profitable ROI.
8. Build a an online community
When Mark Zuckerberg invented Facebook, his main aim was to create a community that would allow people to connect. Other social media platforms, including Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc., followed suit, aiming at connecting people.
Building a community of followers is an excellent perk of social media marketing since it enables your brand to have ambassadors. Once one person in the community enjoys your products or service, they will likely recommend it to other people and you customers will eventually become your advocates.
9. Thought leadership
Sharing well-thought and insightful content on your social media are among the things it takes to be an industry expert. Stamping your authority in the industry involves connecting with your clients, being communicative, and sharing thought provoking content regularly.
Examples of thought leadership are writing well-drafted blog posts, creating creative content on Instagram, or promoting guest speaking events you may be featured in.
Need Some Help With Your Social Media?
The potential that social media gives your business is huge – from increasing brand loyalty, saving on cost or increasing conversions. If you don't have company social media profile, then you're missing out. Create an account today and harness the power of social media for your business!
A social media presence is just the first step to success. Learning how to manage your business profiles based on your customers' needs and preferences is also crucial for achieving your brand's success.
This can be daunting given the technicality involved in analysing customers' needs and preferences, having content scheduled regularly or producing well designed graphics. That's where we come in. If you need someone to manage your social media, we can do it for you. At
DSIGNS, we produce thought provoking social media content, handle post scheduling and think of new ways to attract customers to your social media. Get in touch with us today, to learn how our Social Media experts can help you.
