5 Reasons Why Your Business Needs Social Media Marketing
Unfortunately, too many small business owners in this day and age don’t view social media as essential to their business operations. And they’re missing out on an incredible variety of opportunities to grow.
For one, social media encompasses the digital spaces where most of us – business owners and consumers alike – tend to spend our time. Did you know that:
- 90 percent of young adults (ages 18 to 29) use social media, as do 35 percent of adults over 65.
- 30 percent of the U.S. population uses Instagram, and half of U.S. millennials use it daily.
- 63 percent of respondents in one study said they would look up a product or brand on social media before they made a purchase, and 81 percent of respondents said branded content had influenced them to buy a company’s product or service.
- 92 percent of small business owners in one survey agreed or strongly agreed that social media marketing is important for their business.
Still not convinced that social media marketing is worth your time or resources? Consider this:
1. No matter your industry, you can probably find your ideal audience online.
And chances are good that they also research products and services on social media before they spend. When businesses make themselves easy to find in social spheres, they can gain insights and get feedback directly from customers.
2. Social accounts enable brands to be approachable, friendly and familiar.
It’s pretty much a standard and expected thing, as far as consumers are concerned. On the flip side, people trust your brand less if they can’t find you on social media. So many brands already engage with consumers through platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – don’t let potential customers find your competitors instead just because you aren’t there, too. (Besides, if you’re not marketing on social media, you won’t see what your competitors are doing or find opportunities to connect with their customers.)
3. Advanced targeting enables you to reach the customers you want.
If your target customer is a 35-55 year-old single woman who loves drinking scotch and knitting sweaters for her cats, you can target her and her exact demographic with highly-relevant Facebook ads. Because so many people already use social media, major platforms like Facebook have an insane wealth of data about each user that helps advertisers find and speak to their perfect customers.
4. Without social media, you have fewer places to share your marketing content.
Posting to your blog is great, but how will you get people to your website to read it if you aren’t promoting your content in big, high traffic spaces that already amass huge audiences every day? Without sharing your content on social media, you won’t get the best return on your efforts and you’ll struggle to drive more traffic to your website. You can make your content work harder for you by recycling and repurposing it for different channels. (Plus, social can boost your SEO.)
5. Social media offers some of the most cost-effective advertising options.
Paid social media is still cheaper than conventional print or TV ads, making it more affordable for companies of all sizes. In fact, 2016 saw digital and social media ad spending surpass TV for the first time. It’s also much, much easier to measure the impact and return on investment from social media ads compared to a television commercial or a billboard because you can know how many individuals saw your ad.
Social media marketing can be very cost effective, but ROI is not the only thing businesses want from their advertising – it’s also about building brand awareness, engaging with customers and staying relevant in the face of competition.
Today’s advertising relies on encouraging potential customers to like, know and trust your brand, and social media marketing is a friendly way for brands to build trust and relationships with people who could become valuable lifelong customers.
Not sure how to manage social media marketing for your business? Torx can help! Let’s chat.