To some entrepreneurs, social media marketing is the “next
big thing,” a temporary yet powerful fad that must be taken advantage of while
it’s still in the spotlight. To others, it’s a buzzword with no practical
advantages and a steep, complicated learning curve.
Because it appeared quickly, social media has developed a
reputation by some for being a passing marketing interest, and therefore, an
unprofitable one. The statistics, however, illustrate a different picture.According to Hubspot, 92% of marketers in 2014 claimed
that social media marketing was important for their business, with 80%
indicating their efforts increased traffic to their websites. And according
to Social Media Examiner, 97% of marketers are currently
participating in social media—but 85% of participants aren’t sure what social
media tools are the best to use.
This demonstrates a huge potential for social media
marketing to increase sales, but a lack of understanding on how to achieve
those results. Here’s a look at just some of the ways social media marketing
can improve your business:
1. Increased Brand Recognition. Every
opportunity you have to syndicate
your content and increase your visibility is valuable. Your
social media networks are just new channels for your brand’s voice and content.
This is important because it simultaneously makes you easier and more
accessible for new customers, and makes you more familiar and recognizable for
existing customers. For example, a frequent Twitter user could hear about your
company for the first time only after stumbling upon it in a newsfeed. Or, an
otherwise apathetic customer might become better acquainted with your brand
after seeing your presence on multiple networks.
2. Improved brand loyalty. According
to a report published by Texas Tech University, brands who
engage on social media channels enjoy higher loyalty from their customers. The
report concludes “Companies should take advantage of the tools social media
gives them when it comes to connecting with their audience. A strategic and
open social media plan could prove influential in morphing consumers into being
brand loyal.” Another study published by Convince&Convert found that
53% of Americans who follow brands in social are more loyal to those brands.
3. More Opportunities to Convert. Every
post you make on a social media platform is an opportunity for customers to
convert. When you build a following, you’ll simultaneously have access to new
customers, recent customers, and old customers, and you’ll be able to interact
with all of them. Every blog post, image, video, or comment you share is a
chance for someone to react, and every reaction could lead to a site visit, and
eventually a conversion. Not every interaction with your brand results in a
conversion, but every positive interaction increases the likelihood of an
eventual conversion. Even if your click-through rates are low, the sheer number
of opportunities you have on social media is significant. And as I pointed out
in my article "opportunity” is the first element of
any action.
4. Higher conversion rates. Socialmedia marketing results in higher conversion rates in a few distinct ways.
Perhaps the most significant is its humanization element; the fact that brands become more
humanized by interacting in social media channels. Social media is a place
where brands can act like people do, and this is important because people like
doing business with other people; not with companies.
Additionally, studies have shown that social media has a 100%
higher lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing, and a higher number of
social media followers tends to improve trust and credibility in your brand,
representing social proof. As such, simply building your audience in social
media can improve conversion rates on your existing traffic.
5. Higher Brand Authority. Interacting
with your customers regularly is a show of good faith for other customers. When
people go to compliment or brag about a product or service, they turn to social
media. And when they post your brand name, new audience members will want to
follow you for updates. The more people that are talking about you on social
media, the more valuable and authoritative your brand will seem to new users.
Not to mention, if you can interact with major influence's on Twitter or
other social networks, your visible authority and reach will skyrocket.
6. Increased Inbound Traffic. Without
social media, your inbound traffic is limited to people already familiar with
your brand and individuals searching for keywords you currently rank for. Every
social media profile you add is another path leading back to your site, and
every piece of content you syndicate on those profiles is another opportunity
for a new visitor. The more quality content you syndicate on social media, the
more inbound traffic you’ll generate, and more traffic means more leads and
more conversions.
7. Decreased Marketing Costs. According to Hubspot, 84% of marketers found as little
as six hours of effort per week was enough to generate increased traffic. Six
hours is not a significant investment for a channel as large as social media.
If you can lend just one hour a day to developing your content and syndication
strategy, you could start seeing the results of your efforts. Even paid
advertising through Facebook and Twitter is relatively cheap (depending on your
goals, of course). Start small and you’ll never have to worry about going over
budget—once you get a better feel for what to expect, you can increase your
budget and increase your conversions correspondingly.
8. Better Search Engine Rankings. SEO
is the best way to capture relevant traffic from search engines, but the
requirements for success are always changing. It’s no longer enough to
regularly update your blog, ensure optimized title tags and meta descriptions,
and distribute links pointing back to your site. Google and other search
engines may be calculating their rankings using social media presence as a
significant factor, because of the fact that strong brands almost always use
social media. As such, being active on social media could act as a “brand
signal” to search engines that your brand is legitimate, credible, and
trustworthy. That means, if you want to rank for a given set of keywords,
having a strong social media presence could be almost mandatory.
9. Richer Customer Experiences. Social
media, at its core, is a communication channel like email or phone calls. Every
customer interaction you have on social media is an opportunity to publicly
demonstrate your customer service level and enrich your relationship with your
customers. For example, if a customer complains about your product on Twitter,
you can immediately address the comment, apologize publicly, and take action to
make it right. Or, if a customer compliments you, you can thank them and
recommend additional products. It’s a personal experience that lets customers
know you care about them.
10. Improved Customer Insights. Social media also gives you an opportunity to gain valuable information about what
your customers are interested in and how they behave, via social listening. For example, you can monitor user
comments to see what people think of your business directly. You can segment
your content syndication lists based on topic and see which types of content
generate the most interest—and then produce more of that type of content. You
can measure conversions based on different promotions
posted on various social media channels and eventually find a perfect
combination to generate revenue.
These are the benefits of sustaining a long-term social
media campaign, but if you’re still apprehensive about getting started,
consider these points:
Your Competition Is Already Involved. Your
competitors are already involved on social media, which means your potential
social media traffic and conversions are being poached. Don’t let your
competitors reap all the benefits while you stand idly by. If, somehow, your
competition is not involved on social media, there’s even more of a reason to
get started—the field is open.
The Sooner You Start, the Sooner You Reap the
Benefits. Social media is all about relationship building, and
it tends to grow exponentially as your followers tell their friends, and their
friends tell their friends, and so on. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll
be able to start growing that audience.
Potential Losses Are Insignificant. Realistically,
you don’t have anything to lose by getting involved in social media. The amount
of time and money it takes to create your profiles and start posting is usually
minimal, compared to other marketing channels. Just six hours a week or a few
hundred dollars is all it takes to establish your presence.
The longer you wait, the more you have to lose. Social media
marketing, when done right, can lead to more customers, more traffic, and more
conversions, and it’s here to stay. If you’re interested in getting started but aren't sure where to begin—head over to my Resource
Library or leave a comment below!
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