It’s 6 in the morning. Before getting out of bed, you pull out your phone and check your newsfeed. And that doesn’t stop there. Your day isn’t complete without posting an update.
Let’s admit it. Social media is part of our daily lives. It’s our way to meet new people, connect with family and friends, and more.
But apart from using social media for our connections, we can now reap the benefits of using social media platforms for our businesses.
Small business owners are now making the most out of social media. They could reach more audiences through these platforms and transform them into paying customers. Even huge businesses use social media to boost their brand awareness, get more followers, and convert strangers to consumers.
What is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing is internet marketing that utilizes social media platforms to promote products or services and spread brand awareness. Social media marketing (SMM) is usually good for creating shareable content cultivating customer feedback, and building authority on your target audience.
Since it’s one of the most targeted forms of marketing, SMM is the best marketing strategy for building your brand online.
Thus, most business owners lean toward SMM more than any other form of internet marketing.
Why Your Business Needs to Have Social Media Presence
If you are still not using social media for your business, for any reason. Here are the main reasons why you should:
Build your online presence
With social media, you can build your brand online. Your social media presence will make it easier for your target audience and prospective customers to find you. Being available on social media also boosts your online credibility and reputation.
Customers are smart enough to search for companies online before they put in their credit card details and buy your products or services. Therefore, building your brand on different social media channels is essential and making the most out of them.
Competitors
When all your competitors are available on Facebook and other social media channels, why shouldn’t you be? You can check how they are doing on different social media platforms and see what type of content they’re posting.
You can track and compare all your competitors on Facebook Page Insights. It allows you to see where you are standing and strategize ways to take one step ahead of your competitors.
Know Your Target Audience More
Social media insights allow you to discover what your customers like to read or watch. You can know what type of content works for your target audience best.
Facebook Insights allow you to see all details, from the basics like age, gender, educational attainment, etc., to the most detailed information like buying power, favorite brands, and more. Insights from other social media platforms like Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are becoming more robust and detailed as time goes by.
This information will help you know more about your target audience and assist you in drafting content and creating a master plan to boost your marketing efficiency.
Can Help in Turning Strangers into Consumers
The best thing about good social media marketing is the ability to convert strangers into consumers. Do you know what’s even better? Transform these consumers into actual paying customers.
If done right, your social media content can spread brand awareness like wildfire because that’s how powerful it is!
Therefore, spending time strategizing your SMM game plan can pay off. To draft your posts, make use of all available information. Experiment with various types of content. Do not halt AB testing. Soon, you’ll be able to get great results.
Which Platform is Best for Your Business?
As you already know, there’s no one size fits in marketing. Regardless if the strategies work well for other businesses, there’s no assurance that the same system will give you the same results.
Social media marketing is broad and complex. You can’t expect to master it and get the best results overnight.
It would help if you spent a lot of time and effort to know your target audience. It would help if you positioned yourself as an authority to get people to trust you.
As we mentioned earlier, customers are more intelligent now. Therefore, you must always be one step ahead of them to stay in the game.
With all the different social channels, it’s hard to keep up. Does your business need to be in every one of them? Well, yes. It’s nice to claim your business name on all platforms. But it doesn’t mean you have to focus on posting in each one.
For B2-B or Business-to-Business companies, it’s best to be more active on social channels like LinkedIn and Facebook.
LinkedIn is a comprehensive platform where most professionals hang out. You can post company updates, write relevant articles, and meet new people. It’s also an excellent platform for those looking to find employees. Therefore, it is the best channel to start with if you are a recruitment company.
For B2C or Business-to-Consumer companies, it’s great to be available on platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Twitter is a microblogging platform that allows users to interact with each other. The best thing about it is using hashtags to interact with people. Even if they are not your followers, you can still freely interact. Thus, spreading brand awareness to everyone.
Instagram is an excellent tool for visual content. It’s big on images and now videos. Additionally, this platform is ideal for more visual businesses like flower shops, real estate, and more.
On the other hand, being the largest social network, Facebook can work in either B2-B or B2C companies. It’s trendy that it has people from all walks of life. Thus, targeting is essential to make the most of this social platform.
Other social media channels like Pinterest and Google+ have their advantages, too. Depending on the niche, Pinterest can work best in either B2-B or B2C companies. When used correctly, Pinterest can drive tons of website traffic.
Google+, being owned by Google, is an important social platform for SEO. Posts are easily indexed by Google, thus, giving you an advantage.
So, what now?
Now that you know the importance of social media marketing and how it can help you build your online presence, the next thing to do is to set up your social media profiles. Click the links below to sign up: