It’s hard to believe that in 2017 there are still businesses that are not fully utilizing social media. Today there are over 3 billion internet users—and over 2 billion of them have active social media accounts. Popular social platforms have become marketing giants, offering businesses valuable data about their customers and a (mostly) free way to reach them. Social media for business is no longer optional, it is a necessity!
Some businesses still dig in their heels and say, what is social media marketing going to do for me? Do I really need it? Yes. Yes, you do. So put away your flip phone and find out why:
Gain valuable customer insights
Social media generates a huge amount of data about your customers in real time. Every day there are over 500 million Tweets, 3.2 billion Likes or Comments on Facebook, and 95 million photos and videos uploaded to Instagram. Behind these astonishing numbers is a wealth of information about your customers—who they are, what they like, and how they feel about your brand.
Through daily active engagement and social listening, you can gather relevant customer data and use that information to make smarter business decisions.
Increase brand awareness and loyalty
When you have a social media presence, you make it easier for your customers to find and connect with you. And by connecting with your customers on social, you’re more likely to increase customer retention and brand loyalty. A recent study shows that 53 percent of Americans who follow brands on social are more loyal to those brands.
Social media marketing will get you more sales.
Did you know that 70% of business-to-consumer marketers have acquired new customers through Facebook? Or that 84% of CEOs and VPs say they use social media to help make purchasing decisions? When you stay in front of your customer base, they’re more likely to buy from you when they need the products you sell. Social media marketing doesn’t just keep your company’s name in front of potential buyers, but it also gives you the opportunity to constantly give them incentives to buy. Try sharing coupon codes, with a unique code for each social channel – you may be surprised at which social network brings you the most attention and new customers!
Provide rich customer experiences
Even if you aren’t on social media, most of your customers expect you to be. Over 67 percent of consumers now go to social media for customer service. They expect fast response times and 24/7 support—and companies that deliver win out.
Increase website traffic and search ranking
One of the biggest benefits of social media for business is using it to increase your website traffic. Not only does social media help you direct people to your website, but the more social media shares you receive, the higher your search ranking will be. For example, if every person who follows Soffront on Twitter Retweets this post, it’s more likely to rank higher in Google’s search engine results page for variations of “social media for business.”
Find out what your competitors are doing
With social media monitoring, you can gain key information about your competitors. This kind of intelligence will allow you to make strategic business decisions to stay ahead of them.
Share content faster and easier
In the past, marketers faced the challenge of ensuring their content reached customers in the shortest possible time. With the help of social media, specifically, when it comes to sharing content about your business, all you need to do is share it on your brand’s social network accounts.
Build relationships
Social media isn’t about blasting your company’s sales pitch on social; it’s a two-way channel where you have the opportunity to enrich relationships with your customers. For example, social media allows restaurant brands to create a dialogue with diners, therefore creating relationships with customers before, during, and after they dined. This kind of social media dialogue between brands and customers is something traditional advertising cannot achieve.
You can’t beat the price
It’s free!!!
Now put your flip phone down and set up your social accounts!