Social media marketing has become an essential part of any business’s marketing strategy.In this 10 Reasons to Invest in Social Media Marketing article we will discuss how you can leverage SMM in your daily business activities.
With billions of active users on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and more, having a social media presence provides immense opportunities to reach, engage with and convert potential customers.
If you’re still on the fence about investing time and money into social media marketing, here are 10 compelling reasons why you should:
1. Increase Brand Awareness and Recognition
Social media provides the unique ability to increase brand exposure and recognition on a massive scale.
Platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow you to reach billions of users, far more than what’s possible through traditional marketing channels.
Creating social media profiles and consistently posting engaging content like photos, videos and stories will get your brand seen. It also helps associate your brand with certain keywords, products or services.
The more people interact and engage with your content, the more familiarity and trust your brand can build over time.
2. Reach a Wider Audience
No matter your target customer demographic – age, gender, location or income level – chances are they are active on social media.
Facebook has over 2.5 billion monthly active users globally, while Instagram has over 1 billion.
Social media allows you to go beyond geographical limitations and target potential customers wherever they are, at any time of day.
It’s an extremely effective way to reach a wider audience, especially for small businesses targeting a niche.
3. Lower Marketing Costs
Unlike traditional print, TV and radio advertising, social media marketing costs little to no money to set up and maintain. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are free to sign up for.
The only associated costs are creative assets like ad images or videos, employee time and minimal advertising spend.
With a small ad budget of even $100 per platform, you can reach thousands of targeted users interested in your products based on customizable factors like location, demographics, interests and behaviors.
Compared to other mediums, social media ads are extremely cost-effective.
4. Boost Brand Engagement
Simply having social media profiles isn’t enough – you need to post regularly and nurture engagement with followers.
When done right, social media provides numerous ways to interact and engage current and potential customers.
You can host Facebook Live or Instagram Live sessions, run contests and sweepstakes, post engaging content, respond to comments and messages, and more.
Increased engagement leads to more word-of-mouth marketing, reviews, shares, followers and overall awareness.
5. Gain Customer Insights
Social media allows you to hear directly from customers and prospects.
You can gain invaluable insights into what they like and don’t like, want and need, or how you can improve products or services.
Facebook polls and Instagram questions let you easily survey audiences.
Social listening tools analyze mentions and hashtags related to your brand. Facebook groups and forums create communities where you can connect with niche audiences.
Use these insights to identify customer pain points, guide marketing campaigns, improve products, delight customers better and outperform competitors.
6. Improve SEO and Drive Website Traffic
An active social media presence supports SEO efforts and drives website traffic.
Social shares and links to your website boost domain authority signals like backlinks, click-through rate and lower bounce rate.
Optimizing social media posts with relevant keywords and hashtags also helps increase search visibility and traffic. Having social media icons and links on your website makes it easier for visitors to share content.
Plus, social platforms drive referral traffic – 54% of Twitter users and 60% of Facebook users click through to content shared in feeds.
7. Enable Targeted Paid Advertising
Once you build a social media following, you can amplify reach and engagement further through paid advertising.
Facebook and Instagram ads allow targeting customers by location, demographics, interests, behaviors, and more.
You only pay when users actually click or view your ads.
Advertising on social platforms is extremely cost-efficient compared to search or display ads.
Start small with a daily budget as low as $10 to reach more of your ideal audience. Slowly scale up as you achieve your marketing KPIs.
8. Boost Sales and Conversions
Ultimately, the top reason to invest in social media marketing is increased sales and revenue. 72% of consumers say social media influences their product purchasing decisions.
Having an active social presence establishes social proof and credibility that you are an authority brand people can trust.
Engaging content keeps your brand top of mind. Targeted ads, contests, promotions and deals entice followers to buy from you.
Add social commerce capabilities like shoppable posts so users can easily click to purchase products they discover.
Track sales driven by social media posts and ads so you can optimize what resonates best with your audience.
9. Provide Better Customer Service
Social media allows real-time interaction with customers.
Monitoring social feeds means you can respond promptly to customer complaints and issues before they escalate. 82% of Twitter users expect a response from brands they reach out to, usually within an hour.
Direct messaging and chat functions let you provide personalized support and assistance when needed.
Being responsive and helpful strengthens customer relationships and satisfaction. This builds brand reputation and loyalty over the long run.
10. Analyze Performance and Leverage Insights
The data-driven nature of social media enables in-depth analytics and competitive benchmarking.
You can track metrics like followers, engagement, clicks, impressions, reach, website visits, sales, and more.
Tools like Facebook Analytics, Instagram Insights and Twitter Analytics provide free analytics.
Third-party social media management platforms like Hootsuite offer even more robust analytics and reporting.
Study performance data to double down on what works and improve upon underperforming areas.
Use social listening and competitive benchmarking to optimize your social strategy.
The actionable insights will prove invaluable to staying agile, outsmarting competitors and winning market share.
The Proof Is in the Numbers
The reasons above highlight why social media marketing should be a crucial component of your overall marketing strategy, rather than an afterthought.
An estimated 4.2 billion people were active social media users as of January 2021 – over half the world’s total population.
The numbers speak for themselves – social media simply offers massive opportunities to cost-effectively reach, engage and convert new customers at scale. In fact, 97% of marketers say social media marketing has been important for their business.
As social platforms, features and trends evolve, so will the tactics and nuances of social media marketing.
But ultimately, people turn to and trust social media now more than ever. Meet them where they are – be part of the conversation, build communities and deliver value.
By investing now in social media marketing, you can build brand awareness, authority and loyalty for the long haul.