With over 2.3 billion people using social media globally, it’s easy to see why millions of businesses are taking advantage of social media to reach out to a wider audience. According to Hubspot, social media marketing has a 100% higher lead to close rate than outbound marketing. The same research also reveals that customers expect a brand to be present on at least three social media platforms, and that 73% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a company that communicates openly with customers on social media. These statistics reveal why social media is no longer just a passing phase, but an integral marketing tool for business seeking to increase brand awareness and trust.
In business, people primarily like to deal with other human beings, not faceless organisations. Social media personalises and humanises marketing, enabling customers to interact with the individuals behind the company. Social media is about sharing and open communication; both internally within your company, and externally to potential and existing customers. Likes, dislikes, feedback and preferences can be shared, so customers feel validated. When visitors interact through social media platforms they can expect a personalised reply, not just an automated response. Even complaints present an opportunity to demonstrate empathy and to create a positive outcome; providing you outwardly demonstrate that your company cares about customer satisfaction. Learn more about company branding with this great article - Learn The Importance of Creating a Strong Online Brand And How To Implement it.
This constant stream of sharing creates a wealth of data. By ‘listening’ out for mentions of your brand in social media conversations, you can analyse and respond to these messages appropriately. You gain insights about your strengths and weaknesses through customer feedback and social media conversations. By the same degree it becomes possible to monitor and listen to messages about competitors, or connect with their customers and analyse their feedback. You’ll be able to identify patterns in their social media strategy and receive access to information about their news, events and promoted wins. This information can then be used effectively within your own brand strategy to improve your offering, sharpen brand communication and to increase the appeal of your product.
Social media can give you access to new markets by making your business visible to a wider audience. By generating insightful, interesting and useful content to share, you will establish yourself as an industry expert. Allocate time each week to create new posts and respond to comments. It’s important to be realistic about the capabilities and limitations of social media marketing and to consider these when creating a social media strategy. Social media marketing is an ongoing process but the benefits outweigh the investment of resources and time.
Think of social media as a way to make friends for your business. Start by working out who you want to be friends with and set out to find them, or tailor your posts to help them find you. Many platforms offer a means to filter by search categories, so it’s easy to find and follow your target market. Once the right people start liking and sharing your content you’ll gain access to new followers and opportunities through your social voice. The more people interact with your social feeds, the more your brand reputation increases. Remember, just like with real friendships you’ll then need to keep the interaction going to maintain the relationship.
Maintaining a presence on social media can boost your rankings in search engines. This can be achieved by incorporating keywords into your posts in a natural context to attract your target market. Posting and sharing links to useful content on your website or blog over multiple social media platforms, increases the potential for organic search traffic. Each social share you receive helps to boost search engine rankings.
Using social to reach out to new business is a more cost effective and direct method than cold calling or cold emailing. Most platforms are free, yet social media is responsible for generating almost 5% of leads for small to medium business. With access to job titles and the ability to interact socially, you can build relationships with key players more quickly. You’ll also be able to identify talented individuals, which can aid recruitment.
Social media’s power to directly influence purchase decisions, creates an ideal forum for business growth. With 84% of businesses and 96% of marketers using social media, don’t let your competitors gain an advantage. It’s time to get social. Our team at JDR can help turn your social media profiles into lead generation engines for your business. Find out more about the potential of online marketing by calling us today on 01332 343 281.