You may have put some time into social media for your business, but have you tapped into its full potential? Social media is perhaps the best way a business can put out content to connect with and influence consumers. If social media does not make up a portion of your marketing resources and dollars, you are missing out on a great opportunity to grow your business.
Although you can't precisely quantify awareness, it is vital to the success of almost any industry. Businesses pour millions of dollars into things like TV ads, all for the purpose of awareness. Why? Simply put, it’s best to try to make people aware of your product so that when they are ready to buy, they know where to go. Look at social media as a free TV ad. You have the ability to reach a large audience and promote your product, all for free.
The benefit of social media over other promotional efforts like TV ads is not only cost but also impact level. On social media, a business is able to connect with an audience much more consistently. Because your following is based one people who like your product or company, the traffic is also more targeted. Unlike most marketing methods, you can post and reach your audience daily on social media. Imagine how expensive it would be to run a TV ad every day for an entire year. With social media, you are sharing content with users who are already interested in your product or service. This is why social media is much more targeted than a TV commercial that plays to everyone.
Users on social media are also much easier to influence and build trust with since you engage with them regularly. With each post, you can incorporate the voice you want to have for your business. This also gives users the ability to understand your company on a deeper level. People are spending more time on social media than ever before, which means you have more time to leave an impression on your audience. This allows businesses to build a brand that people will remember and recognize easily.
Social accounts that are connected to your website are a significant part of your SEO strategy. Not only do social platforms drive more traffic to your website, but they also tell Google that your business is a real brand. Having a link to your website from the About section on social platforms and including links to landing pages on your site is a great way to channel people from social media onto your site.
Once users from social media are on your site, they have the ability to learn more about your company and may even turn into a sale. The bottom line is that social media is beginning to have a larger role in SEO, making it an investment to not only increase awareness but also to boost Google rankings.
You can educate users about your business in a way that no other medium allows. Social media marketing allows you to reveal what makes your company unique in a cost-effective way. Features such as Facebook and Instagram Live allow you to reveal a business's inner workings and show transparency.
Being transparent and sharing your company culture is a great way to build trust and develop a relationship with an audience.
Most of your content shouldn’t be promotional, it should be intended to entertain your audience and educate them on your company. However, every so often you should share promotional content that urges your audience to take action. Videos are a great way to share a promotional offer to your Instagram or Facebook audience.
Use engaging video to let your audience know about your offer and where they can take action. In the caption, offering a lander page link may be best where users can choose to follow up. The reason promotional offers on social media work great is that you are able to build up the suspense for a product before its release.
You can incorporate content before your promotion that shows what goes into your product or service. People will be more inclined to follow up with your offer if they understand the product from previous posts. Social media allows you to educate your audience on your product and generate buzz like no other marketing medium.
Social media is a time investment and can be tedious to grow, but businesses that have put effort into it know the rewards. Traditional forms of marketing are becoming less and less effective. It is more important now than ever for businesses to follow the people. People are spending more time on social media, and social media is becoming a larger factor in SEO rankings. Start with an effective social media marketing strategy, put time into the posts, and eventually, social media can serve as a significant source of lead generation. Interested in learning more about social media marketing? Contact our social media marketing Virginia team today to learn about our services.