November 2021
At least 71% of small-to-mid-sized businesses use social media to promote themselves. If you aren’t using at least one social media platform to connect with your audience, you are missing out on a ton of benefits. We have put together a list of 25 important benefits of social media marketing that we’re sure will convince you to take your brand online.
#1 Brand Recognition
The more your audience sees your posts pop up in their news feed, the more likely they will be able to recognize your brand in the future. Social media gives your company a great way to connect with millions of people who might have never heard about your brand unless they saw it come across their Facebook feed. The more social platforms you use to share content from your brand, the more you are increasing your chances of brand recognition.
#2 Tell your story
Social media platforms give you a chance to tell the story of your business in your own words. Is there a funny story about how you chose the name for your brand? Do you have a set of core values that your audience might connect with? Then social media is a great place to share this information.
#3 Get people talking about you
There is a good chance your customer is already on social media, so why not give them something to share with their friends instead of another cat meme? The more quality content that your brand shares online, the more opportunity you’re giving your audience to share that content with others. This not only helps to solidify brand loyalty, but it also increases brand awareness.
#4 Learn more about your audience
Social media analytics give so much information and insight into your audience. Each social media platform has a basic analytics toolbox that allows you to dive deeper into the demographics of the people who are following your brand or engaging with it online. This is a great tool to learn more about your audience.
#5 Improve customer service
Using social media platforms allows you to have instant contact with your customers. If one of them posts a complaint on your page, you can immediately reach out to them and work to correct the issue. This is much better than making your clients wait 20 to 30 minutes on hold while they wait to speak with a representative.
#6 Build credibility
The more followers you have and the more engagement your posts receive, the more credible your brand looks. A lot of consumers research brands online first before they make a purchase, so if they don’t think your social media presence is legitimate, they might take your business elsewhere. By posting regularly and engaging with your audience, you help to reassure your potential customers that your brand is real and you want to engage with them.
#7 Inspire customer loyalty
People love connecting with brands online. If you interact and engage with your audience, customers will feel loyalty toward your brand. It also doesn’t hurt to host a giveaway or offer special discounts every once in a while.
#8 Spend less on advertising
Ads can be expensive, but social media ads tend to be a little less expensive than traditional methods. As a bonus, social media ads let you drill down to very specific target audiences so you can ensure that only the people you really want are seeing your ad.
#9 Direct traffic to your website
Social media posts are a great way to drive traffic to your website. You can share blog posts, product links, and so much more. All you have to do is include a link to a landing page or website that you would like your audience to visit, and watch your traffic increase.
#10 Build backlinks
Google search ranks pages with quality backlinks more highly than pages without any backlinks. Social media platforms are a great way to build up some of those backlinks. You just have to link your content to your website and vice versa. This will help to boost your rankings with little to no effort.
#11 Low cost
Social media is a free service. You don’t have to spend a dime to set up your business pages and start generating followers. If you want to automate posting or boost posts, you will have to spend a little extra, but these services are typically low cost.
#12 Connect with influencers
Influencers help to share your brand with all of their followers. If you are able to find an influencer that wants to sponsor your brand, you will have access to hundreds or even thousands more people than if you just post to your own social media pages.
#13 Become a leader among your competition
Social media platforms are a great way to help you stand out and become a leader among your competition. You can share posts about the benefits of your products, show comparisons, or even ask your audience to leave product reviews. This helps people who are researching specific products or brands have easier access to this information.
#14 Establish yourself as an authority
You can use social media to show your audience that you’re an expert in your field. The content and information you share can help to educate and inform your audience and solidify to them that your brand is the go-to brand because you not only have a great product but you are knowledgeable about their needs.
#15 Promote yourself
Do you have a special event or a sale coming up and you want people to know about it? You can share it on social media and increase awareness. Social media provides several ways you can promote your brand online. You can even create events so your audience can add it to their calendar.
#16 Humanize your brand
People love to know who is behind the brand, and social media allows you to do just that. Posts about the people who make up a business are always well received and help your customers feel more connected to the brand.
#17 Communicate directly with your customers
Using social media is a great way to speak directly to your customers. You can respond to their comments on posts or you can even talk with them through direct messaging. This allows you to answer questions, solve problems, or just connect with them.
#18 Easy A/B testing
Social media is so easy to use, it is a great place to conduct A/B testing. Have a tagline or an image you think will go over well with your audience? You can easily post the image for a couple of days and then post an alternate image for another few days, and see which one performed the best. Since you can delete posts directly from the platforms, you can change out your content as much as you would like.
#19 Limitless reach
Social media expands the whole globe. Your brand might be limited to just a small city or state, but with the power of social media, you can connect with customers in other countries. The number of connections you can make is limitless.
#20 Manage your reputation
The great thing about social media is you control what you post and when. This allows you to control the voice of your brand. You are solely responsible for your brand’s reputation online.
#21 Fast communication with customers
Need to tell your customers about a flash sale or that you’re having technical issues with a product? You can connect to them almost instantly online. All it takes is a quick social media post and everyone will soon know.
#22 Employee advocacy
Employees can be your biggest fans online. Social media platforms allow your employees to easily share your brand with all of their connections. This helps to expand your network and increase brand awareness.
#23 Share user-generated content
To get your audience even more obsessed with your brand, you can share user-generated content. This not only encourages your audience members to showcase their creativity, but it also makes them feel like a bigger part of your business because their content is being used to help share your brand with others.
#24 Spy on the competition
If your brand is online, there is a good chance your competition is, too. You can use social media platforms as a way to see what your competitors are sharing with their audience and also see how the audience is engaging with that content. This gives you insight into your competition.
#25 Increase conversion rates
If your brand is online, there is a good chance your competition is, too. You can use social media platforms as a way to see what your competitors are sharing with their audience and also see how the audience is engaging with that content. This gives you insight into your competition.
These are just a few of the many benefits of social media marketing for businesses. If any of these have encouraged you to take your business online, we can help you get started – contact us today.
