The rise of social media has revolutionized the way the marketing industry now works.
Not only does it give businesses a platform to meet their current and potential customers, it means that clients and customers now expect the ability to communicate with businesses in real-time.
Social media makes it easy to improve brand awareness, build your identity and give your business personality that people can relate to.
Here are some key reasons why your organization needs a coherent social media strategy and plan.
1. Direct Traffic To Your Website
Along with giving you an SEO boost, social media marketing provides an easy way to drive traffic to your website.
It’s basically impossible to get all of your visitors from search engines alone, and social media opens up a whole new source for inbound traffic.
All of the major social networks offer you a space to promote your website. That alone can drive people to your website if they come across your profile and want to learn a little more about you.
And, every time you share a blog post or promote a service, you’re sending a link to your website out into the world!
2. Increase Brand Recognition And Trust
The reality today is that prospects do research online before making buying decisions. Where do they look? Of course Google is one of the top sites to search, but many are also turning to Facebook and other social media networks to see if a company is established there.
There are 3 likely outcomes when prospects look for you online:
1. They don’t find anything and immediately lose trust.
2. They find your social media profiles, but they aren’t active. Again, you’ve lost a few trust points.
3. They find your social media profiles, see that you’re active, and learn more about the culture and values of your business. This leads to increased trust and more brand recognition because social media gives you the opportunity to connect with prospects on a deeper level.
3. Increase Customer Retention And Referrals
Of course, let’s not forget about the importance of following up with our customers!
By using social media to stay top of mind with customers, you’ll naturally increase retention, repeat purchases, referrals, and online reviews.
4. Utilize Advertising Opportunities To Generate Leads
Other than utilizing social media as a way to engage and make connections with customers, these platforms also create opportunities for paid advertising. For example, you can create marketing campaigns and gain broad visibility among your target audience. This is an inexpensive way to promote your business and share content with targeting options that can help you reach the right audience, and is a great way to generate genuine leads.
