What Is Social Media Marketing?
Social media channels can be an effective tool for business owners to raise brand awareness, increase engagement and drive traffic back to a website.
Social media marketing tactics include:
- Creating a social media marketing plan to outline goals and objectives
- Using social media platforms as a customer service tool
- Engaging with customers through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networks
- Promoting blog posts on social networks as a way to gain increased traffic back to a website
Social media marketing (SMM) is the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. SMM, or social media marketing, is becoming increasingly popular rather than e-marketing or digital marketing as stated by Investopedia.
Social media marketing has proven over the years to be a valuable asset in online marketing. In fact, social media is one of the most important marketing tactics when it comes to increasing engagement and awareness. Social media campaigns involves taking advantage of online platforms, such as Facebook and Google+, to promote a brand or a cause.
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Why Is Social Media Marketing So Popular?
Many small businesses don’t consider integrating social media marketing into their digital marketing strategies. The reason behind this may be that social media seems so informal and improper.
TIP: you can use social media for more than just sharing photos of your cat. You can turn to social media presence to communicate with your audience, control your online image, and educate, entertain, and inspire visitors.
- Because social media provides so many opportunities for communication, it has become wildly popular.
At the end of the day, social media is all about being social and increasing brand awareness, and there’s no denying its popularity. Facebook has more than a billion users and accordingly, it is an excellent channel for you to build relationships with others and express yourself in a meaningful way.
- You have the ability to control how you present yourself online.
The advent of social media has given us all much more control over how we present ourselves online. If you have received bad reviews on Yelp, you know how devastating this can be to your business. Sites like Yelp may be great for consumers, but not so much for businesses that feel they were unfairly treated.
Social Media Content Marketing Explained
Social Media Content marketing uses the Internet, social media, and other digital channels to help a company publish its content. This content is created to help inform or educate consumers about a product, service, or industry.
Content marketing is used by companies to educate, inform or entertain potential customers or prospects. A content marketing strategy involves promoting your business through a variety of marketing techniques, including social media and blogging. Online marketing is usually done through web and social media platforms instead of direct email or television commercials.
Content marketing aims to interest consumers in a product or service and then convert that interest into sales. The type of content that is published varies depending on the purpose of the campaign.
Benefits of Social Media Marketing
Social media has become an integral part of the modern world. Today, every company has its own social media account where it can engage with customers. If you are serious about marketing your business online, social media can be an extremely effective tool for you. This blog post lists some interesting facts about social media users for you to take into consideration.
- The number of people on Facebook is more than the number of people in the USA
As of this writing, there are approximately 329 million people living in the United States. In comparison, there are over 2.89 billion people that use Facebook in some capacity sourced from statista.com. More people use Facebook than live in the United States. As mentioned above, one way to reach a wide audience with your business is through targeted social media accounts.
- There are more 18-year-olds on Facebook than 65+ year olds
It is often assumed that older people use Facebook because it is popular among young adults. However, the fact that it has been around for several years suggests that there are other factors involved. The truth is that there are roughly 580 million 18-year-olds on Facebook who have accounts.
- Nearly 80% of the users make their purchase decision with the help of Instagram.
While those with smaller followings may generally be cheaper, due to increased demand. A post by a micro-influencer will cost you anywhere between $1-$50. Between $250 and $2000 are the typical prices for posts from large and celebrity influencers.
- Social Media is a great tool to gain insight into your target customers
Social listening tools enable you to gain deep insight into the way customers and potential customers think about you, based on what they say on social channels.
How Social Media Marketing Can Help Your Business Grow
A social media marketing strategy promotes a business’s products or services on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. It’s an effective way to promote your business, but it can be tricky to master. Here’s how you can get started…
Proving Your Expertise. The more you interact with your audience, the more likely they will view you as a knowledgeable source in your industry. Word-of-mouth marketing can take place when people like and share your content.
Helps Build Relationships. Social media is not only about sharing interesting links, photos, and videos with your followers. Social media can be used to build trust and encourage your audience to engage with the content you provide. Social media marketing is not only about being social but also helps you determine how you can stand out from the crowd.
Cost Friendly. Although social media marketing is not entirely free, it’s very economical. Yes, posting content throughout social media is free, but it’s the time that costs. Time is money; every hour spent learning a new process or task is an hour that could have been spent on making money for your company.
Organic Search Results. Believe it or not, social media has a significant impact on search engine optimization. If you want to optimize your website for organic search results, make sure that your content is shareable and engaging to people who may eventually visit your site via organic searches.
Conclusion
Social media is an important channel for communication with consumers and is therefore here to stay. It enables companies to communicate with customers, get feedback, and disseminate information about current and future products and services. As more major companies embrace social media, small businesses must follow suit. To keep your company competitive, devise a social media marketing plan that supports your business goals and satisfies your customers.
Five Rivers Marketing is a digital agency that provides the Dayton area with high-quality social media marketing services. Learn more about our expertise and services today!
