How social media marketing helps businesses?

In 2017, the vast majority of the public can be found on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. With the climbing usage of tools like this comes untapped marketing potential. Using the most frequented social site of Facebook, and it’s marginally smaller yet incredibly popular counterpart Instagram, business owners have been able to advertise their goods and services to huge sections of the public. Social media marketing is great for business, whether it is getting more leads, or driving more users to your website, there are multiple ways that social media can help businesses, some of which are listed below.

Popularity

Like mentioned above, there is no questioning the popularity of social media. Having this many watching eyes only means good things for businesses; your advertisements have the ability to be displayed in the feeds of thousands of users, in a larger sample, you are more likely to have an interested potential client and all of the users are in one convenient place - it is like everyone watching the same TV show, but you have the cost-effective ability to advertise during that show. There are more than one billion people on Facebook, meaning that you have a near endless supply of potential customers at your disposal.

Exposure

The way that social media marketing is designed… is to put your content in everyday feeds of users who are not aware of your service. This tool physically puts your business's name in front of inquisitive users, which will ultimately equate to traffic or inquiries. Social media's range of exposure is unmatched compared to traditional advertising such as print and broadcast media, where you are restricted to an audience on any given day. Through Facebook and Instagram, your posts can reach thousands of individual profiles, and the more success you have doing so, the larger your audience will become.

Cost

Compared to a lot of traditional advertising and marketing, social media is extremely cost-effective. Other online marketing methods such as Google AdWords carry a cost, as you could be coming up against some large businesses (with deep pockets) for keywords relating to your industry. Social media advertising, particularly on Facebook, charges small amounts for targeted advertisements. As you have options to run ads over certain timeframes and to certain amounts of the population, you can determine just how much you want to spend.

Two-way communication

Designed for social interaction, Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram present a great opportunity for interaction with your desired audience. Rather than traditional online marketing techniques that will lead your potential clients to a phone number or address, all of these platforms are designed with direct messaging capabilities. With Facebook advertisements, you can place a CTA in the advertisement that prompts the user to send a message, meaning that the communication method is completed on the same platform as where the advertisement is viewed. This can also lead to effective and efficient dialogue between the business and the customer, as the users can send messages to inquire about certain services, and the business can answer promptly - potentially leading to a sale.

Showcasing

As Facebook and Instagram are visual platforms and thrive off of engaging content, this presents businesses with an excellent opportunity to showcase completed work or products to the prospecting users. Particularly with services, curious customers want to see the end product of what they will be purchasing, by posting Instagram images or galleries on Facebook consistently, the audience can also track the progress and versatility of business. With products, it is essential to show the public exactly what they will be purchasing. These high-quality visual functions offered by social media means that the marketing capabilities of these sites cater to this function, and images can be boosted or turned into an advertisement for further marketing purposes.

Boost traffic

Through advertising on these social media platforms, you can drive traffic directly back to your businesses website. This creates opportunities for high-quality leads, as the targeting tools of social media advertising pander toward specific demographic that your business wishes to target. Consequently, the users who engage with your advertisement and click through to your businesses website, are the type of users you have selected based on demographics. Search engine optimisation with SEO Marketer is also designed to boost high-quality traffic to your website.

Targeting

One of the greatest attributes of social media marketing is it's undisputed and thorough database. Through user’s listings of residence, age, gender and interests, you can use Facebook to select particular options from an enormous list, that will ultimately help you get the inquiries you desire. For example, if you only offer business within a certain proximity, you can set your advertisements parameters based on specific kilometres. Similarly, if you are a home improvement business, you can target users who have shown interest in the industry previously. This not only puts your company name in front of the perfect audience, but also lowers the cost compared to a general advertisement within a online marketing technique where you are placed in front of a broad audience. Targeting can be used with content curation and search engine optimisation. SEO Marketer helps businesses benefit from targeting both on and off of social media.

Market Research

As social media is so popular among businesses, the ease of navigation through Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram, present an opportunity for you to study the social presence of leading companies in your industry. Rather than scouring the internet for businesses, Facebook’s search tools will lead you to the very best in a particular industry, this kind of market research cannot be replicated outside of social media. You will also be able to see the presence and interaction competitors have on social media, and be able to gauge your business's position in the market, leading to a greater understanding of the market you find yourself in.

These are just some of the ways social media marketing can help your business. Through the advanced targeting techniques, easy and cost-effective advertising, and layered categorisation, you will be able to generate better quality leads to your website, leading to an efficient communication with your new audience. These social media marketing aspects work in conjunction with SEO-based techniques. If you are considering revamping your complete online presence, give SEO Marketer a call to get the process started.

Written by Joe G. Patterson, Contributor for SEO Marketer

SEO Marketer | SEO Adelaide

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