What do 90% of Millennials, 77.5% of Generation X, and 48.2% of Baby Boomers have in common? They all are active social media users spending an average of 2 hours a day on social networks and messaging. Questioning the importance of social media in our daily life is pointless. Social Media Marketing (SMM) has also become a huge part of every business. A few reasons why:
ONE: SMM is more affordable than traditional marketing. It’s also much more flexible (change it any time you want), smarter (includes reports and analytics), and targets the right audience. Facebook advertising tools provide your business with an ability to regard users’ age, gender, favorite pages, preferences, etc. It doesn’t waste your marketing efforts and saves you money. Cultivating an audience on social media platforms helps create a fan base of loyal customers who will purchase your products and carry your brand on their shoulders as a brand ambassador.
TWO: It raises the awareness of your brand. 60% of Instagram users say they discover new products on the platform. You make one person engage with your page – it brings 10 more. Seeing your friend’s comment or a like on a brand’s post makes you want to learn about them too. Half of the consumers claim that they depend on influencer recommendations on social media to inform their purchasing decision. One retweet or post helps to reach out to a bigger audience. 7 in 10 business owners say their social marketing efforts increased exposure for their business and traffic. If you ignore the importance of social media in business, your circle of customers will be limited to the people that are already familiar with your brand. Social media creates word of mouth – take advantage of it.
THREE: 54% of social browsers use social media to research products. Customers are joining social networks to look for reviews and recommendations. According to a Nielsen study commissioned by Twitter, one in four new vehicle purchasers in the U.S. used Twitter as an input to their vehicle purchase decision and a third of these buyers say the platform helped them make their final decision. Social proof is “a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others reflect correct behavior for a given situation.” To make it short, people tend to do what others do. After reading good feedback on social media, customers will know your products are good even before buying them. Social platforms bring a lot of opportunities to use social proof. If someone praises your company or makes a post about your products, REPOST IT! Let everyone know what others say about your business.
FOUR: It is proven that customers put more trust in the brand if they can see its activity online. Building a good relationship with your customers on social media is important. 2/3 of consumers will recommend your products to others if they had a positive experience with your brand online (e.g. getting responses to their comments, mentions, and direct messages). Nike created a customer service page on Twitter where they answer your questions 24 hours a day 7 days a week. High social media engagement shows that you’re always down to interact with your followers (a.k.a. potential customers), help them to choose, inform about something new coming, and make sure they know – you care. Social customer service is the new marketing.
To sum it up, out of 7.6 billion people on the planet, 5 billion have a phone, 4 billion people know how to use the internet, and 3.2 billion have become active social media users. Social media has reached the point when it’s no more just a platform for chatting with your friends - it’s a place where every single day millions of people find new brands and engage the ones they already follow. Contact GreenMo. and find out how to rock SMM or develop a unique social media strategy for your startup.