Ten years ago, the concept of using social media for business was foreign. Nowadays, however, with the rise of social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn many businesses have come to see the value in these sites. According to Gontarek (2021) 55% of the global population use or have used at least one social platform in their life.
The rise of the social media influencer and content creators market has opened new doors of opportunities for business and personal accounts. Social media and influencer’s have evolved into legitimate ways for brands to reach their customers and generate income.
Social media is an important tool for marketers and businesses. It not only provides a platform for small businesses and start-ups to showcase their product, but it also helps them communicate with their customers directly.
For small businesses and startups, in particular, here is why you should start social media marketing today,
1. Social media users are increasing every day
According to Statista reports in 2020, around 3.6 billion people are active on social media and by 2025 it is estimated that the number will grow to 4.41 billion according to research. With more people on this platform, the more potential customers you will find. Trust me customers are always lurking online. Social media is a great place for you to expand your business. However, you will need a marketing strategy to find your audience.
Nearly every type of business, including small and large scale, has a social media presence. The reason being that they can find their customers on these platforms. A lot of businesses get traffic to their website from social media platforms.
2. It is easy to reach your customers
Every business should be where their customers are. And as we have already seen, most customers are online. Having social media platforms with great marketing strategies will help you reach your customer through
● Connect with customers and clients in real-time via comments, reactions, likes, loves and chats. This is one of the easiest ways for your customers to reach you. So make sure you update your account, check your inbox, likes, comments.
● Creating good quality engaging content that is both entertaining and educating. Make sure that you’re providing posts with important and interesting news regarding your company’s products and services, discounts, contests, special offers, new products or updates from the industry you are operating.
● Always be consistent. Try to diversify the message you want to pass via your posts. Depending on the type of platform you’re sharing the content to, stay active and remember to post regularly, but be aware that too many posts can irritate your audience and be perceived as spam, so you try to find a sweet spot by analyzing the audience reactions.
3. Social media users search for products on the platform
About 54% of social media browsing is for research regarding a product or service according to GlobalWebIndex. People are online 24/7 everyday. Users are not only researching a product they are also engaging with the brand. Therefore, small businesses can leverage this tool by creating and curating content that will help them reach their target audience. Understand your buyer’s values, beliefs and desire in order to engage with the right people and increase brand awareness.
4. Decrease Marketing Services
Social media marketing is one of the most inexpensive marketing tools to connect with your audience. Apart from time and social media tools, companies can post promotional content and engage with consumers on social media for free. You can boost your post for $5 and select your audience. Although social media advertising requires a budget, it is considered to be less expensive than the grand majority of other marketing mediums.
5. Website Traffic
One reason why your business should invest in social media marketing is, it drives more traffic to your company website. According to a recent survey it revealed that 72% of businesses confirm that using social media has helped increase their website traffic. As more and more visitors come across your website, the more likely you are to make sales. The good thing is you can also boost your website on social media e.g. Facebook.
6. Increases Brand Awareness
Companies all over the world have inevitably managed to increase their brand awareness through social media with a very minimal budget. With such a large audience and a high number of daily users, social media provides businesses with the opportunity to reach more users than almost any other marketing medium.
7. Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty is very important for your business, if you have a startup or small business; you must engage customers to become long-term, repeat purchasers. A customers’ loyalty towards a brand reflects their overall perception of your company. Remember to be nice to your customers. Social Media Marketing allows you to shape this perception. Through strong, relevant and continuous social media activity, your company is likely to increase its number of loyal customers.