Social media has revolutionised the way we conduct marketing on a mass scale. Not only has customer interaction never been easier, but the various platforms available to us have allowed for an unprecedented level of business growth. However, not everyone is aware of the ability digital marketing possesses in helping businesses accomplish these goals – perhaps you are one of them. Because of that, we have outlined here the various ways in which social media can help positively change your marketing approach.
Building brand awareness
Facebook sits behind Google and YouTube as the third most visited website in the world. Fourth and fifth? Twitter and Instagram. 4.6 billion people globally now use social media, with 424 million new users coming online in the past 12 months! These numbers are simply staggering, and for your business to not being taking advantage of them would be a missed opportunity. Because consumers are now spending more and more time on social media, the platforms become a reliable and trusted source for information on brand and product information.
Social media is therefore perfect for effectively building brand awareness amongst a customer base that you might not have yet tapped into. The platforms are going to boost your visibility and allow you to reach a much wider audience than you otherwise would have, and only a relatively small amount of effort and time is required on your part.
Social media is great for building the kind of word-of-mouth awareness that marketing used to rely on. Your business’ posts, stories, videos, and tags can be shared across social media between friends and partners who want to let others know about your business.
Encouraging loyalty and engagement
Boosting brand awareness and customer engagement is one thing, but actually retaining the customer is another. Luckily, social media is here to help us with that too. A survey conducted in 2017 found that 69% of marketers develop a loyal customer base for their respective brands through marketing via social media. Building this kind of brand loyalty is extremely important for long-term business growth and can be the difference between stagnation and expansion for your business.
Customer engagement is equally as important. Because of the constantly evolving nature of social media, with frequently updated and newly released features, customer engagement is positively affected and remains consistent. The kind of instant, immediately available interaction that social media allows users to experience is vital in building a healthy level of engagement with your business. Video content is especially effective at developing content that engages the viewer, and when you add features such as polls and ‘Q and A’s’ to this approach, it becomes even more sustainable.
Providing support
Social media has allowed businesses to break down the barriers that formerly existed between company and customer. Whereas before customers may have previously had to call the appropriate customer service number, many now turn to social media platforms to find the required information or solve the problem. If you begin to develop a reputation as a caring, responsive business who consistently offers interactive and effective support through social media channels, you can fast begin to reap the rewards.
This reinforces the ways that digital marketing can improve brand image and reputation. Remember to create a system where you can track customer questions, complaints, or comments through social media. Be responsive and take the required time out of your day to be as helpful and positive as possible. Also listen to any relevant criticism so that customers feel heard and that they can develop a strong interaction with your business. Private messaging has presented businesses with a private, highly direct way of interacting with disaffected customers, so try to use this where possible.