According to a research conducted by Social Media Examiner, about 96% of marketers are using social media but of this number, 85% are not sure which are the best platforms to be used and how to effectively manage them. Furthermore, since going digital is now the trend, it is proper to dissect the benefits of utilising social media in digital marketing. Social Ads have quickly become a highly effective method for making conversions. In 2020, due to the unprecedented COVID19 pandemic which greatly affected the world, businesses are prompted to utilise fully going digital and doing remote work. Hence, making social media advertising a handy option. Some disadvantages which could be lead a business owner to think twice would include the cost and added task for content posting and monitoring, but at the end of the day social ads are highly targeted, linked to your company’s profile, and can be used to satisfy a variety of different marketing goals, like generating brand recognition or increasing sales. The following are some of the known benefits of social media advertising:
- Increased brand awareness– It is not totally unrelated that utilising social media advertising’s end goal is to expand the reach of your business in terms of your brand, your products and services you are offering. If your brand is visible and has a strong online presence, then you can be confident that people will drop enquiries and read up on your website, facebook, instagram, Linkedin, Twitter or what have you.
- Improved customer relations– If your business is active on social media, one imperative thing to do is regularly replying to customers or prospective visitors in order to engage them and be able to provide adequate information. Another way to boost customer relations through social media is when customers’ feedback are valued. If customers are empowered to drop in their comments, suggestions and enquiries and they get a prompt response, they are more likely to buy your products or engage your services in the future.
- Cost Effective Strategy- The remaining four percent who have not yet shifted their mindset to the importance of social media advertising must know that this method in digital marketing is friendly to the budget especially for those small businesses who are concerned with securing enough funds for marketing. Social media marketing is possibly the most cost-efficient part of an advertising strategy. Signing up and creating a profile is free for almost all social networking platforms, and any paid promotions you decide to invest in are relatively low cost compared to other marketing tactics. Being cost-effective is such an advantage because you can see a greater return on investment and retain a bigger budget for other marketing and business expenses. If you decide to use paid advertising on social media, always start small to see what you should expect.
- Boosted Search Engine Rankings- Let’s face it, everyone uses Google to find information, and they likely won’t navigate past page 1 because their answer normally is on the first page of results. Although posting on social media might get your business some site traffic, more effort than that is required to see significant success. Search engine optimization is very important for achieving higher page rankings and obtaining traffic to your business website. While social media doesn’t directly increase search engine rankings, Social Media Examiner states that more than 58% of marketers who have been using social media for one year or longer still see improved search engine rankings. Being able to rank in the top positions for your keywords will revolutionise your traffic and continue to generate positive results for your business.
- Expanded inbound traffic- Without utilising social media as part of your marketing strategy, you’ll have much more difficulty reaching anyone outside of your loyal customer circle. Every social media profile you add to your marketing mix is a gateway to your website, and every piece of content you post is another opportunity to acquire a new customer. Social media is a melting pot of different types of people with varying backgrounds and behaviours. With different people come different needs and different ways of thinking. Syndicating your content on as many platforms as possible allows these individuals to organically reach your business.
Now that you’ve seen the major advantages of social media in advertising, let us take a look at the most popular social media platforms marketers are using and perhaps will give you a head start into taking the plunge of using social media to grow your business.