Maybe you’re not utilizing social media marketing for your business now (have you been hiding under a rock?), or if you are, maybe you’re not using it as well as you could be. Maybe you have a gut feeling you need to be marketing through social media, but you’re not really sure why. Read on, dear friends, and discover why you need social media marketing and what you could focus on to make your business better.
1. Your customers are already on social media. You need to be where they are.
Consumer usage of social media is exploding, with over 2.8 billion users worldwide. In the United States, social media grew from 7% of adults in 2005 to over two-thirds (68%) of all adults overall – and more than 75% of U.S. internet users, according to Pew Research. The numbers go higher the younger the age group: 77% of adults under age 50 use social media, under age 30, it’s shoots up to 90%.
Mobile is exploding: Over 85% of adults are internet users and 67% are smartphone users. Almost 80% of social media is consumed on mobile devices. The number of smartphone social network users in the United States nearly doubled (from 55.7 million to 97.5 million) from 2011 to 2013. There are now over 184 million smartphone users in the U.S. The average user spends nearly 1.7 hours on social media sites every day, or 12 hours a week.
2. Your competitors are on social media, competing for your customers.
Nine out of 10 U.S. companies, in fact, are already using social media. And they’re already seeing concrete results: 90% of businesses see increased exposure and almost two-thirds (66%) report improved sales from social media.
Social media advertising in 2015 was $8.3 billion because it gets results. Eighty percent (80%) of Small & Medium Businesses (SMBs) use social media to drive growth, and 60% say they’ve gained new customers through social media. The results are good for both B2B and B2C. 83% of B2B’s use social media to increase brand exposure, 69% to increase web traffic, and 65% of gain market insights. 70% of B2C marketers say they have acquired new customers through Facebook alone.
3. Social media enhances your brand.
By being present and engaged on social media networks, companies cost-effectively increase brand awareness. For many brands, this is a key rationale for being present on social media. Social media allows you engage directly with prospects, customers, fans and other stakeholders, and create awareness – and brand advocates.
Social media allows you to learn more about your target audience, prospects and customers through direct contact through social media, which in turn provides you with critical market research and allows you to protect your brand reputation before something becomes critical.
4. Search on social media sites is beating online search (SEM and SEO) efforts.
People are now more likely to begin an online search with social media over a search engine. Social search surpassed online search in 2015. A major reason for this is customers are looking for social proof, which is essentially other people vouching for your product or service, from either people they know personally (good old word of mouth), or reviews and testimonials online – especially unsolicited (organic) reviews, which people generally consider unbiased and truthful. Over 70% of consumers look at product reviews before deciding to purchase. Social media provides an unprecedented means of sharing social proof.
5. Social media marketing amplifies your other online search (SEO) efforts.
The number of social shares (how many people share your posts) influences SEO link value. Social shares give you more inbound links. Links are like online votes users place on your website, increasing your online visibility and sending more traffic to your page, and 95% of social media links involve real people, usually highly targeted audience in your social circles, which drives real, high-quality traffic to your websites.
“Social is the way our work gets discovered. Content that is truly exceptional and useful can earn tremendous awareness through social media, and that social amplification often leads to great links, which leads to great rankings.” – Rand Fishkin, CEO & Co-Founder, Moz
Bonus # 6. Establish Thought Leadership In Your Space
Social media builds thought leadership. Companies can become known for being the expert in their space by creating and sharing their content. Consumers are drawn to expert knowledge to help them be informed on topics of interest and especially when researching before making a purchase. Note that being a thought leader in your space doesn’t require you to be the largest in your space. Expertise, specialty and niche knowledge can create thought leadership.
Bonus # 7. Market Research: Customers & Competitors
Social Media makes allows you to research and monitor what customers and competitors are saying in real time. You can listen to what your customers are saying about you. You can also listen in to what your target audience is saying about your competitors, as well as what your competitors are saying themselves, and gain valuable insights.