Digital marketing strategy
5 reasons for social media needs
Social media is where your customers are.
The most fundamental rule of digital marketing is that you need to be visible where your customers are. Nearly three billion people worldwide use social media, and this figure is set to rise. Social media is where your customers are, and it’s where you need to be.
Establish a presence for your brand on every social media platform that makes sense for you. The main platforms to focus on are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, but smaller platforms like TikTok, Pinterest and Snapchat shouldn’t be overlooked if they’re relevant to your industry.
This creates social proof.
People are social beings who are very sensitive to the influence of others. Social proof works because we have an innate fear of missing out. When we see our friends and peers buying something, we want to buy it too. That’s why social influencer marketing has become so popular.
A great way to generate social proof for your brand is to encourage user-generated content through contests or by offering discounts. Having social influencers with thousands of followers is great, but if enough people in your community see their friends, family and colleagues showing your products or talking about your services, you’ll make an equally important impression.
This is where people leave reviews and recommendations.
What differentiates your brand, product or service from the many others? When someone decides to work with a small business they’ve found online, they need to be very confident.
People want to be sure they’re spending their money wisely, which is why most of them read reviews before even thinking about making a purchase or booking an appointment.
Reviews and recommendations on Facebook and other social media platforms provide your brand with additional social proof, which means more trust and more conversions. Every small business should have a plan in place to generate reviews and recommendations on social media.
Search engine optimization
They boost brand awareness.
Although social media can indirectly lead to increased sales, sales are not the primary objective of social media. The main reason why all small businesses can benefit from social media is that it’s a powerful tool for brand recognition. In fact, according to Hootsuite, 52% of online brand discoveries take place on social media feeds.
No matter how well a brand is presented, most people are not prepared to trust it the first time they encounter it. There’s an old marketing adage that says a person has to see your message at least seven times before they’re ready to make a purchase.
The more you spread your name on social media, the more recognition and trust you’ll gain in your brand, and the more likely your followers will be to become your customers.
It’s the place for competition.
Today, the majority of companies are present on social media, whatever their size or sector of activity. Social media is where the competition is, because that’s where consumers are online. If you fail to establish a social media presence, you risk losing market share to competitors with a social media presence.
Just because there’s a lot of competition on social media doesn’t mean all your competitors are doing things right. Understanding who your audience is, where they live and what interests them can give you a huge advantage.
