Social Media has become a critical component of marketing and business strategy. It helps people find you, build customer loyalty and reputation, encourage brand advocacy, create community, and many other things that are key to business growth.
Here are 5 reasons you need to add social media to your business efforts.
1 – Meet your customers where they are
According to a Pew Research study 72% of US adults (people aged 18+) say they use at least one social media site. In 2005 that number was just 5% and in 2011 it was 50%. If these trends continue, over the years more and more people are going to be utilizing social media.
Though millennials are heavy users of social media, 81% of adults aged 30-29 and 73% of adults aged 56-64 are also using social media. Only 45% of those aged 65+ are utilizing social media, but in 2018, that number was just at 37%.
Your customers are using social media now more than ever, and this trend will only continue upwards. Utilize social media to meet your customers where they are.
2 – Connect with your customers
Being on social media allows your customers to get ahold of you as soon as they need it. Instead of waiting for your business hours to give you a call or stop into your business, now they can send you a message instantly.
Even if you’re not available then and there, on some platforms you can set up a chatbot to answer any questions your customers may have.
Engaging with your customers in a timely manner, whether that is responding to a comment or a DM, or giving a follow back, will bring them a new sense of loyalty, and they will gain more trust into your business.
3 – Keep an eye on your competitors
Being active on social media will allow you the opportunity to see in real time what works and doesn’t work for your competition.
Don’t copy everything your competitors do. Your business is unique, it is not their business. However, if there is an idea they have used that fits your businesses voice, you can use that idea on your social channels as well.
Maybe you notice they are engaging in a market you didn’t think to look into. Now you’ll know you may have an additional target audience to start marketing to.
Always do more research before you go out and market to those people. Your competitor may be spending all of their time marketing to this audience with no return. Make sure they are actually turning that engagement into some form of a return on investment. And make sure any action you take coincides with the goals you have set for your social channels.
4 – Sell your products in a new space at no cost
According to a study by Market Force, 78% of people say a brand’s social media posts influence their purchasing decisions.
There was also a study conducted by Facebook stating that 46% of people made a purchase online or offline after seeing a product or service on Instagram.
People are becoming more inclined to buy something just because it has been posted on social media. Instagram and Facebook have capitalized on this trend by giving business accounts the opportunity to open a social store to their accounts.
Those potential customers no longer have to leave the app to make a purchase. This could lead to more sales as those customers will have less time to ruminate on their purchasing decision.
5 – Free market research
When you open up a business account on almost any social platform, you’ll have access to insights for that account. You can use these insights to pull first party data on your following.
According to eMarketer, 75% of U.S. marketers place a high priority on increasing their use of first party data. This is becoming increasingly important with the end of third-party data collection coming.
Apple has already created a privacy initiative to protect consumer data by requiring user notification and consent before having any data collected. Google is also joining Apple in user privacy by phasing out third-party cookies by 2022.
Having ways to collect your own data will become extremely important once third-party data becomes scarce or completely disappears.
Add social media to your business efforts
Social media is one of the cheapest and most efficient ways to grow your business. Between meeting your customers where they are to gaining free market research, social media is critical for your business.
Ready to create a social media strategy for your business but don’t know where to start? Schedule a free consultation today.
