What are the Benefits of Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing is quickly becoming one of the most important parts of marketing strategy. Businesses all over the world are discovering the ways social media can contribute to the success and growth in all areas of their company. According to Hubspot, 92% of all marketers indicated that their social media efforts have generated more exposure for their businesses, while 80% of marketers indicated that their social media efforts increased traffic. With these types of statistics, the benefits of social media marketing can no longer be ignored.

If you’re feeling a bit hesitant about whether social media marketing is worth the effort, we’ve provided some benefits that may help you make the switch:

Improved Audience Insights

For every business, the key to success is knowing your customers. Social media makes this easier than ever. Social networks allow you to see what your potential customers are talking about while getting to know them. Businesses should use these networks to gather consumer information to better cater to their needs and provide them with the information they’re looking for.

Improved Customer Service

Social media allows businesses to easily field customers’ comments, questions and concerns instantaneously. Although you may have a dedicated customer service department reachable through email and phone, it’s important to handle issues via the method of communication consumers prefer. Customers want to be assured that if they have a problem, they can easily be helped. Customers using one of the common social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, can communicate with you directly. This method also allows you to answer them in a public format that lets others see the quality of your customer service. This will also add a level of transparency to your business. According to Forbes, 71% of consumers who receive a quick response on social media say they are more likely to recommend that brand to other people.

Content is Easily Distributed

Social media should always play a large part of any content marketing distribution plan. In the past, marketers faced the challenges of reaching their audience with their content in the shortest possible time. Today, with the help of social media, businesses can spread the word with a click of a button. Social media accounts for a huge portion of referral traffic on the web, which means you need to make sure your content aligns to your brand and interests of your audience.

It takes roughly six to eight exposures to a product before a customer decides to purchase. A clear benefit of social media is repeat exposure of your content with network. This allows you the opportunity to remind them of what you have to offer, which can shorten your sales funnel dramatically.

Become an Influencer in Your Industry

As you gain more followers, your influence grows. The more people are talking about you on social networks, the more valuable and authoritative your brand will appear to new users. Interacting with major influencers on Twitter or other networks will also greatly increase your authority and reach. The more valuable information you put out there, the more readers will return and share your content.

Increased Traffic

When you’re sharing content on social media, you are giving users a reason to click-through to your website. Without social media, you are limiting your content to users who are already familiar with your brand or are searching for keywords you rank for. By adding social media to your marketing plan, you are adding more paths leading users back to your site. The more quality content you share on your social accounts, the more inbound traffic you’ll generate while creating conversion opportunities.

Enhanced SEO rankings

SEO requirements are constantly changing for businesses to successfully rank on search engines. It’s no longer enough to simply optimize your site and regularly update your blog. Social media presence is becoming a significant factor in calculating rankings. Businesses sharing their content on social media are sending out a “brand-signal” to search engines that speak of your brands legitimacy, credibility, and trustworthiness. If you want to rank for specific keywords, it’s necessary to be actively posting on these topics.

Save Money

Are you looking to cut back on your marketing costs? Social networks are a great, cost-effective way to get your brand in front of fans and potential customers. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest allow you to promote and share content with no cost outside of your own time spent.

These platforms also offer advanced, but affordable advertising platforms you can use to target your consumers with demographic, keywords and interest-based campaigns.

As you can see, social media marketing can be greatly beneficial for all types of businesses. Do you have any other social media benefits to add to our list?