If you’re a new business owner, you might be less familiar with social media marketing and why it needs to be considered. First things first, stats show that 55% of consumers learn about new brands on social media. We have yet to meet an individual (of any age group) that hasn’t at least heard of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest and TikTok. Most folks engage with more than one of these platforms on a daily, if not hourly, basis. Social Media Marketing simply takes advantage of this by putting ad dollars into practically guaranteed visibility.
Why Social Matters
Marketing has changed at the speed of lighting over the past few decades. The prevalence of streaming subscriptions equals content that is void of commercials. You can easily fast forward or skip through ads that were once-upon-a-time mandatory to watch and listen to. Social media ads are integrated right into feeds and are accompaniments to intentionally tailored sidebar content. The visible content is customized to individuals based on their search histories and trackable interests!
In short, the financial return on live TV and radio advertisement is declining as social media marketing effectiveness replaces them. If you’re looking for a worth-while investment, social is the route to take. Social networks are growing and expanding at intense rates. It is predicted that these platforms will hit over 243 million users in the United States by 2025. If you’re not setup to utilize social media marketing, you’ll miss out on a lot of revenue while consumers find your competitor first.
3 Major Benefits
1. Brand Awareness
Social media is a great way to spread the birth story and mission of your company. Your initial goal should be to tell the world who you are, what you do, and why you do it. Social media marketing allows this to be accomplished in any number of creative ways. Short videos, professional image carousels, strategically narrated reels, powerful statement Tweets… you name it. Sharing a direct company vision, that sticks in the hearts and minds of viewers, has never been more accessible.
Real customer stories also bring influencial brand awareness. Positive reviews shared by your team or customers themselves can have lasting impressions on the public image of your brand. Customers story-telling of impactful interactions with your company are similar to low-profile endorsement deals. Playing to sentiment and eliciting reaction is big in the social realm. Once you get people talking, those conversations begin to spread like wildfire!
2. Authentic Customer Engagement
One of the ways that social media ads are unique is that they encourage audience commentary and participation. Two-way communication with consumers through social engagement is a great way to encourage a potential buy. By responding consistently, you show that you are real, relatable, authentic, and available for questions or concerns. All of those things have a positive influence on your customer’s decision to trust your brand. After all, 78% of buyers are willing to spend money with company after experiencing a positive interaction with them on social.
Continually connecting positions you to meet your potential customer’s needs and develop deeper relational bonds. What does that mean? Simply put, those connections usually turn into audience growth, broader buyer base through referrals, and ultimately, recurring revenue by return customers!
3. Lead Generation
What IS a qualified lead anyways? Well, it’s a person who has intentionally (or sometimes indirectly) provided your brand beneficial intel by expressing interest in what your company has to offer. Gathering lots of leads helps to populate your sales funnel and follow-up database. How exactly does a social media ad do that? Good question!
This happens in many ways, but to skim the surface, let’s look at two of the simplest. First, you can set a target audience for your ad which prevents the waste of your hard earned money. Target audiences help you reach a precise demographic who are more likely to take the next step. Second, the next step is clearly outlined through call to action (CTA) ad copy or interactive buttons inciting individuals to “learn more”, “buy now”, or “send a message”. Every time that happens, you get useful data that equals potential profit. The plethora of strategies and options to take advantage of with social media marketing means that this approach can work for any business.
The Internet's Influence
If you still aren’t convinced, let’s look at a few more facts.
Intel reveals that 53% of the global population partakes in social media platforms. In fact, Facebook alone reaches over half of the world’s users.
How’s a business FB page sounding now?
As a whole, YouTube logs over 1 billion hours of watch time EVERY day. That’s a LOT of exposure.
Do you really want to miss out?
90% of individuals with an Instagram account follow at least one business or official brand. Many follow more.
Is your business a part of that following?
Did you know that Google and Bing search results actually include pertinent Tweets? It’s true.
Are your current SEO rankings making the same dent?
If that isn’t enough proof to speak to the dominance of social media and the importance of marketing within it, we don’t know what is. Interested in beginning that journey? Rouge Rabbit Media is at your service!