Social media marketing is a powerful tool for business growth, but it comes with challenges. Here’s what you need to know before diving in.
Social media marketing has undoubtedly become one of the hottest talking points in modern business, and it’s not hard to see why. Spending on social media advertising has grown from $51 Billion to $226 Billion in the past five years, while it is expected to hit $384 Billion by 2027. Moreover, it feels like virtually all companies incorporate it into their digital marketing strategies.
Before you incorporate it into your marketing efforts, it’s important to equip yourself with a complete understanding of the situation by looking at the advantages and disadvantages of social media marketing. Here’s everything you need to know.
As well as asking the why’s of social media marketing, you must not overlook the how’s or where’s. More than 59% of the world’s population now have at least one account on a social media platform, and each social media platform offers a potential opportunity for businesses to further develop their digital marketing strategies.
Some of the most popular social media platforms include, but are not limited to:
The most effective social media platforms for branding and marketing purposes are normally determined by the target audience as different demographics use varying sites. While most companies will use more than one, having a clear preference can be vital.
While most companies now use social media marketing in some shape or form, it’s important for all business owners and marketing managers to appreciate the potential negatives before getting carried away with the positives. These are some of the main issues you should consider.
While social media is a great way to build brand awareness and stronger customer relationships, one wrong move could potentially cause major reputational damage. People will remember brands that say or do the wrong thing, not least because they will have screenshots to back it up. These examples of social media marketing snafus highlight the potential problems.
Going viral for the wrong reasons can make it very difficult to win the trust of new clients. And once trust is gone, can reputation be far behind? Also, if people leave negative reviews they too can have a damning impact since many potential customers now research brands before making a purchase.
Be creative. As the saying goes, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Customer response as well as your overall business plan, marketing goals and budget, will in some ways dictate the content and provide you with a sense of what your consumers view as truly relevant content.
Running a successful social media campaign is very time consuming, especially if you do not have the technical skills to use automation and other tools to your advantage. For a small to midsize company that does not have a dedicated digital marketing team, professional social media advertising services can provide the perfect solution.
Unfortunately, the DIY route could distract your team from their main assignments. Moreover, it’s likely to cause a lack of consistency, which will limit the impact of any social media campaign.
Social media channels won’t only expose your branded content and progress to customers, it also gives competitors a quick way to see what you’re doing. It even offers the chance for them to run social media ads that target your audience allowing them to steal some of your potential customers.
The good news is that you can see their social media presence too. So, in some ways, it is a case of what’s good for the goose is also good for the gander. Nevertheless, it is an important feature to consider when using social media platforms today.
Building a social media strategy is no easy task, and most companies will find that paid advertising services are the best choice. The fact that this causes an added expense means that you need to carefully consider your decision and budget appropriately. Here are some of the key reasons why it will support your future:
Every company wants to reach a larger audience, and social media marketing is one of the best ways to do it. Aside from the huge customer base, it is possible to target niche audiences. For example, 93% of consumers will look for local businesses. So, even an offline, brick & mortar company can expand its awareness through effective campaigns that deliver more relevant foot traffic.
You can also use it to drive traffic to your site from secondary audiences or customers from around the globe. Facebook marketing and other ad campaigns can also encourage people to tag friends, helping you reach people that would have previously been untouched.
Online marketing doesn’t only allow you to reach a potential customer base of over 4 billion people, it also enables you to create a direct connection with prospective leads, who spend an average of 2.5 hours per day on social networking platforms. With the right social media posts, you can get people more invested in your brand story.
When they feel that they are on the brand journey with you, consumers will be more likely to complete purchases. Aside from boosting the initial conversion rates, it can improve brand loyalty in a big way.
When launching any marketing campaigns, it’s vital that you consider the objectives. Do you want to focus on lead generation? Building better brand loyalty? Securing more email sign-ups? Whatever the chief aim of social marketing may be, securing the right type of customer engagement is achieved through clear calls to action (CTAs).
Social media campaigns can link directly to product pages, blogs and quality content on your site, or data capture forms. By removing any ambiguity, it becomes a very cost effective way of putting customers on the path to conversion.
Successful business owners know that social media “likes” won’t pay the bills. The target, then, is to gain inbound traffic to the website and more visits to the store with an end goal of growing a large client base and greater customer lifetime values. It’s important to keep in mind that 80% of sales can be represented by 20% of the audience.
Posts on various social media platforms will boost your brand’s SEO, which will deliver far more organic clicks to your site. Successful social media marketing content additionally gains press coverage either in the local area or in the chosen industry.
The social media marketing advantages aren’t limited to reach and cost efficiency. Using a range of analytical tools will allow you to develop stronger connections. Two in three people have made purchasing decisions due to content marketing on social media. Your business must not ignore the impact of valuable insights.
Customer insights can be used to help you understand what clients love. This helps you deliver better customer satisfaction, which is why analytics must play a key role in your social media management plans. It can cut out the waste to bring optimized performance.
Finally, it’s just a little strange for a modern company not to have a presence on most social media platforms. If you’re not currently active, now is the time to start.
The final word on the advantages and disadvantages of social media marketing
Digital marketing via various social media sites is a constantly evolving landscape. Social media sites once considered ubiquitous and essential to achieving digital marketing success have fallen out of favor with some demographic segments. Other social media networks have stood the test of time.
And just as with more traditional marketing efforts, identifying your target audience is one of the first steps to achieving digital marketing success, whether in brand awareness or even social media advertising.
Undoubtedly, a social media marketing campaign backed by a well-thought-out plan and sufficient resources will deliver more relevant traffic and marketing ROI. Moreover, it can prove a valuable tool for making a direct connection for better customer satisfaction.
These are just some of the advantages and disadvantages of social media marketing that should be considered. If you need expert help creating and managing a digital marketing strategy and determining the social media platform (or platforms) that best suit your goals, contact our team of friendly digital marketing experts at Social Firm today.
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