Member Article

10 reasons why social media needs to be part of your marketing strategy

1. Time Spent on Social Media is Increasing

The average UK adult will spend more than 8.5 hours each day consuming digital media in 2014, research from eMarketer has found. 72% of all Internet users are also now active on social media.

2. Social Media Influences Search Engine Rankings

Having an active presence on social media platforms definitely has a say in your search engine ranking. The greater amount of followers, fans and subscribers you have the larger the influence it has on that ranking.

3. Connect with Potential Customers

Getting the attention of new customers is the most challenging part for many new businesses. Standard marketing can cost a lot of money with little rewards. With so many people logging into Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter every day, these sites are the best first place to start your marketing efforts.

4. Build Relationships with Current Customers

This is one of the most influential benefits of social media. You are capable of direct engagement with people you have already done business with. Never before have businesses been able to engage with customers with such ease. Maintain and grow relationships with these customers as one of the best sources of business is from your existing customer base.

5. Cost Effectiveness

Whether you are outsourcing or managing your social media in-house, it can be highly cost effective compared to other methods of marketing. From day one you can set up your social media profile and start advertising your services to potential customers.

6. Positioning Yourself as an Industry Expert

As your social media presence grows, sharing your expertise with your fans will position you and your business as a cutting edge leader in your field. This will in-turn establish trust between you and your followers. They will look for you when they need questions answered. Do not tell your fans that you are an expert; use your content to prove to your fans that you are.

7. Social Media Will Humanize your Business

Potential and current customers are not going to engage with a robot-like business. People want to do business with other people. By being authentic, real and ultimately yourself over social media it will make people see that you are much more approachable and friendly.

8. Customer Service Operations

When faced with a problem, more and more people are taking to Twitter or Facebook and then sharing their negative experience with their friends and followers. If you are proactively monitoring these social media sites for mentions of your organisation then you can immediately address any negative customer experiences.

9. Keep In the Mind of your Followers

Use social media as a way to increase the amount of times potential and current customers are exposed to your brand. Sharing great relevant content will keep your company fresh in their minds. Advertising is more successful through repetition.

10. Social Media is Replacing Tradition Media

Our time spent on social media is increasing, meaning the time we spend reading newspapers, watching television and other forms of traditional media decreases. These platforms are by no means no longer worthwhile but you must recognise the direction people are going to find the answers to their questions.

Now is the time to act. We can help your business flourish and grow into exactly what you want it to become. For enquiries email us at dogood@xivvi.co.uk or tweet me over on Twitter @Xivvi_ltd.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Alex Mullen .