Understanding What Is Social Media and Why You Need It

A World of Digital Data at Your Fingertips

We live in an era of instant accessibility. Smartphones, wireless internet, and personalized digital apps are everywhere. Increasingly, modern consumers have all the tools to connect instantly with relevant information. Not only that but from any location, at any time. Our advances in tech have completely upended the traditional buyer’s journey. Executives used to ask questions like what is social media? Do we need a company website? Now, in 2018, we are prepared to spend more than ever before digital marketing.

SMM Marketing Has Been a Game Changer

There’s one thing you can be sure of, the vast amount of people don’t need to ask what is social media. Today, we are well aware of all of the social platforms out there.

Recent statistics show that an estimated 81% of the US population retains at least one business networking profile. By 2021, the number of active online users across the globe is expected to reach 3 billion. These statistics show just how integral the online movement has become the way people interact and communicate.

Acess to the worldwide internet gives companies the tools to send and receive all business-related information. We are now able to converse with many like-minded people across the globe. Isn’t it amazing at how fast things change?

So, this explains how establishing an online presence helped increase traffic. However, what is social media going to do to help businesses besides that?

What Is Social Media Going To Do For My Business?

Targeted Marketing

Facebook, YouTube, and other networking sites draw millions of active users every day. Their massive user bases help in segmenting the vast ecosystem of much smaller communities. One business might connect through personal and professional relationships. Or, others bring members closer to share specific niche interests and hobbies.

Most social networks leverage the wealth of user data. By providing highly sensitive advertising tools they allow you to narrow down the audience for your marketing. You can then focus your campaign in critical areas like location, education level, employment history, and interests.

Conversely, TV and print audiences only identify broad statistics. Unfortunately, their estimates provide very little in regards to demographics, or even the type of content you prefer. This lack of knowledge generally leads businesses to adopt a loose marketing approach. I would call this cheap marketing, where the design is just to reach as many eyes and ears as possible. Rather than focusing on the consumers that are most likely to purchase the business’s goods or services.

Cost-Effective

You can create a business page on any of the leading networking platforms for free in a matter of seconds any time you choose. From there, you can start to grow your online presence with complete freedom. You can want what to post when to post, and the type of content you put out. You can also customize every aspect of your page to reflect your branding. Dedicating just six hours a week to your digital marketing profiles can help you grow your online traffic by up to 84%, and that’s without factoring in any paid promotions.

Even here, digital marketing provides a definite advantage. Advertising on networking sites is generally far cheaper than through print or television, and you always have the option to start off small and scale up your campaigns based on the types of returns you see.

More Effective SEO

Ultimately, the aim of any digital strategy is to raise brand awareness and bring more attention to your products. Search engine optimization (SEO) is perhaps the most important tool for achieving this objective. Therefore your website’s SEO will determine its page ranking on places like Google. Statistics show that 75% of the traffic from Google searches is directed towards links on the first page. Furthermore, If your website fails to make the first page for any industry-relevant keywords then you’ll only capture a fraction of the traffic garnered by more digitally savvy competitors.

What is social media going to do to improve your search ranking? Digital posts allow plenty of ways to direct fresh traffic back to your website through promotional offers and links to long-form blog posts. Backlinks from relevant SMM marketing accounts are one of the most important contributors to SEO, as they act as an independent verification of the credibility and authority of your website. Search engine crawlers also pay attention to the social signals surrounding your website. If links to keyword-heavy blog posts and product descriptions are drawing a lot of shares, likes, and comments then this increased activity will work to boost your rankings.

Customer Engagement

According to Forrester Research, customer relationships are the only true competitive advantages left for businesses in the digital era. That means, your business needs to take every possible opportunity to engage and interact with your customers. Your SMM marketing account represents an easily accessible channel through which your customers can ask questions, register complaints, and find out more about you’re the goods that you offer. By replying to this feedback as soon as possible, you can highlight positive testimonials and get ahead of any possible negative publicity surrounding your brand. Customers will also appreciate the added accessibility and commitment to customer service.

While that might work to retain existing customers SMM marketing provides a variety of opportunities to talk about your business in an appealing manner; through informative blog posts, video content, and live streams you can craft a multi-faceted content strategy that can differentiate you from other industry competitors.  This increased recognition can help you generate more prospects and boost your revenues in the process.

Find Your Audience with the Right Networking Sites

If you’re marketing your company to other businesses, you might ask could network marketing going to do for a B2B firm? Thankfully, the current landscape is so diverse that there are purpose-built networks available for reaching every type of audience.

• With 2 billion active users and counting Facebook is by far the biggest social network on the planet. Whether you’re a Fortune 500 company or a one-person start-up you need to have a presence on Facebook if you want to reach a wider audience.
• Although Twitter might have only a fraction of the active users, these networking sites offer unique opportunities for engagement and communication. The well-integrated hashtag feature lets customers get in touch with specific brands very easily, and the short form messaging system allows you to engage with these customers as well as wider topics in a much more immediate manner.
• Instagram is a great platform for selling your brand image. As a primarily visual medium, the social network offers plenty of opportunities for posting glossy pictures of your products and facilities.
• B2B marketers should focus the bulk of their smm marketing efforts on LinkedIn. LinkedIn provides a great space for professionals from a variety of industries to connect and exchange ideas. It’s a great place to grow your reputation as an influential brand.
• With six billion daily views, Snapchat that can’t be ignored. If you’re looking to reach a younger core audience then you might look to post more content on this networking site.

Our Virtual Assistants Can Jumpstart Your Online Presence

At A2ZVA, our virtual assistants bring a wealth of online media management and experience to businesses in every industry. We also create comprehensive campaigning plans that cover optimal posting schedules across each of your accounts. We can even link these posts back to custom-built landing pages that can effectively funnel new visitors towards your services.  With one of our virtual assistants leading your digital strategy, you’ll never be forced to ask what is social media possibly going to do to grow my online business because our results will speak for themselves.