With the abundant hype around social media today, you might be questioning how much of your resources you want to dedicate toward this up and coming marketing channel. After all, if the ROI isn’t easy to prove, why should you do it? Why spend time and money on social media?
Whether you are new to integrating social media into your online marketing strategy or have been here a while, social media marketing is an essential part of your marketing mix.
Why?
- It shows that your brand and business are current. Just like your customers expected you to have a website 15 years ago, your customers of today are looking for you on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and maybe on Pinterest. 63% of local searchers on social media are more likely to use a business with info on a social media site, according to a recent Balihoo Infographic. Customers today are already looking for your Facebook page, and your most loyal customers are expecting you to have something of interest there for them.
- Your customers are already there….listening. Social networks and blogs now account for 25% of the time Americans spend online. Social media offers us a quick way to learn about the things we are interested in without even having to do a Google search. We can simply get advice and recommendation in a second’s time from folks in our Facebook or Google+ circles. 81% say posts from their friends directly influenced their purchase decisions and 30% are most likely to respond to brand offers when they have been reposted by a friend.
- It allows you to communicate with your customers quickly and easily. Want to launch a sale next week? Have an event that you want to remind people to come to? Want to get some quick questions answered by your loyal customers? All these things can be done in a snap via social media, especially by small and medium-sized businesses that have the benefit of being flexible.
- It will boost your SEO. These days search engines consider social authority and social signals in ranking search results. The relevant links to and from your social media account and website make a difference. The share buttons on your blog or website give social proof that your company is not just legitimate but has content that is valuable to people. Since search engines are making a big effort to have quality search results come up higher, those shares are helping your company get listed similarly to the way those old school SEO techniques did.Still not convinced? Contact me to set up a free 15 minute consultation and we can talk more about how your marketing can grow with social media.
