Social media marketing is seen to be one of the helpful solutions by business people to promote their products and services. Instagram, Twitter YouTube & Facebook are among the top preferred platforms to boost businesses and drive visitors to e-commerce websites.
2020 recorded that more than half the population of Earth (which approx. to 3.96 billion) was using one of the social media platforms. Experts from the industry have predicted that this number will go up as 4.57 billion internet users have not been captured by the social media platform (Smart Insights, 2020). Taking a note that a big number (4.57 billion) is yet to join the online platform, the marketing activities are not even anywhere near the peak yet. Thus, social media in 2021 will eventually see an increase in marketing to generate business leads via product/service promotion on social networking platforms.
Social media networks are no more just about connecting people. It has helped businesses to grow and find consumers and thus resulted in rise in its usage. A regular technological upgrade of online platforms has benefited the brands to promote and gain from their business online. Strategies like setting up an online shop and selling products directly to the consumers, by platforms like Facebook and Instagram have helped brands to grow.
Social Media Marketing – A Brief
Social Media Marketing or SMM is nothing but a method to accomplish your marketing goals and promoting your business online on social media platforms. This includes brand awareness, audience engagement, lead generation/conversion and driving traffic to your websites.
PROS of Social Media Marketing
It is an economical choice
The current COVID-19 situation is at its worst and has impacted the businesses of people as well. The only way to keep up your bank balance is by selling your products/services to your targeted audience. This is where social media platforms come into the limelight, as brands can now market their products online and keep their customers engaged. A lot of platforms offer free setup of account of business pages along with some basic features. A few paid advertisements can help you boost your business. The good thing is that you can choose your budget and spend on advertising accordingly.
Hiring a social media management team, like Social Eyes, can help you reach out to your targeted audience that too in your budget.
Raising brand awareness can be streamlined
Making use of user-based social media platforms to make your presence heard is important. Once you set up your online page you need to improve your chances of being recognized online by sharing interesting content that can keep your community busy.
Your brand visibility also depends upon the feasibility of the social media platform you are using. Even during the pandemic, the use of social networking sites has not gone down and is constantly climbing. To see the picture at large here is its growth numbers as of October 2020:
Monthly Active Users, as per Statista.com:
- Facebook – 2.7 billion
- YouTube – 2 billion
- Instagram – 1.16 billion
- Twitter – 353 million
More recent types of social media with remarkable user rush:
- TikTok – 689 million
- Snapchat – 433 million
Directly connect with customers
Social media makes communications convenient and seamless. A quick feature like tagging, comment or DM can make you reach out to the opposite persons in a flash. These features are very useful to connect you to the customers and let them know about your products, services, offers, promotions, discounts, etc.
According to Global Web Index, 2020, a big bracket of age group finds new brands through social media ads and research about their product/services online.
Precise targeting and positioning
The most talked-about attribute of social media is its power to reach the right audience. Data-driven research governs where your target market hangs out and leads you to platforms that define your business goals.
Sustainable presence is important
A lot of activities on social media platforms can be done free of cost. These are known as organic posting (unpaid). In an organic posting, you can post as much as you wish to without paying for anything be it an image, video or link.
Social media marketing companies would recommend you implement strategic posting for your efforts to become efficient and sustainable. Be smart in holding the space.
Paid services for a swift result
Paid advertisements can boost your business online presence in a short period. These ads appear on news feeds, messaging apps and even the search engine results pages. You can implement a paid social into your strategy for the following purposes:
- Telling a tale of your brand, product or service
- Launching a new product or service
- Obtaining new customers
- Using data to predict response flows
You know your audience better
The social media insights help you know how your business is performing, in turn, you will know what’s working and what is not. This will help you to strategize your content accordingly. Once you get a hang of it, you will understand your audience and your brand in a better way.
Following metrics can help you in making social media marketing strategies:
- Awareness
- Engagement
- Conversion
- Customer Support
CONS of Social Media Marketing
Creativity requires innovation
Creating content takes time, effort and money – depending upon the social media platform you are using. A break in the regular posting of content for an app like TikTok can question your creative skills.
You have a problem, we have a solution: Hire someone like Social Eyes, a trusted social media marketing company, to reduce long-term costs and streamline the process for your business.
Being vulnerable to negative criticisms
Receiving negative comments/bad reviews or getting trolled? Welcome to the world of social media! Here pros and cons are served side by side on your plate. The only rule that applies here is that you have to clear your plate.
Act wisely if you face any such issue. Try to find out what’s not working for you by communicating with your audience and using some good humor. Be active in replying to your customers as you still have a chance to win them back by providing them with a reliable answer.
You have a problem, we have a solution: Search for an experienced social media marketing company (obviously, Social Eyes) that handles reputation management and can help you fix the issues and get you back on track.
Outcome takes time
A brand can’t be built overnight. The same goes for an acknowledged online presence. Creating a viral post one after another is a big task to pull off. A reputed online recognition will take its time. Remember that slow and steady do wins the race.
You have a problem, we have a solution: Consider using the services of a social media marketing agency like Social Eyes, one of the best agencies in town.
Summing-up
Social Media Marketing has become an estimable part of marketing today. Not just because of the pandemic situation, but also otherwise, people have become habitual of using social networking sites which have benefited the businesses.
A lot of brands have benefited by focusing on social media marketing techniques during the pandemic and are continuing to do so. You can also promote your business online by partnering with a reputed social media agency like ours, Social Eyes.