In the next year, we are predicted to see over $1 billion spent on social media advertising; over the next five years, it is estimated that over 6 billion people will be on social media. Because of its vast popularity, social media has the potential to boost leads and increase your business’s revenue. When you look at social media platforms, you see that almost everyone is on at least one platform; you can easily pull demographics for each platform to determine where your target market is primarily active. You can even break this down between age and gender. Get as specific as you want.
Social media was designed to get people interacting with one another. Because of this, it is one of the best ways to build brand awareness and rapport with customers in the digital space. Social channels give you the opportunity to make your brand personal, which is very likely to get more people to engage with your brand. Additionally, it gives you the opportunity to promote your special offers, share news, and interact with your customers. Over 60% of consumers say they follow brands on social media to stay informed about their specials, new products, and so on. Additionally, about 90% of marketers agree that their social media efforts have helped them position themselves in a competitive place in the market.
Everything is about the customer experience; social media gives you another opportunity to improve your customer’s experience. When they feel like they are getting more than a product or service or that they are more than a number, that is where you build brand loyalty. As crazy as it seems, social media is one of the best ways to communicate to your customers that you care about them beyond what they are able to contribute to your company financially.
Along with building your brand awareness and rapport with your customers, social media gives you a place to learn about your audience and your competition. By interacting with your target audience, you get to learn their decision making process and can even evaluate what makes them make a buying decision. 91% of business marketers report social media giving them a better idea of who their customers are and what they want to see. You can even retarget missed customers or target those at the top of the funnel. You can also study your competitors to see what they are doing differently, better, or worse than what you are doing. It gives you the opportunity to compete on an even playing field. Sprout Social has a great tool for competitive analysis to see how you compare to competitors.
What it boils down to is that social media is essential in today’s world; your customers are looking at social media everyday. You have to determine where they are and meet them there! Social media platforms have seen companies bring in revenues in the billions due to what they are doing on social media and how they are connecting with their customers. While ROI is based on your industry, what you are willing to spend, and how you are connecting with the customer, the potential for exponential revenue growth is definitely there!
The question is not so much should you be on social media, but why are you not already? If done correctly, it will pay for itself. Social media takes a lot of thought and planning to create content that will be relevant to your audience. Staying on top of trends is another challenge; if you are ready to take your business to the next level but are not sure where to start, contact us today!
