5 benefits of social media marketing

Like it or not, social media is here to stay. Research shows that almost 4.5 billion people worldwide use one or more social platforms – that’s an incredible 70% of the eligible global population. The average user spends around 2.5 hours a day scrolling through social media feeds. 

If you’re running a business and you’re not marketing through social media, that’s a lot of potential customers you could be missing.  

Here’s why it’s worth making the effort to market on social: 

1: Reach people where they are 

People spend a lot of time on the internet these days, reading news, shopping, searching for information, communicating with friends and using social media. Because social media is such a big part of many people’s lives, it makes sense to reach out to your audience with them. That way, instead of being an intrusion, your content and your brand can become familiar, trusted, relatable and easy to find.    

2: Cheap and cheerful

Unlike traditional print, radio and television advertising, which can be eye-wateringly expensive, social media marketing is cheap and can be cost effective if run accurately. Many businesses simply start their free accounts on social platforms, collect followers and post content when they feel like it. Of course, you can choose to pay for targeted ads or specialist content creation, but even this option is relatively affordable. 

3: Make real connections 

Immediacy, back-and-forth communication, sharing personal information – for many reasons, social media is far more intimate than other types of marketing. Customers can’t instantly respond to a TV ad or a billboard, but they can like, share or comment on your social posts in seconds. This makes them feel far more personal and can help you build real connections and communication with your customer base. 

4: Target the right people 

With a bit of research, social media can be a powerful tool to reach niche audiences. Rather than spreading a wide net with traditional ads and hoping that the right people happen to see them, you can find out which platforms your audience is using and reach out. With targeted ads, you can go even further, digging down into customer profiles and search information to make sure your posts get in front of the right eyeballs. 

5: Track your impact 

Social media platforms make it easy to see how your marketing is working. Whether you take a basic approach and count likes, shares, views and comments, or use an analytics service to get more detail, social media gives you immediate insight. Even negative results can be useful – if you’re getting very little engagement, it could be time to try something more creative. If comments on your posts are overwhelmingly negative, it’s time to take stock of what, exactly, is going wrong. 

Give social media a go

Social media might not deliver instant results or completely transform your business, but it's so cheap, simple and effective that there’s almost no reason not to try.  

Want help building your social media presence? Talk to us now.