HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/10/2015 - City Arts Commission - 06 Importance of Social Media - ATTACHMENT AThe Top 10 Benefits Of Social Media Marketing Forbes Page 1 of 3
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Jayson DeMers Contributor
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Entrepreneurs 8/11/2014 @ 12:24PM 352,675 views
The Top 10 Benefits Of Social Media Marketing
To some entrepreneurs, social media marketing is the “next big thing,” a temporary yet powerful
fad that must be taken advantage of while it’s still in the spotlight. To others, it’s a buzzword with
no practical advantages and a steep, complicated learning curve.
Because it appeared quickly, social media has developed a reputation by some for being a passing
marketing interest, and therefore, an unprofitable one. The statistics, however, illustrate a
different picture. According to Hubspot, 92% of marketers in 2014 claimed that social media
marketing was important for their business, with 80% indicating their efforts increased traffic to
their websites. And according to Social Media Examiner, 97% of marketers are currently
participating in social media—but 85% of participants aren’t sure what social media tools are the
best to use.
This demonstrates a huge potential for social media marketing to increase sales, but a lack of
understanding on how to achieve those results. Here’s a look at just some of the ways social
media marketing can improve your business:
1. Increased Brand Recognition. Every opportunity you have to syndicate your content and
increase your visibility is valuable. Your social media networks are just new channels for your
brand’s voice and content. This is important because it simultaneously makes you easier and more
accessible for new customers, and makes you more familiar and recognizable for existing
customers. For example, a frequent Twitter user could hear about your company for the first time
only after stumbling upon it in a newsfeed. Or, an otherwise apathetic customer might become
better acquainted with your brand after seeing your presence on multiple networks.
2. Improved brand loyalty. According to a report published by Texas Tech University, brands
who engage on social media channels enjoy higher loyalty from their customers. The report
concludes “Companies should take advantage of the tools social media gives them when it comes
to connecting with their audience. A strategic and open social media plan could prove influential
in morphing consumers into being brand loyal.” Another study published by Convince&Convert
found that 53% of Americans who follow brands in social are more loyal to those brands.
3. More Opportunities to Convert. Every post you make on a social media platform is an
opportunity for customers to convert. When you build a following, you’ll simultaneously have
access to new customers, recent customers, and old customers, and you’ll be able to interact with
all of them. Every blog post, image, video, or comment you share is a chance for someone to
react, and every reaction could lead to a site visit, and eventually a conversion. Not every
interaction with your brand results in a conversion, but every positive interaction increases the
likelihood of an eventual conversion. Even if your click-through rates are low, the sheer number
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of opportunities you have on social media is significant. And as I pointed out in my article, “The
Four Elements of Any Action, And How To Use Them In Your Online Marketing Initiative,”
“opportunity” is the first element of any action.
4. Higher conversion rates. Social media marketing results in higher conversion rates in a few
distinct ways. Perhaps the most significant is its humanization element; the fact that brands
become more humanized by interacting in social media channels. Social media is a place where
brands can act like people do, and this is important because people like doing business with other
people; not with companies.
Additionally, studies have shown that social media has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than
outbound marketing, and a higher number of social media followers tends to improve trust and
credibility in your brand, representing social proof. As such, simply building your audience in
social media can improve conversion rates on your existing traffic.
5. Higher Brand Authority. Interacting with your customers regularly is a show of good faith
for other customers. When people go to compliment or brag about a product or service, they turn
to social media. And when they post your brand name, new audience members will want to
follow you for updates. The more people that are talking about you on social media, the more
valuable and authoritative your brand will seem to new users. Not to mention, if you can interact
with major influencers on Twitter or other social networks, your visible authority and reach will
skyrocket.
6. Increased Inbound Traffic. Without social media, your inbound traffic is limited to people
already familiar with your brand and individuals searching for keywords you currently rank for.
Every social media profile you add is another path leading back to your site, and every piece of
content you syndicate on those profiles is another opportunity for a new visitor. The more quality
content you syndicate on social media, the more inbound traffic you’ll generate, and more traffic
means more leads and more conversions.
7. Decreased Marketing Costs. According to Hubspot, 84% of marketers found as little as six
hours of effort per week was enough to generate increased traffic. Six hours is not a significant
investment for a channel as large as social media. If you can lend just one hour a day to
developing your content and syndication strategy, you could start seeing the results of your
efforts. Even paid advertising through Facebook and Twitter is relatively cheap (depending on
your goals, of course). Start small and you’ll never have to worry about going over budget—once
you get a better feel for what to expect, you can increase your budget and increase your
conversions correspondingly.
8. Better Search Engine Rankings. SEO is the best way to capture relevant traffic from search
engines, but the requirements for success are always changing. It’s no longer enough to regularly
update your blog, ensure optimized title tags and meta descriptions, and distribute links pointing
back to your site. Google and other search engines may be calculating their rankings using social
media presence as a significant factor, because of the fact that strong brands almost always use
social media. As such, being active on social media could act as a “brand signal” to search
engines that your brand is legitimate, credible, and trustworthy. That means, if you want to rank
for a given set of keywords, having a strong social media presence could be almost mandatory.
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9. Richer Customer Experiences. Social media, at its core, is a communication channel like
email or phone calls. Every customer interaction you have on social media is an opportunity to
publicly demonstrate your customer service level and enrich your relationship with your
customers. For example, if a customer complains about your product on Twitter, you can
immediately address the comment, apologize publicly, and take action to make it right. Or, if a
customer compliments you, you can thank them and recommend additional products. It’s a
personal experience that lets customers know you care about them.
10. Improved Customer Insights. Social media also gives you an opportunity to gain valuable
information about what your customers are interested in and how they behave, via social
listening. For example, you can monitor user comments to see what people think of your business
directly. You can segment your content syndication lists based on topic and see which types of
content generate the most interest—and then produce more of that type of content. You can
measure conversions based on different promotions posted on various social media channels and
eventually find a perfect combination to generate revenue.
These are the benefits of sustaining a long-term social media campaign, but if you’re still
apprehensive about getting started, consider these points:
Your Competition Is Already Involved. Your competitors are already involved on social
media, which means your potential social media traffic and conversions are being poached.
Don’t let your competitors reap all the benefits while you stand idly by. If, somehow, your
competition is not involved on social media, there’s even more of a reason to get started—
the field is open.
The Sooner You Start, the Sooner You Reap the Benefits. Social media is all about
relationship building, and it tends to grow exponentially as your followers tell their friends,
and their friends tell their friends, and so on. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll be
able to start growing that audience.
Potential Losses Are Insignificant. Realistically, you don’t have anything to lose by
getting involved in social media. The amount of time and money it takes to create your
profiles and start posting is usually minimal, compared to other marketing channels. Just
six hours a week or a few hundred dollars is all it takes to establish your presence.
Conclusion
The longer you wait, the more you have to lose. Social media marketing, when done right, can
lead to more customers, more traffic, and more conversions, and it’s here to stay. If you’re
interested in getting started but aren’t sure where to begin—head over to my Resource Library or
leave a comment below!
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