Social media is a key part of any modern digital marketing strategy. The core social media platforms are not just places to swap trends, they are communities and gathering places where your audience already spends a significant amount of time.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and even TikTok have become powerful sources of leads and even growing support networks for any brand savvy enough to build a following with catchy campaigns that connect with a target audience.
The Benefits of Social Media for Digital Marketing
There are many great benefits to building a social media campaign as part of your digital marketing strategy. Social media is all about building a relationship with your community, whether that's through a festive, curious, inspired, or trusted voice; it depends on the audience you're trying to reach. Even a small following can provide growing rewards as your community expands.
Extend Your Reach and Visibility
Social media marketing is another source of search engine optimization (SEO) and visibility. First, each social media platform is home to millions of users who scroll through their personalized content feeds multiple times a day. If you can ensure your content aligns with the browsing habits of your target audience, your reach to potential clients across the country and globe will grow exponentially. Plus, your links and content through social media add weight and relevance to your overall SEO score.
Build a Supportive Social Community
One of the best things about social media marketing is the people that will form up around you. Support your local community and your local community will support you back. Offer a great running shoe with a good sense of humor and positive-minded athletes will build a community around your brand. Diesel Footwear, for example, did a graphic marketing series of their shoes running over obstacles like alarm clocks and cupcakes. Social media is all about bringing people together, and is a unique opportunity to build an actual social connection with your customer base.
Connect with Groups and Leads
Like-minded groups, best found on Facebook and LinkedIn, often come together to reach shared goals. Social media gives you a chance to connect with people within your service area who share your interests or who might have a regular need for the services you provide.
Add A Modern Customer Service Channel
Did you know that many people reach out for customer service through social media? It's considered a shared venue where customers can seek assistance and request accountability. This means as soon as you start managing a social media account on the platforms where your customers already are, even your most introverted customers will feel empowered to send in customer service requests, possibly through a comment on a Facebook post or a tweet.
Generate Hype for Marketing Campaigns
Of course, social media is truly great at generating hype. If you have an event coming up, whether it's a massive in-person conference or simply just an online giveaway, social media is the best place to both spread the word and inspire enthusiastic buzz from your regulars. From there, anyone who likes the idea you put together may become part of your supportive fanbase.
Negative Impacts of Excluding Social Media
On the other side of the coin, failing to focus on social media marketing will surely bring about negative consequences - and not just missing out on the latest and greatest trends.
Lower SEO Ranking
Where social media marketing can boost your visibility and reach, a lackluster social media presence effectively lowers the potential SEO ranking that you might otherwise achieve. With fewer off-platform references and backlinks, your brand's visibility may slip.
Missed Referral Opportunities
Many people casually refer their favorite brands through social media. You don't have to be an influencer to share a few referrals. In fact, when customers have freshly unboxed their new product or they can see a working appliance that was once broken, most people get excited. They want to click that "share" button and spread the good news, or write their own post about their positive experience. Who knows, they might even film a TikTok dance about it. Without a social media presence, you miss out on these instant testimonials and referred customers.
Higher Risk of Negative Reviews
Because social media is used as a customer service line, some will view your unavailability or a lack of response to mean that your brand is unable to provide support. Customers with questions that are left unanswered or unsolved problems may leave a negative review if their social media request for support is unsuccessful.
Business Lost to Your Competition
Lastly, if you aren't building a community from your target audience, chances are that your competitors will. Most brands are now including social media marketing as a must-have element of their digital marketing strategy. Those on social media who are cultivating a relationship with their audience can get ahead of their competitors in terms of market share, customer loyalty, and other key business factors, which could all be yours if you step in to the social media marketing arena.
Build a Social Media Marketing Plan for Your Business
If your business is ready to expand into social media marketing or your social media presence could use a professional upgrade, Eternal Works can make it happen. Reach out to explore what makes your brand unique and how we can build that into a precise and impactful social media marketing campaign that your audience will love. Contact us today to learn more.
