Social media marketing is an essential element of digital marketing. Social media involves encouraging your tribe to communicate with you as a business entity. Your customers can relate with you on your business website, social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, or specialities sites such as blogs and forums. However, to take advantage of the benefits of social media, it is crucial to start to participate in customer conversations.
Social media involves encouraging your tribe to communicate with you as a business entity.
The power of Social Media marketing
The power of social media marketing is the ability to have direct communication with your customers. Engagement with customers will give you invaluable insights into the mindset of your customers.
Social Media marketing needs a business owner to initiate the conversation
Therefore, social media marketing involves you, the business owner, starting and participating in customer conversations. These conversations could be related to products, promotions, or anything to help learn more about the customers and provide solutions to improve your customers’ lives. There is an added benefit of having conversations with your tribe, and that is the improved perception of your small business.
There is an added benefit of having conversations with your tribe, and that is the improved perception of your small business.
What are some of the leading social media marketing sites?
First things first. What is a social media site? A social media site is much more than simply a website. From a technology viewpoint, most of these sites are software applications that give users access to different permission levels and then enable management and storage of various forms of user-generated content.
The major social media platforms are Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, LinkedIn etc.
From a technology viewpoint, most of these sites are software applications that give users access at different levels of permission
Social Media marketing can send messages directly to consumers
Another critical feature of a social media site is the ability to send messages. Communications can be personalised so that users are altered or notified every time new content related to their preference is published.
Business owners can use social media effectively by taking their message directly to consumers. Social media marketing gives better results when done in conjunction with other traditional marketing elements.
Social Media gives synergy to the other marketing elements.
Building a long-term relationship with your tribe is the only way to construct a sustainable business. Your Ideal customer avatar (ICA) can now compare and switch providers of different services at the touch of a button. As a business owner, your goal to twofold: –
- Retain: -Ensure that your ICA does not go to your competitor
- Attract:-Ensure that your marketing communication resonates with your prospective ICA.
Building a long-term relationship with your tribe is the only way to construct a sustainable business
Analytics in social media site are the key to unlocking your business potential
Most social media platforms offer you some basic form of analytics for a business account. Each social media platform will have its own set of target audiences. Pinterest, for example, has over 70% of its audience being women as opposed to YouTube, which has a 50% balance between the two genders. According to statistica.com, the most popular social media network globally as of April 2021 is Facebook at 2.7bn users, followed by YouTube at 2.3Bn users.
Build your Social media presence in the place where your tribes hang out
Given that each social media site attracts a specific demographic, the choice of platform you choose for your business is vital. You will need to research to answer this fundamental question, which platform does your ICA spend most of their time? If you know the answer, start building your community there, reach out to them in a place they enjoy spending their time.
Build your relationships to reduce the churn rates
Improved insights about your audiences and sending relevant, personalised messages give you new opportunities to build relationships, encourage loyalty and decrease churn rates[1].
Acquiring online customers is so expensive, but the rewards of retaining them are phenomenal
Reichheld and Schefter (2000)[2] carried out research that showed that acquiring an online customer is so expensive. Think about the amount of content you have to generate to get a follow or an email address. Reichheld and Schefter (2000) showed it to be 20-30% higher than a traditional business.
Social media marketing is not for the faint-hearted its hard work
If you are an online business, pat yourself on the back, you work hard. The research also showed that start-up companies might remain unprofitable for at least 2-3 years. Again, do not give up on your dream. Keep putting in the hard work. You will soon ride the wave.
Customer retention leads to increased profits and business growth
The research also shows that by retaining just 5% more customer, online companies can boost their earnings between 25%-95%. Now that is phenomenal, and social media can help you attract new customers and retain them.
Using social media to improve your business ability to retain your ICA.
The research above is a testament to the power social media has for growth and profitability. As a business owner, you can develop existing relationships to the level that your ICA become brand advocates. You Brand advocates will have a synergistic effect on your business brand awareness and favourability.
Brian Solis (Solis,2011), an analyst at the Altimeter, captured the potential of social media for brands when he said, ‘Brands are either part of the conversation or they’re not and, as a result, they’re either part of the decision-making cycle, or they’re absent for the heart, mind and actions of the connected customer.’
'Brands are either part of the conversation or they're not and, as a result, they're either part of the decision-making cycle, or they're absent for the heart, mind and actions of the connected customer.'
Using consumers interactions on social media to build your Business
Social media marketing can amplify your marketing activities. It is possible to use consumer to consumer (C2C) interactions to increase awareness of your Business. Share the positive feedback that you receive from your customers, share the positive recommendations between customers about your Brands. Third-party endorsements tend to carry more weight.
Giving a voice to your customers increases your content credibility
Giving a voice to your customers increases your content credibility, giving confidence to potential ICA to buy your products. Actual testimonials from research or comments. Trust built through personal recommendations, reviews, and testimonials tend to be trustworthy (Anderson,2014)[3]Sharing positive social media comments on the website. 88% of buyers trust independent 3rd party (Heinze et al., 2017)[4].
You get out of social media marketing what you put into it
To effectively apply social media amplification for communication, we have to recognise that social media involves participation in discussions and sharing ideas and content facilitated by social networks.
Social Media Marketing is exactly that! Social
Social media involves building communities or networks and encouraging participation and engagement.