Social media has become a major part of modern day living, it is how we connect, share photos and plan events with friends and family, how we advertise our skills for work and how we express the things that are important to us. It has also become a way to share, promote and sell products and services. The latest figures show 81% of consumers go online to research before heading out to make a purchase, this is up 20% on last year and is expected to continue to rise. Social media accounts for a lot of this research; peers reviews and recommendations online have a big impact on a final purchase.
So we can see why a great digital and social media presence is so important for most types of business. In most cases the customers first exposure to you will be online; through your Website, Facebook or LinkedIn page or perhaps your Twitter, YouTube, Instagram or Pinterest and what they see and experience there will make all the difference.
Social media can help your business…
- Generate leads and improve sales
- Increase exposure of your brand
- Improve search engine rankings
- Increase traffic to your website through shared links
- Build customer loyalty
- Increase conversion rates
- Carry out simple market research and better understand customer wants and needs
- Lower marketing costs and strong return on investment
Although there are exceptions, not all types of social media are directly suitable for all types of businesses and if you are a smaller company or just starting out you run the risk of being overwhelmed by trying to keep up with all your different media. It is worth noting that if you do plan to plug in to as many social media outlets as possible there are many great software programs that help automate your social media updates, just be aware that you may run the risk of regurgitating the same information all over your outlets which will be tiresome to any potential customers who may have joined you in more than one site.
Service based businesses and B2B commodities are better off focusing on Facebook business page, Twitter, Linked in and Google+. B2C products and more luxury services such as beauty therapies, fashion services, clothing, cosmetics and accessories are more suited to creative, image based social media marketing through Facebook retail pages, Pinterest and Instagram.
So go ahead, dive in and get started, you’ll learn as you go. Social media is a great tool for the modern day business person and can really help with building a brand that consumers can connect to.
Contact My Robot Monkey for your Marketing | Creative | Digital needs! www.myrobotmonkey.com.au
