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Why Social Media Marketing is important for small businesses.

Jul 17, 2020 / by Admin / In Social Media / Tags: , , , / Leave a comment

With a small marketing budget, reaching your audience, boosting sales, and increasing brand awareness can be tricky. Social Media Marketing is a versatile, cost effective and proven successful method of achieving these results. If you want to find out how and why it’s so effective, read on!

Your customers are on social media.

As of January 2020, 66% of the UK population are active on social media, to put that into perspective, that’s 45 million people! Not only do they have social media accounts, but there’s also a good chance they’re checking these sites every day. Every day you have a chance to relay a message to them, interact with them, provide them with valuable content, and every day they have the chance to receive your marketing messages, discover your products/services and share your content with friends and family. 

Connecting with your target audience is one of the most fundamental components to effective use of social media, and to do this you need to identify what platforms they are using the most, and what content they are receptive to… don’t make your audience come to you, go to them!

Customers will be more receptive to your marketing messages.

95% of people are likely to follow a brand on social media. The great thing about social media is that users aren’t typically using these channels with the expectation that they will be marketed to. So if your content proves relatable, useful, readable, exciting and shareable to your audience, they will be more inclined to engage with it than traditional marketing methods. The content you publish through social media contributes towards your brand personality and this helps to humanise your brand. Social media content allows you to be more conversational and this means customers will be more receptive to your messages.

Social Media Marketing will help to increase your website traffic… it’s a win win.

Getting website views can be a tricky and costly task, but linking your social media to your website and your website to your social media can really help to increase website traffic. Your social profiles provide another way for customers to access your website, so this is the perfect complement to any SEO efforts! Using Instagram Link in Bio, and adding web page addresses to Facebook and Twitter posts can really help to increase inbound website traffic. Each post can be linked to relevant pages from your website, and when they’re on your website, there’s a chance they might make a purchase! To conduct this effectively, the content must be engaging and provide some form of value to your audience.

If people like, they will share.

Word-of-mouth is one of the (if not the) most powerful marketing tools, but, creating culture and advocacy around your brand takes time and money. 80% of people are more likely to try something new based on friends suggestions! And, social media provides the perfect channel for your customers to quickly and easily share your products to their friends and family! If your audience sees something they like (even if they may never have purchased your products before), they can easily share your products with their social media connections, giving you exposure to a whole host of new potential customers and leads!  

Again, for this to be successful, quality content must be produced… something that will grab users attention and make them more likely to share. Content such as videos, infographics and competitions are some ideas that can encourage users to share!

It’s cost-effective.

The cost of more traditional marketing methods such as; TV and radio advertisements, flyers and brochures, billboard advertisements and magazine advertisements, can be extremely higher than social media! Here are some examples:

  • Quarter page of a local newspaper: average price- £250
  • A full-page of a well known national newspaper: The Daily Mail average price- £30,000
  • Primetime TV adverts: average- £10,00 to £30,000
  • Ad in a magazine with a readership of 5,000- average price £200
  • Average Facebook CPM (Cost per mille/thousand) for UK- £2.52

Statistics from Statista

Social media marketing can also give a higher ROI! Social media also provides a much easier environment for you to convert potential customers. Think about a flyer, TV, radio or magazine advertisement. If a customer sees something they like or want to find out more about, they have to then call, email or search the web to find that information and decide whether or not they wish to make a purchase. On social media, potential customers can see your content or advertisement, click through to your website, and make the purchase in a matter of minutes, and you have spent considerably less than traditional advertising methods!

It helps improve brand loyalty.

Social media is an effective way to build relationships with leads and customers that lead to greater satisfaction and loyalty over time. Social media means your audience can stay connected with your company or brand every day. This means there is a higher chance that you will be top of their mind when it comes to converting. Each post gives them the opportunity to engage and share, and can help to create a sense of community and therefore increase brand loyalty. It is important to engage with your audience, and every post or query received gives you the opportunity to do just that! Studies have shown that brands who engage with the social audience enjoy higher and stronger loyalty from their customers. Some content ideas that help to encourage engagement are; polls, questionnaires, competitions, downloadable content and shareable content.

It’s great for customer service.

A customer service strategy and team take considerable time and money and many small businesses don’t have the budget to employ a dedicated customer service team. Social media is a free tool that allows you to directly communicate with your customers, whether it be resolving any issues, answering questions or receiving great feedback! Social media makes it easy to resolve and reach out, meaning you can still provide your customers with exceptional customer service for a fraction of the price. Social media is real-time, which means that many users find it much easier to contact a brand/company this way rather than having to wait for an email reply or be on hold on a phone call. Providing customer service through social media also helps to humanize your brand!

If this all seems a little too much… Don’t worry we can help! To get in touch, email hello@tigerbam.co.uk

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