How Social Media Helps in Marketing

How Social Media Helps in Marketing

Our modern digital stratosphere is characterised by heavy social media usage. In fact, Statista found that as of April 2024, 5.07 billion people were using the internet worldwide, or 67.1%. 

People use social media daily to connect with others, engage with news and other content, share information and entertain themselves.

As a business, you need to have a social media presence on at least one social platform. With it, you can now reach a wider audience and grow your brand on a global scale.

With so many social platforms to choose from, there are plenty of opportunities for businesses to successfully market themselves via social media.

Below, we explore how social media can elevate your digital marketing efforts, and provide you with some interesting social media marketing strategies that you definitely need to adopt!

Ready? Let’s gooo!

1. Expanding your reach

One of the biggest benefits of social media for marketing is its ability to quickly expand your local and global reach.

This means that no matter how small or niche your business might be, it has never been easier to connect with current and potential customers from across the globe.

For instance, let’s say you run a small clothing boutique in Geneva. Thanks to social media, you can now showcase your products to people far beyond the Geneva area. And it’s not time-consuming at all.

To do this, you should use hashtags and location tags. This will help you to attract different regions and global customers, and increase brand awareness.

2. Targeting specific audiences

Social media channels offer advanced targeting options that enable your business to reach specific groups of people.

For example, Facebook and Instagram provide detailed targeting options based on interests, demographics and behaviour. This means you can create specific marketing campaigns, then tailor them to reach those individuals who are most likely to be interested in your products and services.

Let’s say you’re a fitness trainer in Geneva. With detailed targeting options, you can target people interested in health and wellness. You can narrow it down to an even more precise target audience by focusing on Geneva-based individuals within a certain age range.

Such precise targeting helps ensure that your marketing efforts are reaching the right people, which increases the chances of conversion.

3. Engaging with your audience

With social media, you need to engage with your audience, meaning you need to respond to their comments and questions, and participate in conversations with them.

By engaging with your audience, you’re helping to build a positive relationship with them. You’re fostering trust and building brand awareness.

For example, if one of your customers leaves a positive review on your page, you need to ensure you respond to show appreciation to your customer for taking the time to write the review. This strengthens your relationship with that customer, and makes the customer feel valued.

It’s also important to address concerns or complaints in a timely and respectful manner. Never ignore them. By responding, this demonstrates excellent customer service and can turn a negative experience into a positive one.

4. Creating brand awareness

Social media is a powerful tool for building brand awareness. You need to consistently post content that reflects your brand’s values and personality. This will increase recognition of your brand amongst your audience, and make it more familiar.

Visually engaging content, such as images and videos, is particularly effective in increasing brand awareness.

For example, an eye-catching Instagram post featuring your product can catch the eye of potential customers and make them more likely to remember your brand. Sharing behind-the-scenes content, customer testimonials and user-generated content can also help humanise your brand and make it more relatable.

5. Driving traffic to your website

Another way social media helps with your digital marketing is by driving traffic to your site. When you create a social media post, make sure you include links to your website, either within the body copy or on your page’s bio. This encourages your followers to visit your site and learn more about your products and services.

For instance, let’s say you’re running a special promotion or sale. To trigger further interest, you can create a social media post that directs social media users to a landing page on your site where they can sign up for more information or make a purchase. Include clear calls-to-action in your posts, such as “Shop Now” or “Learn More.” This helps guide your audience to take the desired action.

6. Monitoring and measuring success

Social media platforms provide detailed analytics and insights, and allow you to monitor and measure your success in real time. This means you can track the performance of your posts and campaigns to see what resonated well with your audience, and what was less successful.

For example, you can see how many people have viewed, liked or shared your posts, and you can measure engagement. This data helps you to make more informed decisions when it comes to creating even more engaging content.

7. Cost-effective marketing

While traditional marketing methods were very costly, social media marketing can be very cost-effective, especially if you stick to organic options. Most social platforms offer free accounts, and even paid advertising options can be more affordable than other forms of advertising.

You can even set a budget for your social media ads and choose how much you want to spend daily or over the course of a campaign. This flexibility allows businesses of all sizes to take advantage of social media marketing without breaking the bank.

8. Building community and loyalty

With social media, you can build a sense of community around your brand. By consistently creating engaging content that resonates with your audience, you can foster a loyal following. It also helps when you encourage interaction, especially by responding to your followers.

There are so many great ways to build community and loyalty, including:

· Running social media contests
· Hosting live Q&A sessions
· Sharing user-generated content

These are all effective ways to engage your audience and make them feel like they are part of your brand’s community. When your customers feel connected to your brand, they’re much more likely to remain loyal to it. in turn, they’ll become advocates who recommend your products or services to others.

9. Staying ahead of trends

In the world of social media, trends can change at the click of a button. In this super-fast environment, it’s essential that you keep up with the latest trends and adapt your social media marketing plan accordingly.

One way to do this is to incorporate a new social media trend or hashtag into your content. This helps you to stay relevant and engage with an even broader audience.

10. Leveraging influencer partnerships

When you partner with the right influencers, you have the ability to reach an even wider audience of credible followers. And you don’t need to partner with a Kardashian! Even micro influencers have the ability to expand your reach even further.

For instance, if you sell beauty products, we recommend collaborating with beauty influencers, who can review your products in a post. This product promotion technique can introduce your brand to your chosen influencer’s followers.

44% of Gen Zers have made a purchase based on a suggestion from an influencer. Provided they create authentic content that showcases your products in a real-life context, influencer marketing can be hugely beneficial for your business. 

Are you adopting any of the above social media marketing measures? Which are most successful for you?

Social media has the power to significantly enhance your digital marketing efforts. From expanding your reach and targeting specific audiences to engaging with followers and driving traffic to your website, the benefits of social media marketing are numerous.

However, it’s essential that you use it correctly.

Regardless of whether you’re a small business owner or a marketing professional, embracing social media can provide valuable opportunities for growth and success in today’s digital landscape.

Reach out to the team at EWM to discuss your specific social media marketing needs.