Like. Share. Comment. Follow. Putting a brand on social media allows a huge opportunity for engagement. Out of 7.7 billion people in the world, at least 3.5 billion are online according to Our World In Data, and at least two-thirds of them are social media users.
With that 97 percent of marketers are using social media, so there is a high chance that competitor brands are on social media too. If that thought brings hesitations of investing in social media, it is also worth knowing that social media levels the playing field for everyone.
Not convinced? Here are the reasons it’s important to consider building your brand’s social media presence if you haven’t already.
It’s Cheap Marketing
Social media can be the most cost-effective way of getting your brand out there since creating an account on most social networking platforms is free. Starting “cheap” helps attain greater ROIs and allot a bigger budget for improving the business. It only requires both strategy and creativity to fully utilize social media in benefiting your brand.
The only resources needed are time, good internet connection, and basic to intermediate knowledge of creating social media content, and you’re good to go.
It Creates Brand Recognition
Without the need for clicking on web links, downloading sales brochures, or looking at ads, users find out more about businesses beyond their products and services. Social media shows the world what the brand is.
It can be a platform to establish one’s brand and make it stand out from competitors. With clever branding strategies coupled with engaging content, businesses can get to show their personality, what they care about, and what they can offer.
It Allows Customers To Promote Your Well-Packaged Products
Social media’s advantage over traditional media is it can get your brand in front of people much more quickly and easily. Create interesting visuals that promote the product and stir engagement.
Promotion does not end at the product alone. Make sure that your brand makes a good impression by coming up with innovative packaging. Aesthetically appealing packages can result in unboxing videos and shout-outs from real customers, just because the packaging alone is already worth the attention.
It Enables Influencer Marketing
More than the customers posting about their purchase for all their friends to see, another great way to promote a product using social media is influencer marketing. This strategy uses endorsements by celebrities, bloggers, and social media influencers through shout-outs or product mentions to encourage their following to check out the brand.
It involves micro influencers who have a few thousand followers or macro influencers that have millions of fans under their belt. Depending on the goals of the brand, either of the two can play an important role in spreading the word. Before collaborating with any influencers, make sure to find the ones whose niche and values align with the brand.
[See related post: Instagram Influencer Marketing 2020 – Four Things You Need To Do]
It Allows Easy Collaboration with Other Brands
Speaking of collaborations, the most memorable marketing collaborations happened between two brands, and having a social media presence makes it a lot easier. It makes the collaboration output more accessible, which makes it more likely to create a buzz.
For instance, when GoPro partnered with Red Bull, the audience was quick to engage in their heart-pumping videos on social media platforms that showcase both brands. While these two brands were likely to collaborate, the social media world has also seen a fair share of unexpected collaborations that most definitely caught the attention of the desired target audience.
It’s a Platform For Relatable Content
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest—while all these are social media platforms, they each have different purposes and can attract different kinds of audiences. Thus, it’s crucial to choose where the brand should build a presence.
Whatever it is, it gives a company the opportunity to create content that resonates with its target audience. Along with this is the opportunity not only to promote a product but also to establish a more personal connection with consumers, and building a relationship sells.
It Increases The Brand’s Reach
From finding potential customers who don’t know your brand to retain the current fan base, social media is vital in allowing brands to reach more people locally, regionally, nationally, and even internationally.
It helps understand audiences through knowing consumer behaviors; this helps with creating better content and campaigns that lead to more traffic and engagement. Identifying the customer’s pain points and knowing what makes them click can have a direct impact on refining product strategy, thus improving sales.
It Helps Gain Industry Insight
Understanding the characteristics of the target audience and the captured audience helps create personalized messages and strategies that resonate with the right audience. For example, communicating with a college student demographic isn’t the same as addressing work-at-home moms.
Social media helps companies to be in control of reaching and communicating with their target market. Social listening or monitoring social conversations on trending topics helps with understanding what’s important to the general public.
It Gets Customer Feedback
Feedback is the lifeblood of any brand initiative. Listen to what else can be done to improve, and social media is a good tool to find out what customers think about your brand. Social media platforms, especially with commenting and messaging features, are two-way communication tools for continuous improvement and success.
More often than not, businesses get innovative ideas from customer feedback. At the same time, satisfied customers have a higher likelihood of sharing news about the product to their own network, and that’s where the power of word of mouth comes in.
It Allows Brands to Engage With Their Customers and Audience
There’s a good chance that people are already talking about your brand on social media. If you have social media at your expense, you can utilize these talk points to your advantage. Reach out to upset customers, or send thanks to the ones singing you praises.
The more interaction with customers, the bigger the chances of conversion—and all that without going to physical stores or traveling to offices. Creating a voice for the company adds value to customers.
[Images – Main Image by rawpixel.com; Influencer Girl by Ali Pazani from Pexels; Feedback Photo by Headway on Unsplash]
Kayla Bennet works as a Content Relationship Manager for Packlane. She specializes in digital marketing, branding and general marketing tips. She works closely with B2B and B2C companies providing useful and engaging content.