Social media advertising and marketing is much more than a way to solicit services to a customer. It allows people to dynamically connect with your business to fulfill their core needs. When people think of social media the very first thought that pops into their heads is usually Facebook. While it is true that Facebook is the king of social media, there are other critical and effective channels to consider. Failing to establish a digital presence in any one of these channels means missed opportunities for your business. Businesses that don’t have all their social media bases covered forgo a lot of income as well as other secondary benefits. While Facebook is important, you must also consider Google Plus, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Google Plus
Be aware that Google Plus is number two in the social networking industry with approximately 300 million active users. This is due in part to the fact that every user that has a Gmail account is connected with Google Plus. Google has made this a requirement for Gmail users. Also, Google has overtaken Apple, Inc. as the number one brand in the world. Google is the most powerful player in the Internet industry because of their ever popular search engines like Google and YouTube. However as opposed to Facebook, a user may perform a Google search to access all of your Google Plus content. This is huge for the visibility of your business. Not only do you have a channel to market to potential customers but you also have additional means to drive traffic to your site.
In the past eight years, Twitter has exploded into a major player in the social networking industry. On average there are currently approximately 6,000 tweets per second, or about 500 million tweets per day. So many people are connected through Twitter that a failure to use this channel can be disastrous for your business’s revenue. According to HubSpot, websites gain over 800 new visitors per month when they have over 1000 followers. Not only is Twitter a great way to generate leads but also to increase repeat customers. Because people are constantly reminded of your business via tweets, you can increase your customer loyalty.
LinkedIn is much more than a way to post your resume online. It is a content marketing platform that should be part of your inbound marketing strategy. Instead of posting content on your website and waiting for organic visitors to find it, you can immediately distribute your content via LinkedIn groups to pull visitors to your website.
Why Do I Need Social Media Marketing?
A weak or nonexistent social media marketing campaign is detrimental to the success of your business. Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, and LinkedIn need to be used as part of your social media content marketing strategy to communicate the values of your business to customers. Instead of a traditional impersonal ad you now have the ability to reach your target market like never before to generate high quality leads. The benefits of social media marketing are much more than a simple click that leads a single user to your site. These tools allow your customers to integrate your business into their social media circle and share your message with their friends.
It does take a certain amount of knowledge and experience to create a successful social media marketing campaign, but the advantages for your business far outweigh the costs. Are you taking the fullest advantage of social media?