The Perfect Match – Social Media and Your Small Business
by Jessica Stephens
What if you knew of a surefire way to grow your marketing brand, gain more loyal clients, and enhance the success of your business… wouldn’t you jump on that opportunity? Properly managed social media is that silver bullet, the tool that has an indisputable effect on how your business is perceived and on its overall success.
In today’s marketplace active social media engagement is not just important – it is absolutely necessary if you want your business to thrive. Over 2.8 billion people have access to the internet and 74 percent of adults with online access use social media. On top of that, a whopping 74 percent of consumers credited social media with their purchasing decisions. The impact of social media is very real and has a direct impact on your business.
The incredible effects of social media are there, ready to be harnessed, and can truly open up a business to an entirely new level of success. With many competitors already actively engaged in an aggressive social media strategy, the time to increase your social media presence has never been more opportune. Social media platforms are the marketing delivery systems that never sleep – they add a real-time personalized touch that engages your current and future clients in a genuine, relationship-building fashion. Social media enables businesses to enter into the presence of their clients and to respond to their concerns at the click of a button, while actively increasing brand recognition and loyalty.
Yet, let’s face it – many small business owners and staff are juggling so many other duties, that they often feel overwhelmed by the seeming abyss of social media options, rules, and features. They simply do not have the time or the staff resources to wholeheartedly throw themselves into the day-to-day process of properly managing their social media presence. This process is virtually guaranteed to produce impactful results, but is also one that must be maintained regularly. This is why a social media marketing agency can be an invaluable tool. Agencies, such as Social Identity Marketing, can ultimately save a business time and produce greater financial gain. In fact, a good marketing partner can save a business between 10 and 30 percent in its overall market spending. Allowing an agency to use its expertise in the market, to maneuver the ins and outs of social media on your behalf, is a smart way for a business to expand its marketing campaign and to truly excel in the realm of social media.
A social media agency will use the helpful marketing tools from platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, to communicate with clients on an ongoing basis and increase brand awareness, credibility, and loyalty. This can be done through carefully selected Facebook posts and targeted advertisement campaigns, monitoring and responding to Facebook comments and messages, engaging with the Twitter followers via mentions and replies, and uploading custom-designed graphics that help your business stand out on Instagram and Pinterest.
Currently, Facebook is still the number one social media site, but other sites should not be left out of your marketing campaign. Twitter is a great example, as 53 percent of people on Twitter recommend products via their tweets. A good social media marketing agency will use such insights to your advantage, while constantly monitoring historical trends and current data to adjust the strategy that helps your business stay ahead of the ever-evolving social media landscape.
The answer is clear – the time to jumpstart your social media marketing campaign is now. Talk to an agency today to share your business’s unique needs and target audience. You’ll be amazed at the impact. Trust the facts about the value of a well-managed social media strategy – you’ll be glad you did.