Reasons Why Social Media Marketing Is Important

5 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing Is Important

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The whole marketing landscape has changed with the introduction of Social Media. New avenues were opened for marketers that before did not exist or were too complicated. Now we have an easy to use and powerful tool at our finger tips that can share a piece of content all over the world in seconds.

Many people use Social Media for personal reasons but now if you are not using it for business reasons you’re already behind. You will be surprised how using Social Media can reach into other parts of your marketing strategy.

Driving Traffic:
Every website owner wants to increase their traffic; Social networks top the list of site referrals.  Not to mention that they triumph in time spent on site, as well.
Search Engines used to be the sole focus for driving traffic and marketers allocated all their resources there. SEO still exists but it has now become more social.

SEO:
With every coming update to a search engine, more social results are being integrated. Whether it is being using Facebook or Google using Google +, algorithms are not taking social results into account.
Even Social networks themselves are becoming search engines. For example Facebook’s graph search or Twitter being a real-time search engine.
Your efforts though social will become more significant in your SEO strategies. You can no longer do one and not the other without compromising your results.

Engagement:
Communication is important for any business but positive engagement with the customer base can really lead to improved reputation. Social allows brands and user to interact freely and quickly.
The brand takes on a personal role and becomes a member of a conversation. Resulting exposure can develop a quality brand image.

Branding:
With every profile being unique, businesses can give brands a personality on social networks. How they interact, the look and feel of the profile, all encompass the general characteristics of the brand. For many businesses your social profile may be more important than your website.

Mobile:
At the forefront of social is mobile, because most of the social activity that is being done is being done through a mobile device. Remember that most internet activity is being done through mobile devices; plan accordingly when developing your social strategy.
Everything on a mobile device can be shared with any social network, take that into perspective. Your website most likely will be viewed through a mobile device, be sure it is compatible and offers the viewer a positive experience.

7 Reasons why social media is important for business

1. Learn about your customers and connect with your audience
All successful businesses have grown to know their audiences very well. The benefit of social media is that, getting to know your audience is now easier then ever. With analytics like Facebook Insights in Hootsuite you can understand the major demographics and patterns of your customer behaviors. This not only allows you to better target your audience but it also helps you understand the specific needs of your customer base.
While gaining insight on the demographics of your audience, social also helps you connect on an individual level.

“Social media and Hootsuite have given us an opportunity and platform to connect with those individuals, and that is such an important part of our customer service and brand strategy. Having that connection and being able to reach someone immediately has worked wonders for our brand.” – 

Social media has also helped Ren Management connect with their audience in a better way.

“In the ever-changing music business, social is becoming more and more a part of standard practice. Using social helps make it easier to make a personal connection with our followers and fans. We are seeing growth in our fanbase because we are connecting personally and making it personal.” – Ren Management

2. Reach a new audience locally and globally
Those familiar with Twitter will know that it’s easy to use Twitter to connect with current customers or seek out a new audience. Tools like geo search in Hootsuite or searching for certain hashtags can help you find what people are tweeting about in your neighborhood or what people are tweeting about in general. For example, if you run a brewery and search for hashtags about local beer, you can see what people in your area are excited about. You could then use this as an opportunity to engage with them and let them know what beer you offer.
Organizations like San Francisco Ballet believe that, “by offering added value to our online audiences, social media enables us to engage and nurture our existing fans, while expanding into new audiences.”
Radio Italia also uses social media to, “reach a wider range of people around the globe. It’s another way for us to connect with our audience.”

This shows how social media has affected Radio Italia’s business

3. Improve customer service
Because social media functions best in real-time, it gives you instant access to feedback from your customers. This insight is invaluable, as it can help everything from new product growth to customer retention.  use social to up their customer service game.

“Social media has become more and more important to our organization as a source of customer service over the past year. With 24/7 monitoring over our social media channels by three times in three geographically distinct offices, we’ve improved our speed of response to under 60 minutes regardless of time-of-day. Hootsuite helps us achieve this.” –

4. Gain market share
On a less customer centric note, if you use social media properly, you can make it easier for potential customers to find you. The Manhattan Group stands by the idea that, “serious recruiting agencies with a strong social media presence are rapidly gaining market share. And those without, are missing out.”

5. Create meaningful relationships that generate leads
Invest time in your social media relationships. The more you invest, the more valuable these relationships become. With G Adventures, social media is woven into every part of their business. As a result, someone who might not be a sales lead right away, can often convert months later.

“Social media is a huge part of G Adventures’ culture — both internal and external. From us interacting with travelers before, during and after tours on our social media channels to all of the G Adventures staff chatting with each other on Twitter, we’re truly a social enterprise – and all a part of G Nation. Fittingly, we offer an integrated suite of social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Google +, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumbler, and the G Adventures Loop tail blog). While these channels provide an opportunity to communicate to people who already subscribe to our brand, they also serve as a window to the world to inspire those who have never considered travelling, who can’t presently afford to travel, or who are too young to travel — but one day might. Hoot suite provides a platform for us to have this discussion with our followers in a way that keeps us nimble and allows us expediency of response.” – G Adventure

6. An affordable way to increase brand awareness
The best part about social media is that if you have an Internet connection and a computer, anyone can participate. Meaning that in terms of monetary investment, you can do a lot with just a little bit of budget. For small businesses getting started in marketing, social media is an easy and affordable option.

“On a very practical level, social media is an affordable way to reach consumers.” – Alison Kosakowski

7. Establish your business as an industry expert and expand your professional network
Along with building relationships with your customers, many businesses use social to connect with other people in their industry.

“Our public communication is vital. We use social to update about our work, answer questions and, with any luck, inspire people to help wildlife in the process. Hoot suite has been an ideal way to connect with creative talent: artists, photographers and video grafters  whose passion for birds matches our own.” – International Bird Rescue

International Bird Rescue use Hootsuite to stay on top of industry news

Along with connecting with other professionals, you can also use social to establish your business as an industry expert.