Social media marketing can be described as the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social media sites. In order to be successful on the internet today, you have to find a way to create content that ignites and engages an audience. Understanding the power of content and social media marketing can help you increase your audience and broaden your customers in a dramatic way.
Social Media came out of nowhere and for this reason it has developed a reputation by some for being an unprofitable marketing tool. Research, on the other hand, gives us a different picture. 92% of marketers in 2014 argued how social media marketing was a valuable tool for their business, with 80% showing how it helped them increase traffic to their website. This research demonstrates that there is a lot of potential for social media marketing to increase customers and eventually upsurge sales.
It is important to understand that there are different types of social media and have their own pros and cons. Nowadays, no type of social media is completely isolated from another. Some argue that social media can be divided into 6 different types:
- Social networks: Services that allow you to build relationships with other people who share similar interests and backgrounds. They normally consist of a profile and various ways to interact with other people. The most popular are Facebook and LinkedIn.
- Bookmarking sites: These are the services that allow you to save, organise and manage links to several websites and resources on the internet. The majority allow you to tag the links to make it easier for you to search and share.
- Social New: This kind of social media permits people to post different news items or links to outside articles and then allows users to vote on the news item The ones with most votes are displayed the most prominently.
- Media Sharing: This media service allows you to upload and share various media such as video and pictures. The most popular are YouTube and Flickr.
- Microblogging: These are services that focus on short updates and are pushed out to anyone subscribed to receive the updates. The most popular of this kind is Twitter.
- Blog Comments and Forums: Online forums allow members to hold conversations by posting messages. There are plenty of blogs and forums.
We have to keep in mind that there are 6 different types of social media and these can overlap among various services.
There are several ways of how social media can improve your business. The following are some ways of how it can help you boost your sales.
Social media helps those brands who engage in it to enjoy higher loyalty from customers. Experts in the field show how it is very important for companies to take advantage of the tools that the social media provides when it comes to connect with the audience. A study that was published by Convince&Convert found out that 53% of Americans that are connected or follow brands in social media are more loyal to those brands.
Every post that people make on social media is an opportunity for customers to convert. This will easily give you access to new customers, reconnect with old customers and keep in touch with recent one. Every picture, video or comment you share is a chance for someone to react and give your site a visit and hopefully a conversion. Social media marketing results in higher conversion rates in a few distinct ways. Some brands have been humanized by interacting in social media channels. Studies show that social media followers tend to improve trust and credibility in the brand.
Every opportunity that business people have to increase their visibility is extremely valuable. The social media networks are just new channels for the brands voice and content. This makes it easier and more accessible for new customers. The more online presence the brand has the higher the chances of people being acquainted with the brand and making use of the product and service.
Everyone who owns a business should be able to understand social media marketing fundamentals. It is very important for people to realise that success in social media requires more listening and less talking. Only once you listened you can create content and start conversations that add value. Another vital thing to know about marketing is that it is better to special and build a highly focus social media and marketing strategy.