We are living in a time where the world is slowly but surely going towards digitalization and automatization – the new reality is online. A global pandemic only fast forwarded to moving away from traditional ways of communication and into a reality where you don’t even have to be present physically to do all the daily activities that you used to, before these major changes occurred. Restricted movement, strict curfews, with social distancing and lockdowns have made it impossible to function the way we did, so businesses and brands had to adapt accordingly. Since we were forced to stay inside, social media consumption was up by astonishing 72%, with Instagram in the lead. So, how can a business adapt and use this high screen time in its favor? Ben Givon has the scoop.
Statistics show that 3 billion people were actively using social media in 2020, and as these numbers grow, the impact and potential of these networks expanding your business substantially is evident. One of the first things to pay attention to is increasing website traffic. The aim of any marketing strategy should be to acquire a huge online audience that takes as many actions as possible on your website. Use Facebook and Instagram to promote quality content or fantastic offers to intrigue the audience and persuade them to visit your website and take action. You should consider connecting Facebook Business Manager to Facebook Pixel on your website to get insights and valuable data for traffic and conversion. Plus, when a large number of your content gets shared or you get plenty of clicks, Google recognizes that and receives positive search signals. Establishing a strong social media presence can boost your organic search rankings and SEO as well.
Secondly, building trust with your customers is the most important thing for your business or brand, given that the audience will correlate the number of followers with the success and quality of your brand. Using social media to build trust and expand your follow base is one of the most cost-effective digital marketing strategies you can implement. Increasing brand visibility to a specific target audience can in turn give your brand more followers and potential customers. A valid starting point is persuading your offline customer base to follow your socials, since a healthy follow count hints to someone researching your brand that you’re attention worthy. Surprisingly a lot of customer decisions are directly influenced by these numbers, so be sure to keep that in mind.
Generating leads is the next stop and a very important thing to attain if you’re looking for a strong social media presence. Simple things such as giveaways, competitions or even promotions in different groups and communities, generate more than enough leads and can expand your business significantly. Statistics show that generating leads through Instagram and Facebook tools is about 32% more effective than using Google for the same purposes. Another research suggests that 71% of satisfied customers recommend the brand to their friends and family – these numbers speak to the fact that the impact of positive customer experience is huge.
If your brand/business resonates with Millennials or Gen Z, engaging with influencers might be the way to tap into this market group that is rapidly gaining buying power. Endorsements and sponsorships given to influencers can make a strong connection between your brand and your audience. Discovering new products in younger crowds is directly related to influencers considering they are viewed by their followers as trendsetters. The numbers confirm these statements as 93% of marketers used influencer marketing in 2019, and the budgets for 2020 went up by 57%.
Customers nowadays expect to be able to engage and communicate with their chosen brand or business and the best tools for that are Instagram and Facebook. These social media powerhouses are the primary service points and not complying to those customer expectations can damage your brand significantly. Nearly half of all customers go to social media to share their experience or address their concerns about a brand or ask questions. So, whether it’s answering questions or listening to feedback, social media assures customers that you are listening and that you are there for them and their needs.
One final advantage of social media is that it’s mostly free. You can set up a page for your business, create a social media strategy and start posting without a single investment, thus tapping into the organic reach. Almost none of the major social media platforms ask for signup fees; the only thing you need to do is invest a couple of hours, create a solid strategy and follow it religiously. If you’d like to expand beyond organic reach, you can always use paid advertising. It’s one thing to use organic reach to interact with your current customer base, but if you’re looking to broaden your reach, paid social media is your go-to.
Finally, in this day and age, having a strong social media presence is the key for almost any business or brand, given that the most of our actions are being transferred to the online. The pandemic skyrocketing screen time isn’t the only reason for this shift to the digital world; our everyday lives are driven by digitalization more than we can comprehend at the moment. In the coming years, more and more actions will be possible without ever leaving the comfort of our homes. If we know that for a fact, then social media is one of the best tools to drive your SEO, build customer relationships, establish loyalty and actualize the return on investment. More than 91% of markets claim that a couple of hours of social media marketing per week guarantees an increase in brand exposure. If that’s so, get on that social media marketing train and boost your brand’s or business’s performance right away!
