Within recent times marketing has taken a turn from the traditional methods of print, radio and television, to one that relies heavily on digital marketing and the use of social media. Throughout the business world terminology such as Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin are becoming increasingly familiar. It’s no wonder that in the UK, digital marketing companies are rising to the occasion to help those businesses which lack social media knowledge, compete in the ruthless business environment.
For most B2B companies the importance of social media is ever growing, with more than 93% of marketers saying social media is their main way to inform users of their presence. This is not surprising as there are now over 950 million active Facebook users along with over 100 million Twitter users worldwide. However unexpectedly Welsh businesses have a lower rate of participation in social media when compared with the rest of the UK. Astonishingly 40% of Welsh businesses do not use the internet to promote their business.
So why should businesses engage in social media?
Top 4 benefits of Social media:
1. Low cost
Marketing strategies consisting of social media represent a cost saving, not only can you fire away with unlimited content but you can do it much cheaper than your traditional forms of advertising.Once the message is out there, it costs you nothing when others pass it on. Also you do have an extra option to pay for advertisements on Twitter and Facebook, they target these ads by tapping into the user’s interests with the intent to attract their attention.
2. Expanding target audience
The amount of customers you can target is never ending within social media. It provides both a direct line to people and businesses in the UK, whilst allowing you to connect to people and businesses all over the world. It is remarkable that there are over 950 million Facebook users worldwide, this gives you an idea of the vast amount of users you can target by being part of the social media frenzy. By writing interesting and informative content you can undoubtedly hook users on what you are doing by creating interest as well as engage with potential customers. Users can give you direct feedback on social media allowing you to improve if needs be.
3. Retaining trust
Social media allows businesses to build a closer relationship with users. It is important when using Social media a part of your personality shines through this will result in a personal relationship and trust being formed with users. Posting about something that is unrelated to your company or even industry will spark interest and conversation among users, resulting in you creating major PR and gaining recognition.
4. Results
There are so many potential sales to be made using social media. 34% of marketers have generated leads using twitter and 20% have closed deals using twitter. This shows the significant positive impact that social media can have on your business.
If you are not already engaging in Social media, now would be a good time to start. Many businesses overlook the importance of such a powerful tool that comes with uncapped audience reach. We are now in an era where consumers are so familiar with Social media that 5 new Facebook profiles are made every second. It’s clear that businesses who fail to engage in Social media are missing out on a key developing trend and all the advantages that follow. In particular 62% of Marketers said that Social media became more important in their marketing campaign in the last 6 months. So ask yourself, ‘Are you interacting enough with social media?’
References:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-16751282
http://www.latimes.com/
http://www.digitalbuzzblog.
