There’s no doubt that the past year has been tough on businesses. With lockdowns, a shrinking economy, and people being more careful with their money, it wasn’t a fun time for anyone! But, just because you might have had a tough year doesn’t mean it’s time to give up. In fact, now is the perfect moment to get back on your feet and start growing your business.
But, where do you start? One of the most popular ways to pursue growth is with social media - especially amongst small businesses. Let’s take a look at what exactly this marketing strategy is, how it works, and whether it’s the right option for your brand.
What Is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing taps into the potential of social platforms, like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, to market your business to the world. Every brand has a different goal when setting up its strategy, but the overarching aims are to: Connect with your audience Create a strong brand identity Drive traffic to your website Build long-lasting relationships with potential customers
Your brand can set up a profile on a social platform and start sharing content with your audience, like images, videos, and written content. You can also talk directly to potential customers, both in the comments of yours and their profiles, and through direct messages. Social media is a much more personable way of marketing that lets you connect with your audience in a way that marketing never has before! Whether you’re looking to start a business or grow your existing following, social media agencies like OneOfOneGroup.co.uk can create a well-crafted strategy to help you get there.
What Are the Benefits of Social Media Marketing?
To understand a little more about how you can use social media marketing for your brand, let’s check out some of the benefits.
Create A Human Brand
People are wise to traditional marketing now, and they want to connect with brands rather than follow the call to action of an ad. Social media is the perfect way to humanise your brand. By chatting with your audience, sharing behind the scenes content, and using a friendly tone of voice, your brand will become much more relatable, and you can build up those all-important relationships with your customers!
Walk The Walk
It’s easy for brands to label themselves, but consumers aren’t inclined to take a businesses word as gospel anymore. Now, you have to prove that you are what you say you are, and social media is a brilliant place to do this! You can share frequent updates that align with your brand identity and values, showing your audience that you’re a business that walks the walk.
Show Off Your Expertise
Use your social media to show off just how much you know about your industry and quickly gain trust from your audience. Whether you share articles on LinkedIn that are filled with valuable information, or you discuss different trends and industry news in Instagram stories, you’ll be solidifying yourself as an expert.
Keep Up To Date With Industry Trends
Speaking of trends, social media is the perfect place to find them! By following your target customers and competitors, you can keep up with the latest demands from your audience and predict what’s going to be the next big thing from what they’re talking about. As a business, the competitive edge from being the first to do something is priceless.
Weighing Up The Pros And Cons
As with every marketing method, social media marketing isn’t flawless. There are some downfalls that turn businesses away. The two main cons are:
- The time you have to invest
- The time it takes to see results
There’s no doubt that you have to be consistent and invest a lot of time into social media if you want it to work for you! Luckily, you can easily get around this by hiring a social media agency to take over your profile for you. Using a professional will also speed up how long it takes you to see results. But, social media marketing is a slow burner. You have to be in it for the long-term effects rather than a quick profit boost, but once you get there, it’s well worth the work you put in!
What Next?
There’s no doubt that social media marketing is a goldmine of potential customers, and all that you have to do is tap into it! To make the most of this opportunity, get in touch with a social media marketing agency. They can help you set up your profiles properly, start publishing engaging content and enticing your target audience to follow you.
