Why Does My Company Need Social Media Marketing?

Social media is a great way for people to engage with one another on the web. Peer to peer networking has in fact been around since the birth of the Internet. However, it has really taken off and gone main stream in the last ten years or so.

It is called social media for a reason. Users communicate and interact on the Internet in a social context. These interactions can include engagement as deep as spilling a 1,000 word blog post about your personal life or as simple as posting a picture of your new puppy on Facebook.

The rising popularity of social media and the increase in number of social networks has created a huge opportunity for businesses and organizations to improve their Internet marketing efforts. It offers you the opportunity to grow relationships and create brand loyalty with your customer base.

It is important to be a part of social media, because whether you’re interacting and listening or not, your customers are talking about you and other things relevant to your business and industry. Wouldn’t you want to be a part of that discussion?

Now, you might be saying, “What’s the point of placing valuable time and resources into social media. Isn’t it just a fad that will pass soon enough?” To put it simply, NO! Social media is not just a fad, it is here to stay.

Over the last ten or so years, social media platforms have exploded in popularity. There are several big ones out there including:  Google+, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube. A lot of these have just become really popular in the last few years, and more platforms keep popping up all of the time.

Seems like social media might just be getting started. So, it is not too late to get your business or organization involved. In fact, now would be a good time to start. The need for social media marketing is growing stronger and stronger every day.

If you still don’t believe us, let’s take a look at some of the facts that point to social media being anything but a fad:

•  72% of online adults use social networking sites
• YouTube reaches more US adults ages 18-34 than any cable network
• Facebook has over 1.19 billion active users monthly
• Twitter is adding 300,000 users per day
• 75% of brand “likes” come from advertisements

It’s pretty clear that social media is here to stay, so why should your business start using it as a marketing tool?

Whether your a huge corporation or a small mom and pop shop (and everything in between) it’s pretty evident that your customers are online. They’re staying in touch with family, communicating with friends, networking with professionals, researching, and giving recommendations or warnings about companies’ products and services.

If you’re not around to interact with these customers and answer questions they are posing about your brand, you are missing out on a great opportunity to develop a relationship. Chances are, your competition is on there taking away your unsatisfied clients.

There are several of opportunities to add value to your brand through social media marketing. Establishing and maintaining a connection with your customer base can help build a relationship with those users. That relationship can become a huge asset to your marketing strategy by creating customer advocacy.

Customer advocacy is important because in difficult times and brand controversy, your loyal customers will not only continue using your products or service, but will also stick up for your company.

If you ever find yourself in a bind, your advocates will help remind the rest of the world who they’re rooting for. Advocacy is not something that you can stumble upon or buy. Advocacy is earned over time through continuous and positive engagement with your customer base. It is earned through experiences that delight, and through the delivery of the highest class of customer service. — Moz