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The Social Stigma of Social Media

Social Media Marketing0 comments

We still see many business owners who push back when it comes to investing in a social media strategy. They’ve heard about the necessity of utilizing social media but they don’t see how it means more business for them.

Here are 5 reasons to Destigmatize Social Media marketing:socialmedia_icon

1. Better Customer Contact and Service

2. Branding

3. Reputation Improvement

4. Top of Mind Awareness

5. Increased Website Traffic

These are the same reasons businesses have advertised for many years – but it was usually through traditional media. Radio ads, TV ads, Print ads, billboards – all attempting to drive top of mind awareness and build the brand. Social media marketing can do all these and at a much lower cost per impression.

First off, social media helps you deliver better customer service. Your customers may utilize services such as Twitter to ask you questions they might have about your products or services. By actively monitoring these channels, you manage to engage those who need your direct attention, which makes a great impression on both the potential client and the existing client. By directly engaging in real-time with people, you create happy customers, which in turn create “brand ambassadors” – those who will actively promote your brand to their circles of influence.

Next, social media drives brand awareness. This is one of the most important ways you can use social media: establishing your brand’s personality and give your business a human voice that people can relate to. That human connection reminds people that your business isn’t a faceless entity, but something worth supporting. By displaying that human and emotional connection, your brand stands out from the competition.

Social media also helps manage your reputation. If your brand is panned by an angry customer on Twitter, you can quickly and effectively approach the customer and diffuse a negative situation. Think of it as instant feedback to your customer base: by mitigating a sensitive situation quickly, you reinforce your own customer service, rather than the initial negative response. With so many alternatives to choose from, customers are often overwhelmed and want an easy way to authenticate a business that they are dealing with for the first time. By being active on social media, you show that “the lights are on” both at your business and in the realm of customer service, which builds trust with potential customers.

Social media also allows you to tap into a whole pool of customer data. Want to target homeowners in a particular zip code who like a particular show? Done. Need soccer moms who also tend to buy luxury goods? Easy! The data that social media provides creates amazing opportunities to both connect with potential customers and find what your audience enjoys, allowing you to tailor your content.

Speaking of content, social media is a great way of keeping your business or brand in the mind of your customers. By sharing content that is tangential to your business (DIY tips if you’re a contractor, or a great workout if you focus on weight loss), you prove that you’re interested in what others are interested in. No one wants to be advertised to all the time, but people are more likely to enjoy and share articles that they’re interested in, which then reinforces your brand (because your brand is the one sharing the content!) to those customers. Think of the friend you have who also offers a service you might use; if that friend is a great friend first, and doesn’t push their business on you, you inherently trust them and their business more. Win-win!

Finally, increased attention on social media will increase traffic to your website. Social media is not necessarily a lead generator, and one shouldn’t expect that to be the case. However, by showing that you’re on top of your customer service, by targeting your audience, and by providing content your audience wants to see, you can expect to see an increase in your website traffic.

When it comes to social media, it can be difficult to navigate the ocean of terms, networks, and rules. Let Get Found Fast help you make sense of it all and build the social media brand your business needs!

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