8 Reasons Why Your Small Business Needs Social Media (With Stats)
Social media is cost-friendly, ubiquitous, and effective. So why aren’t you using it? Here are 8 reasons backed up with several statistics that show why you should be taking advantage of social media marketing starting yesterday.
1. Receive High Return for Low Effort
79% of marketers participating in a study reported increased traffic using social media marketing.
Spending as little as 6 hours a week on social media marketing, 92% of the same marketers reported that social media also increased exposure for their business. Simply having a Facebook or Twitter page that posts once in a while puts your business on the digital map and adds legitimacy to your operation.
SEO vs. social media marketing are very different in this respect, as SEO has a reputation for using a significant amount of marketing resources.
2. Your Business Can’t Afford to Miss Out
Digital ad spend will account for nearly 50% of total media ad spending by 2020.
Reports predict around $357.3 billion will be spent on digital media advertising, a significant portion of which will be invested into social media. More than half of marketers participating in a study reported reduced marketing expenses due to social media. Using social media to advertise your business is extremely cost-effective, and you can’t afford to miss out on this trend that clearly won’t stop anytime soon.
3. Use Existing Consumers to Gain New Ones
1 in 3 consumers would mention a brand when sharing a social media post about a life milestone.
79% of the same consumers said they have shared a life milestone on social media. Consumers primarily mention brands in the hopes of interaction with the business, whether it be acknowledgment or a discount. An easy way to interact with consumers is to share their post on your business’s social media. Considering that people tend to trust family, friends, and even acquaintances more than they trust businesses, this is a great way to convert more potential customers.
4. Reach a Diverse Audience Easily
52% of millennials credit social media advertising as influences when deciding to purchase a product.
Social media plays a big part in the younger generations’ shopping habits but the same study shows that baby boomers are not as digitally illiterate as you might think. 32% of baby boomers also credit social media advertising as influences when shopping. Your small business marketing strategy can reach different demographics online if you keep these statistics in mind.
5. Establish Your Brand’s Presence
30% of Gen X and millennials interact with brands at least monthly.
Make your business a part of the conversation to increase visibility. If your business has no social media presence, they might as well not exist in the eyes of digitally-savvy generations.
71% of customers stated that they were more likely to buy from a company after having a positive social media experience. This can be as easy as acknowledging the customer- 77% of Twitter users felt more positively about a brand when the brand responded to their tweet.
Good customer service via social media makes customers likely to spend 21% more. Not to mention, social signals for SEO can be very effective for improving your brand visibility.
6. LinkedIn Is Necessary for B2B Marketing
50% of social traffic to B2B websites are from LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is king in the land of B2B. 94% of B2B marketers rely on LinkedIn to market and distribute content.
If your business is primarily B2B, LinkedIn is a necessity. It generates 277% more lead generation than Facebook and Twitter combined. With over 562 million users, this professional platform can help build a quality reputation and is an effective way to generate leads for your business. Your business can’t afford to miss out on this trend that clearly won’t stop anytime soon.
7. Take Advantage of Other Businesses’ Missed Opportunities
Only 5 out of 65 million businesses on Facebook actually advertise on Facebook.
Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms with over 2 billion active users. With such a small fraction of businesses actually using Facebook advertising, it can be easier for your small business to cut through the noise and gain more visibility than your competition. Just using this one platform can easily put you a step ahead of another business that doesn’t.
8. Chatbots Are Cheap and Available 24/7
Facebook has over 300,000 active chatbots and growing.
Chatbots can be another way your small business can cut expenses while still delivering quick customer service. With automatic replies to frequently asked questions and concerns, chatbots can provide on-demand information without hiring someone to be monitoring messages 24/7. If you or your customers prefer an actual human being, a chatbot can still be an excellent way to let them know when they can expect to be in contact with a live person.
Internet users have 7.6 social media accounts on average. With over 4.2 billion and growing internet users (more than half the world’s population of 7.6 billion people), social media is an incredibly powerful tool to reach a wide audience. Establishing a space of your own in the social media landscape allows your business to dictate public perception of your brand. Over time (when utilized effectively) social media marketing can also increase engagement and help you win new consumers.
Don’t trust the success of your business to any old partner. Contact MARION today to schedule a consultation with an award winning marketing company in Houston and Austin.
Originally published at www.marion.com on November 5, 2018.
