We come to the third installment on the importance of social media marketing in today's economy from Adobe. Remember we discussed that there are many advantages to social media marketing, including brand recognition, audience engagement, and increased website traffic. Businesses failing to use social media marketing successfully are missing out on what could be a valuable part of their overall marketing strategy. This week we will outline the last 5 benefits of SMM:
11. Retarget missed customers
12. Learn about your audience
13. Build partnerships
14. Keep up with industry trends
15. Acquire talent
11. Retarget missed customers
Suppose a customer is on your website and they’ve added a product to their cart, but for some reason they don’t buy. With social media marketing, you can retarget this customer to engage them again to complete their purchase — or at least keep your brand on their mind. Industry research has found that the average online shopping cart abandonment rate is nearly 70%, and $18 billion in sales revenue is lost annually from shopping carts left behind. With online shopping, you have a second chance to secure a customer through social media, since 3 out of 4 shoppers notice these retargeted ads and more than a quarter (26%) will click on them and return to your website.
On Facebook, the Meta Pixel is installed on your website, and it collects data about your shoppers, including items they’ve abandoned. This data is synced with a Facebook profile. Dynamic product ads show customers the exact items they left behind and give them a push to go back to your website to complete their purchase.
12. Learn about your audience
Reading what your customers say about your brand on social media can be a valuable way to get a feel for your products, promotions, popularity, and more. You can use the data on which posts perform well to help you get an idea of what your customers like — and vice versa. This is called social listening.
By keeping an eye on social media, you can have an ear on customer conversations. This way you stay in the loop on what’s trending and how to better adjust your brand to fit consumer needs. You can address pain points people are experiencing by analyzing problems they post about, as well as areas of interest.
For example, maybe your target audience is posting about how more brands should donate profits to meaningful causes. You can respond to this need by sharing information on what your organization is doing to give back and make a difference.
13. Build partnerships
Social media allows you to connect with other companies working in the same space or in similar spaces that align with your business goals. It also offers the opportunity to partner with influencers who can help promote your brand. Customer reviews are an important part of brand trust and engagement. When people share information about your product on social media, you gain credibility, build brand awareness, and even can increase sales.
There are endless possibilities for connection on social media. More than 1.8 billion people use Facebook Groups each month, and there are tens of millions of groups to choose from. This is an effective way to find business partners and find people to collaborate with your business. LinkedIn is a professional platform and serves as a great opportunity to meet potential business partners, employees, employers, or collaborators. With more than 467 million members, you have plenty of opportunities for collaboration.
Twitter is another way to reach the right people. The platform’s List function creates groups of people that may meet your social media goals, helping you engage with those prospective business partners. Instagram is one of the best platforms to reach content creators and collaborators. Influencer marketing is projected to become a nearly$16.4 billion space this year. Instagram creators can add brands to their preferred brands list to indicate the companies they would like to collaborate with.
14. Keep up with industry trends
Following other brands or influencers will show you what’s happening in your industry. Through social media, people can see real-time conversations between customers and businesses alike. Your target audience’s social media content can help you keep up with industry trends. For example, maybe #winterwear could help you find the content creators and influencers you need to promote your business.
Paying attention to social media can show you what your customers are interested in and where your brand could improve to meet their needs. Using customer data is one of the best ways you can channel your content to meet people’s needs. It is important to keep an eye on words, phrases, and hashtags associated with your industry, but seeing real numbers will give you a better idea of what your customers are invested in.
15. Acquire talent
Traditional talent acquisition methods are expensive and time-consuming, but social media offers a cost-effective and easy method of reaching the people your brand needs to succeed. The 2021 Future of Recruiting Study found that 86% of job seekers use social media as part of their job search. Social media platforms have tools in place to help companies find the right candidates and candidates find the right companies.
LinkedIn is built for professionals and has a lot of free tools for recruiters, although many of them require a premium account. It has a native video meeting feature that can help you set up interviews with candidates. According to a report from LinkedIn, an estimated 49% of people use social media to stay aware of job opportunities, and the platform is a proven way to meet like-minded or qualified professionals.
Other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and even TikTok also offer features or pathways to post open jobs or job-seeking messages, helping recruiters and applicants find and connect with each other.
Improve your social media marketing today
Through these last three weeks, what did we learn about social media marketing? Obviously there are many benefits from brand recognition and audience engagement to customer service, competitor or industry analysis, and generating ROI. Consider which benefits sound most helpful to your brand, make a list of the top three, and prioritize the order of importance to get started right away.
Need more help with your social media marketing? Reach out to HD Print & Marketing today.
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