First thing first… If you want to grow your business in this digital age, your business needs a digital and or social media presence. This is true whether you are a freelance business or a large corporation, Social Media and investment in digital marketing is a crucial spoke in your company’s wheel…. Why is Social Media so important to us, as a Michigan based SEO Agency? Well, not only is Social Media an important part of your branding and business promotions, social media plays a small part in your website’s SEO and SEM marketing campaign and strategy. Social media and the associated “social shares” of your content, tells Google your content is worth taking a look at. However, you need to present your website content in such a way that others are willing to share. Let’s dive in on your social media strategy independent of SEO as well.
89% of the North American population is online. With everything turning digital today, more and more companies are ditching traditional marketing spend and investing in digital marketing services. This being said, if you don’t know where to get started, social media is a great start.
Obviously right? Even grandma is posting pictures of the kids on Facebook. However, learning how to leverage the amazing tools all of the platforms have is crucial to your business’s success.
Social Media platforms help you connect with your community and customers as well as increased awareness about your brand. All of this increases your brand reach and foothold in the digital landscape.
One of the biggest problems we see with the social media presence of local businesses, is they understand the importance, create accounts yet leave their platforms neglected and stale. In order to capture where your customers are, you have to engage them with content. More than half of online users will consume 3-5 pieces of content before making a purchase. Social Media is a great place to display content to grab the number one priority in your marketing strategy. Your target market’s attention.
You don’t need to know all the answers. Just get started, and you will be well on your way to learning a fun and rewarding skill! Taking control of your digital marketing strategy for 2020!
Here are some very important reasons you need to up your social media game in 2020.
ESTABLISH AUTHORITY
Your content on social media showcases you are the subject matter expert in your niche, and you are establishing authority in your field. As we mentioned above, online users and potential customers are consuming many forms of content and researching their future purchases. Whether that is for a product or a service, they are doing their research. In addition, your social media presence will register in search engine results, and tell your customer how established you really are.
Through content history, consistency, content quality and consumer engagement are just a few aspects that may sway purchasing decisions. Will your customers find a hollow social media page, or a great resource of information about the product or service they are searching for, with engaging, eye-catching content? What’s equally important is, having a robust social media presence is like nailing that all-critical first impression. Is your brand an authority? Does your brand portray a knowledgeable presence? Moreover, Is your brand approachable?
Find ways to post frequent content that displays this authority. Expand your expertise and talk about what your company offers and values. Do all of this with creativity, using eye-catching graphics, VIDEO and written word. Create content that encourages engagement. This will build confidence in your customers and repeat business.
BUILD AWARENESS
If online users are not aware of your business, or worse yet, can’t find you, they won’t become YOUR customers. They will become your competitor’s customers. Social media will enhance your online visibility among potential customers. However, this use of media will allow you to reach a wide audience without spending tens of thousands of dollars like traditional marketing practices. With social media advertisement tools, which we will cover in a future tutorial, you are able to engage specific audiences, avoiding reaching irrelevant audiences, saving you that hard-earned money.
Defining a social media strategy is critical in this process. Define clear goals in what you want to accomplish. Whether that is building your brand, or driving more customers through your doors, keeping your social media strategy specific will help you establish what media channels are the most relevant for your business goals.
DISPLAY YOUR AUTHENTICITY
A great side effect of your business social media accounts is its ability to showcase your authenticity. You can communicate to the world who you are as a business and showcase your products or services in a way that breaks up mundane sales tactics. Customers don’t like stale, dry content. Rather, displaying your business in ways that connect with your target market will yield the most return on your investments. This is done through humor, motivational, informational, etc. Display who you really are and what your values are.
EVOLVE AND ENGAGE!
The ever-changing dynamic of social media platforms can be intimidating for some business owners, or downright cumbersome and time-consuming to establish consistent social media campaigns. Don’t fear! You don’t need to be an expert. If you have the budget, hire a professional like our agency at NavWork, Michigan SEO and Michigan Social Media Management. However, you still can lead a successful campaign, if you are willing to evolve and learn as you go.
Your target market is unique. Therefore, what will work for one business niche, may not work for yours. Finding your groove and what your customer’s preferences are is among one of the major pillars in your social media strategy. Finding ways that will create an opportunity to engage your audience is crucial. This takes time, research and investment. However, once you find it, you will really reap the benefits.
You don’t need to be a professional photographer or videographer to create engaging content. Good lighting and a smartphone go a long way. Start creating content and evolve with the trends.
HELP THOSE CUSTOMERS!
How frustrating is bad customer service?! Very… Nothing can decline sales like poor customer service and or support. Social media has busted down the barriers that stood between customers and businesses beyond the formal lines of communication. Social media platforms offer a direct connection to your customers and the community you do business in. Grow a reputation of being supportive, and responsive.
Online reviews DO MATTER today and can greatly affect your standing in the digital pecking order among your competitors. Social media provides you with a great tool to really increase this customer service for your brand. Develop a systematic way to track customer concerns, questions and comments so you can improve your product. How useful is that!
INCREASE YOUR ROI!
This is the greatest moment in time to be in business in terms of marketing capabilities. Think print ads. How much money do you think your business would waste by mass-producing a print ad and using traditional outlets? How much of that would literally go in the trash from customers who were never interested in learning about what you offer?
With social media advertising tools, you are able to target and retarget potential customers based on age, sex, income, occupation, interests, location, etc. Very powerful tools, that help you concentrate your marketing budget on the audience that is most relevant to you.
Though it isn’t as easy as it sounds, with enough patience and research, any business owner can create effective ad campaigns that will increase your ROI. Creating great content, and promoting this through specific channels, in a variety of methods will give you the opportunity to test what works, and what doesn’t. Once you have developed a great working model that works for your specific niche and audience, you are off and running!
Feel free to contact the professionals at NavWork Michigan Digital Marketing for advice and or consultation of services to supercharge your digital presence.
How has social media impacted your business? We would love to read your story.
List how social media impacted your business in the comments!
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