Social Media Marketing (SMM)
In a world where connectivity is king, social media marketing has emerged as the undisputed ruler, transforming the way businesses engage with their audience. A staggering 4.95 billion people – nearly 61% of the global population – are active social media users. This mind-boggling statistic underscores the undeniable influence and reach of social media platforms, making them an integral part of any successful marketing strategy.
So, what exactly does social media marketing (SMM) mean? In essence, it’s the dynamic art of leveraging social media platforms to not only connect, but also to captivate your audience, build your brand, and propel your business to new heights. Let’s explore the benefits of social media marketing and the top five platforms where businesses can truly shine—Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest.
What Is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing involves the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic. It encompasses activities such as posting text and image updates, videos, and other content that sparks user engagement. The primary goal is to create a strong online presence, fostering a sense of community around your brand.
Benifts Of Social Media Marketing (SMM)
Social media does more than traditional ads and brings many advanced technological features. From expansive brand exposure to direct, real-time interactions, the advantages are as diverse as the platforms themselves.
Increased brand exposure: Social media provides a global stage for businesses to showcase their products or services, reaching a vast audience effortlessly.
Direct customer interaction: Platforms like Facebook and Twitter enable direct communication with customers, facilitating real-time feedback and building stronger relationships.
Cost-effective advertising: Compared to traditional advertising, social media marketing is often more budget-friendly, offering targeted advertising options that ensure your message reaches the right audience.
Improved website traffic: Sharing content on social media drives traffic to your website, increasing the chances of conversions and boosting your search engine rankings.
Enhanced brand loyalty: Regular interaction and engagement on social media create a sense of community, fostering loyalty among your audience.
Why It Is Important For Local Businesses
Small businesses are constantly trying to find new ways to gain exposure and improve their marketing plans. While some business owners may still be resistant to the idea, statistics prove that consumers are on social media, making it a great space to increase brand awareness and promote content.
According to Statista, there are more than 5 billion active social media users worldwide in 2024 and that number is expected to increase to nearly 6 billion by 2027. Here are some reasons why a social media presence is essential for small businesses.
Why your business needs a social media presence
There are many reasons that your business should have a presence on social media other than that everyone is doing it (although that is also a valid reason). These compelling benefits will convince you to set up those social media accounts and work them with regular posts and interaction with followers.
Social media increases brand awareness.
Social media is no longer a place to connect and socialize with friends and family. Social media recommendations can sell products and services, for instance, generating 88 percent of consumer purchases, according to Gitnux. Data from Meta also shows that 83 percent of Instagram users say they discover new brands while using the platform. Those users are then able to share posts with friends, increasing brand awareness further.
Social posts drive traffic to your website.
Social media platforms allow small businesses to drive traffic to their website. For instance, on Instagram, you can post the URL to your website in your account bio and direct users to this link via a post on your feed or story. Giving users a taste of what your business has to offer through posts on your feed will intrigue consumers to want to know more about your brand.
Social platforms help you promote content.
Since there are multiple popular social platforms out there, that translates into more ways for small businesses to promote content. Whether they favor Instagram stories or Facebook Messenger, businesses have options to express their creative side and showcase their expertise. For example, providing stats and fun facts about the products you are selling or services that you are providing can prove to viewers your business is worth taking a chance on.
Social media remains a valuable communication avenue.
When it comes to small businesses or any business, it’s better to have too many than too few methods for communicating with your customer base. Mailing addresses, phone calls, email and contact forms on websites are all helpful, but if the customer has a quick question to ask or wants to share the good news about their order arriving earlier than anticipated, they tend to do this through platforms like Twitter and Instagram. The real-time advantages of social platforms allow your business to engage with your customers promptly. You don’t have to be on every platform, but it’s helpful to have a few active accounts where you know your customers can be found.
Social platforms allow you to better understand your customers.
Who are your customers? If you don’t know, social platforms like Facebook and Instagram can help you aggregate data and define your target market. This isn’t exactly news to any small business already doing that, but those who think they can skip social media may be missing out on potential leads and an audience interested in investing in its products and services.
Social media keeps you a step ahead of your competitors.
While a small business shouldn’t copy every move that their competition makes, they should be mindful of where their competitors are at and what they’re up to. If your competition engages its customers actively through social media, they have the advantage of being able to boast about that presence.
Simply by having active social media profiles, you’re doing your business a favor and increasing its visibility through search result pages. As mentioned earlier, you don’t need to plaster your business on every social platform â Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, YouTube â to show that you’re active. CNBC reports that sites like Instagram and WhatsApp continue to remain popular with their user base. Go to the sites where your brand’s voice will be at its strongest and able to engage with customers while still getting its overall message across.
The social networks your business should be on
Each social network is somewhat different in its audience demographics, content types and uses. Here are some of the most popular platforms:
There are several features of Facebook that small businesses should take full advantage of. Aside from creating a page for your business, the platform also allows you to further promote content by sharing posts on your feed and in your daily stories. In addition to that, businesses can create groups that attract like-minded people and other businesses. Use Facebook ads to promote brands and reach audiences that might be interested in your product. One of the most unique features Facebook provides is Facebook Messenger, which businesses can use to interact with, provide support to and send frequent updates to customers.
Instagram
Much like Facebook, Instagram can be used to promote your business. Followers can view bright and vibrant photos of your brand as they scroll through their feed, accompanied by captions, tags and hashtags. There are also various types of ads you can experiment with, such as photo, video, carousel and story ads. If viewers see something they like about your brand, they can share posts easily with friends via their own Instagram accounts or through direct messages.
XX is known for its tweets, which are microposts with a 280-character limit through which users can say what’s on their mind in a brief amount of space. Tweets can be a great way for small businesses to create a consistent voice that aligns with their values, engages with potential consumers and reaches a particular demographic. Posting tweets to your feed gives you a chance to interact with customers who have mentioned your business on their personal pages, whether in the form of positive reviews or negative ones. Twitter can also track your analytics so that your company can see what is working and what isn’t.
LinkedInLinkedIn serves as the world’s largest professional network. The platform allows companies to showcase the products and services they provide directly on their LinkedIn business profile, giving viewers an automatic idea of what your business has to offer. With the help of the platform’s “About” section, you can showcase the voice behind your brand. Brands can even post customers’ past reviews of their products or services on their profiles as free advertising.
TikTokTikTok is a social network that consists of short videos uploaded from mobile devices. Although it is possible to upload videos as long as 30 minutes, most videos on TikTok are either 15 seconds or one minute long. While TikTok lends itself to entertainment, such as dancing and comedy, it can also be used for short videos with advice, education and selling products. Successful TikTok marketing tends to be lighthearted, not a traditional sales approach with product features and benefits. TikTok is controversial since it is controlled by a Chinese company and there have been several attempts by the United States government to ban it.
ThreadsThreads is a relatively new social media platform created by Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram and is intended to compete with X for users and advertisers. It allows users to log in using their Instagram accounts but, rather than the heavily visual content common on Instagram, they can post text up to 500 characters. Threads users can also include links, photos and videos up to five minutes long in their posts. Because of its integration with Instagram, it is easy to share posts from one platform to the other.