January 21st, 2016
If you don't already have a social media marketing strategy in place, you need to get on it. Social media is one of the most important digital marketing tactics nowadays, and if you don't believe it, consider the following.
Social Media Has Become Part of People's Daily Lives.
Social networks are now a big part of the consumer's life. In fact, 63% of Millennials say that they stay up to date on brands through social networks; 51% say social media influences their purchase decisions, and 46% count on it when buying online. In other words, those tweets and Facebook statuses may seem silly, but they can have a real effect.
It Can Generate Real Customers.
It's not necessarily easy, but social networks can be directly used to generate customers. In fact, a recent study found that about 5% of marketers have produced a customer via Twitter. Now, 5% may not sound like much, but that's one in 20 marketers.
It Doesn't Take Much to Get Results.
The best part about social media marketing is that it doesn't take much to get real results. One study found that about 74% of brand marketers saw an increase in web traffic after investing only six hours a week in their clients' social networks.
There are other strategies out there. About 50% of all mobile searches are done in the hopes of finding local results, 61% of which result in a purchase. Content marketing also generates three times as many leads as traditional marketing tactics do but costs a staggering 62% less. What's more, personalized emails improve click-through rates by 14% and conversion rates by 10%.
However, social media cannot be neglected. A brand is far less engaging if they're not taking advantage of the platform, and if a brand isn't appealing, it's going to be hard to build customer loyalty.