Social Media has easily become one of the most important and cost-effective ways to market an organization, but how? The cost-effective marketing strategy has become a staple for businesses of all sizes, overshadowing traditional marketing. The traditional forms of marketing have typically been television, radio and print, but at this point digital marketing is more than a trend. The broad use of Social Media with more than three billion users allows companies to grow in ways they couldn’t before.

You’re probably familiar with the Big 5 when it comes to social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube (sometimes Google+). With more platforms becoming popular, it’s important to find out which would be the best fit for your organization’s needs. Let’s take a look at the top reasons social media has become a staple for businesses.

Targeted Advertising

With targeting options including demographic information, geography, language or browsing behaviors, you can design your ads and messaging to a specific audience. Ads on social media are less expensive than print, radio or television spots and go to exactly who you want to speak with.

In addition to targeting the audience by who the ad shows up in front of, there is a creative aspect that becomes an advantage. If you’re advertising on Facebook or Instagram, you can run multiple versions of an ad to see which photos, copy or graphics are performing best. With advertising availability on almost every platform, you can choose which is best and not waste time elsewhere.

Social media is often used to drive traffic elsewhere. If you’re pushing for website views, use an organic post (which is a post that isn’t paid for) that links back to your landing page. If you want to generate leads, link back to the form you’re looking to be filled out. If you’re selling an item, link directly to your store. Using a mix of organic posts and sponsored or paid advertising will maximize your budget.

Brand Awareness

Social media makes you visible. You have the potential to show up in front of millions of potential clients. There are tons of ways to make sure your brand is consistent, authentic and engaging—all things a consumer is looking for. If your company is known for interesting posts, answering questions and comments, or doing philanthropic giveaways, you are setting yourself apart from your competition who may not be doing those things as well as you.

Social media is the place for discovery. Most users are willing to read reviews, browse profiles and click on ads for companies they have never heard of. Connect with your potential and current customers by adding a “face” to your brand. This human aspect of being involved in the brand welcomes users and increases awareness.

Engagement

People love to feel important. If a person is taking time to interact with your social media accounts, they are willing to be a customer. By creating content that users can interact with, you are giving them a reason to follow and continue coming back. While it can feel time consuming to have to respond to each and every person, there are other ways to fuel this engagement. A “like” or “favorite” can go a long way; so follow other brands along with your followers and be a conversation starter.

Once you begin to consistently create engaging content, your followers will also help fuel the conversation. The other form of engagement comes in likes, shares and retweets. The more engaged your audience is, the more likely they are to share your posts – which results in even more eyes, for no cost.

Social media can feel like a big task, and in some ways it is. However, once you have a strategy in place, the return on this small investment speaks for itself. If you aren’t sure where to start or you’re having trouble being creative, it may be worth the investment in hiring an expert. TriAd Marketing & Media offers a full-range of social media and content creation services that are tailored to each client. Contact us and see how we can boost your social media strategy!