5 reasons why your business needs social media.
17 May 2023 | 5 minute read
We live in a world that has fast become digital and it has become more important, now than ever before, for businesses to have a digital presence, particularly a social media presence.
Not because it will make your business seem cool, relevant, and appealing to the Gen-Z’s - because apparently one of the reasons a lot of businesses are still not on social media is because they believe it’s for young people - but because social media has become one of the most effective marketing, branding and communication tools there is today for businesses.
According to the detailed analysis by the team at Kepios (https://kepios.com/), as of April 2023, there were 4,80 billion social media users in the world - 59,9% of the global population! Let that sink in.
At the time of their report, they also found that 150 million new users had joined social media over the course of the past 12 months.
If these numbers alone aren’t enough reason to convince you to leverage social media for your business, here are 5 reasons why your business needs social media.
1. Increases Brand Awareness
Brand awareness, as the phrase implies, refers to how aware people are about the existence of your brand and how recognizable it is. Social media allows for businesses to establish this effectively because your posts can reach millions of people in real-time and with consistent posting and messaging, your audience soon begins to know it’s you even just at a glance. The right social media marketing strategy and ad placement will also have your brand be top of mind when people think about purchasing the products or services you offer.
2. Improves Customer Engagement
Unlike traditional media that supports one-way communication, social media allows for conversation. Likes, comments, and re-shares, which are metrics that social media uses to measure engagement, allow for businesses to see what is working and what isn’t. A lot of businesses are afraid of this because it opens room for negative feedback to be shared publicly, and we get it. However, imagine not knowing that your customers aren’t happy with your product or service and continuing to invest money into it and not taking their needs into consideration. They will simply move on to the next. So as daunting as it might be, having an open communication line with your customers and engaging with them, benefits you a lot more than you think.
3. Cost-Effective
With the knowledge that more than half of the global population is on social media, you can understand why social media marketing is one of the most cost-effective marketing tools. Another reason why this is, is because setting up a social media account costs nothing but a few megabytes, and paid social media posts allow you to reach your exact target audience, anywhere in the world, for a fraction of the money you’d pay for other forms of traditional advertising - for as little as R150, you could reach 2000 people on Instagram.
Social media also allows you to track the effectiveness of your ads and marketing efforts quite efficiently, which allows you to adjust your strategy accordingly and redirect your budget before the money is wasted.
4. Boosts Social SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization and it is a process in which a website is optimized and set up such that it is favourable and ranks high in search results. A high search ranking is usually achieved through text-based features like keywords, alt-text, and captions. Although social media platforms are not search engines, they do however have search bars, and that is what social SEO speaks to. The first step in our social media marketing process is usually optimizing our client’s social media pages so that they appear high in the results when people are searching for companies like theirs. The easiest way to do this is by including keywords in their bios and using location tags.
5. Builds Brand Credibility
Brand credibility refers to people’s perception of your business or company, and your online presence contributes largely to this perception. Your company could produce the best skincare product there is on the market, but if potential customers perceive your company as incapable of such quality, then you’re in trouble. Social media is a great tool to build your brand credibility because when a potential customer lands on your page or sees your post on their feed and they see high-quality and value-adding content, you’re easily deemed credible. Using social media marketing strategies like influencer marketing are also great ways to boost your brand credibility because when potential customers see people they trust talking about your brand and sharing their experience with it, it immediately, to great extent, establishes you as trustworthy and credible.
“Influencer marketing has to be one of the most genius things to come out of social media and too many businesses are still not taking advantage of it, and they should.”
-Lebogang Ntsiea
So, if social media was at the bottom of your priority list, we hope it’s gotten a little higher now and that you’re already making means and plans to get your business on social media and take advantage of the many benefits it provides. Luckily, if you don’t know where to start, you don’t have to look far because social media marketing is our thing.
Book a call with us or send us an email at hello@reabopacreatives.co.za and let us get started on helping your brand tell its story.
