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Social Media Presence: Why Businesses Need It to Grow

Posted: December 13, 2018
By: Janet A Johnson

Of all the innovations that postdated the introduction of the internet, social media is perhaps the biggest. Yes, in terms of market size or just the sheer number of people making use of it. Social media presence has seen a remarkable increase in recent years, so much so that the saying “social media is growing like wildfire” now seems like an understatement. The increase in the number of internet users and the rise in the number of social media platforms are two of the factors responsible for this rapid growth.

Social Media as a Business Marketing Tool

Here’s a fact for you. According to Statista, the number of social media users has increased from a little less than a billion in 2010 to about 2.6 billion in 2018. Looking at this alone, it is easy to see the potential in using social media marketing to boost business growth.

According to a report from Social Media Examiner, about 97 percent of marketers are participating in social media, even though about 85 percent of them are not sure of the best social media strategy to use.

Having a social media presence has affected the business world in a remarkable way. According to Hubspot, about 92 percent of marketers claimed that social media helped their businesses gain more exposure. Also, over 50 percent of marketers using social media for at least 3 years have indicated that it helped them increase sales.

Importance Of Social Media Presence On Business Growth

Let’s face it, social media has come to stay, and if you have not joined the trend, you run the risk of being kicked out of the moving business train. Social media has long passed the point of being “the future” or “the next big thing.” It is now the in-thing as well as the future, so if you still think it is the next big thing, then your business is already at a huge disadvantage. Let’s look at some of the benefits social media will bring to your business.

Build Brand Awareness

The simple truth is that, if people don’t know about your business, then you can’t attract them as customers no matter what your package is. It is, therefore, imperative that you take advantage of every opportunity to increase the visibility of your brand. What better way to do this than using social media that is accessible to all and is currently being used by almost everyone?

In the US alone, about 81 percent of the population had a social networking profile as of 2017. Putting this stat into a more businesslike term, you can say that your business could be visible to about 81 percent of the US population if you use social media platforms for marketing. Impressive right? Wait until you see the other benefits.

Improve Customer Loyalty

Customer loyalty is one of the most important factors – if not the most important one – that affect the growth of a business. If you want to see a higher level of loyalty from your customers, then engage your business in various social media channels. If your customers follow your brand on different social media platforms, they are more likely to remain loyal to your brand. This is further reiterated in a study made by Convince&Convert that indicates that about 55 percent of Americans that follow brands on their social networks are more loyal to the brands.

Decreased Cost of Marketing

One of the biggest advantages of social media marketing is the decrease in the cost of marketing. You can start your marketing on any social media network without paying a dime. Yes, you read that right. You can multiply sales without having to pay anything. All you need is time to set up a profile for your business and then you can develop your content every day.

This is where you can decide to get a social media manager for your business; someone whose job is to manage the social media presence of your business and interact with customers if needs be.  Therefore, you can reach out to all your customers at a lower marketing cost than traditional marketing means.

Enhanced Search Engine Rankings

Social media presence has become a vital factor in calculating SEO rankings today. You cannot overemphasize the importance of a good SEO ranking – we will cover that on another article later – Nowadays, it is simply not enough to update your blog regularly or optimize your site, you need a social media presence that will give your brand an authority and validate its integrity.

Final Thoughts

Perhaps you don’t know this, but your competitors are already involved on social media, so they are currently poaching your potential social media traffic. Also, the potential losses are quite insignificant, as the amount of money and time you need to start reaping the benefits are minimal. The longer you wait the more you lose, so don’t stand idly by while your competition converts your potential traffic. Be vigilant and stay informed about social media trends and use them to use them to your advantage today!