Today, social media is becoming a must-have element in the overall marketing strategy
of many companies.
More than 90% of marketers use social media in their campaigns.
77% of fortune 500 companies have active twitter accounts and 70% of them
have active Facebook pages.
Regardless of their size, businesses can utilize social media to
communicate with customers about new products or the launch of a promotion.
Unlike traditional marketing methods, social media allows marketing departments
to engage in two-way dialogue with their customers.
Instead of pushing out one-way broadcasts, organisations are turning to social media
to learn about their customers through meaningful interactions. Moreover,
marketing departments are using social media to build online communities
and turn customers into brand ambassadors.
This is particularly important for small businesses, as they often grow their business
from small circles of loyal customers.
Using multiple platforms like Facebook, Youtube, Google+ and Twitter,
businesses can target niche markets and reach specific demographics.
Social media also increases the visibility of brands, allowing them to reach
untapped markets through the exposure or virality of their content.
When businesses share entertaining lifestyle content or educational material that
resonates with customers, their customers will share that content with their social
networks, increasing brand awareness.
An organization’s own employees are some of the best people to amplify content
and support marketing initiatives.
Organizations can encourage and empower employees to amplify key marketing content
with their networks allowing them to showcase their expertise.
For example, By resharing new whitepapers or digital campaigns to their personal
social networks, employees can leverage their personal networks and help increase
the exposure of key company content and support marketing initiatives.
Social media can be an extremely effective tool for brands in managing a PR crisis.
It allows them to quickly perform damage control and provides them with the
opportunity to take control of the story early on.
Companies can also proactively track brand sentiment, allowing them to
keep up with what’s being said about them from around the world.
Whether it’s through blog posts, tweets, or videos, social media enables
marketing departments to increase brand exposure, gain a better understanding
of customers and support their broader marketing campaigns more effectively.