SMM (Social Media Marketing) uses social platforms as channels to promote a brand, increase the target audience, drive traffic to the site and increase sales. Social networks are the backbone of SMM.

Why is social media so important for business?

Social media marketing is the easiest way to reach a large audience. Currently, half of the world's population, 3.8 billion people, use social media. Moreover, this number is constantly growing - since 2019, the number of users has grown by 9.2%.

Social platforms are essential for building brand awareness. According to Hootsuite, 52% of online businesses are found on social media. This is where most people learn about new brands.

In 2019, Internet users spent about 2 hours and 24 minutes daily on social networks. In 2020, this time already increased by 1.4%. Therefore, social platforms open up great opportunities to attract the target audience and build long-term relationships.

According to Oberlo, 54% of users search for products on social media before making a purchase. This means that the buyer's journey increasingly begins with Facebook, Instagram, Vkontakte, and other platforms. In this regard, the influence of social networks on sales is growing every year.

Benefits of social networks

• Increasing brand awareness

• Traffic growth

• Fast and easy promotion of content

• Regular interaction with the target audience

• Industry, market, and competitor research

In addition to access to an audience of millions and close interaction with customers. Here are the main ones.

Increasing brand awareness

According to statistics, 71% of customers who have had a positive experience with a brand on a social network recommend the company to their family and friends. Therefore, it is essential to create accounts on different social platforms to reach as many potential buyers as possible. Use those communication channels where your target audience is.

Traffic growth

While many social media platforms allow brands to sell their products without going to a website or landing page, they are still considered a great way to drive traffic. For example, 11% of all mobile website traffic is generated by social platforms.

Fast and easy promotion of content

If you use content marketing to promote your business, social media will help you reach your target audience. People always share valuable and interesting information with their friends on social networks. Often, users are not limited to one platform, which contributes to the growth of your target audience.

Social media marketing is a great way to inform customers about special offers. Social networks help quickly and cheaply educate the target audience about promotions and sweepstakes, although most users prefer to receive promotional messages by email. To suit their preferences, use SendPulse to create email campaigns. With the help of the service, you can also combine email and SMM.

Regular interaction with the target audience

With half of the world's population using social media for almost three hours a day, SMM is the best way to engage with your audience. After all, the brand is already where your customers spend their time.

Moreover, social media marketing is an effective marketing channel for getting feedback. You can analyze reviews, likes, repost comments, and other metrics. If your customers have had a bad buying experience, they are more likely to let you know via social media than email or phone. This allows you to respond in time and retain a specific client and attract others.

Industry, market, and competitor research

Social media gives you the ability to track customer satisfaction, trends, and the activities of your competitors. Analysis of the latest industry news provides additional content ideas. For example, you can get a new topic to discuss with your followers.

And tracking the activities of competitors helps improve your product and enhance your SMM strategy.

Goals of social media marketing

With the help of SMM, you can achieve different goals - it all depends on your marketing strategy. Here are the most popular ones:

• increasing the level of involvement;

• sales and lead generation ;

• customer retention ;

• increase in website traffic;

• expansion of the target audience;

• collecting feedback;

• negative feedback management;

• tracking trends and competitors;

• increasing brand awareness;

• consumer demand research.

Clearly define your goals to develop an effective SMM strategy and create relevant content for your target audience.

marketing

What is SMM? - Management