Why Social Media Needs to Be a Part of Your Marketing Mix

In today’s digital age, social media has become an essential part of our lives and the marketing mix. With billions of users worldwide, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn offer businesses an opportunity to connect with their target audience and engage with them on a personal level. Both organic and Paid Social media have revolutionized the way businesses interact with their customers, allowing them to create brand awareness, build relationships, and drive sales through targeted advertising and content marketing. In this blog, we’ll explore the importance of social media marketing and why businesses need social media as part of their marketing mix. 

Ready to take your social media strategy to the next level? Start incorporating paid social media into your marketing mix today and see the difference it can make for your business! Get in touch today and see how we can help.

The Importance of Social Media Marketing

From increased brand awareness to improved customer service, social media can help businesses to achieve their marketing goals and gain a competitive advantage in today’s fast-paced marketplace. So, let’s dive in and explore the benefits of social media marketing!

Increased Brand Awareness

Social media allows businesses to expand their reach and connect with a broader audience. By creating and sharing engaging content on social media platforms, businesses can increase their brand awareness and reach new customers. Social media also allows businesses to connect with their existing customers, foster relationships, and create brand loyalty by creating an online community for their audience.

Cost-Effective Marketing

Social media is one of the most cost-effective marketing channels available to businesses. Creating a social media account is free and companies can reach a vast audience without spending money on advertising ( although for optimal results it is always better to enhance your organic social efforts with paid social activity). Social media advertising is also an affordable way to promote products or services to a specific audience. Businesses can create targeted ads based on demographics, interests, and behaviours, allowing them to reach the right people with their message. You can read more about the benefits of paid and organic social here.

Increased Website Traffic

Social media can drive traffic to a business’s website, increasing the chances of generating leads and conversions. By including links to their website in their social media posts, businesses can direct their followers to their websites, where they can learn more about their products or services. Social media is also fantastic for getting lost customers back to your website. By retargeting website visitors, abandoned baskets, customer lists and email subscribers, you can win back potential lost revenue. Retargeting ads are the most used among marketers, with 77% of B2B and B2C marketers alike saying they use retargeting as part of their Facebook and Instagram advertising strategies.

Customer Engagement

Social media platforms are able to help with customer satisfaction levels and engagement in a number of ways. Social media allows businesses to engage with their customers on a personal level at each stage of their journey. By responding to comments and messages, businesses can show that they care about their customers and value their feedback, making them feel special. Social media also allows businesses to gather feedback and insights from their customers, helping them to improve their products or services and provide a better customer experience.

Competitive Advantage

Over the past few years, social media has become a very competitive landscape and businesses that do not have a social media presence risk falling behind their competitors. Meta says they have more than 3 million active advertisers using its platforms. By creating a strong social media presence, businesses can gain a competitive advantage and differentiate themselves from their competitors. Social media can also help businesses to monitor their competitors’ activities and stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends and developments.

Brand Personality

Social media allows businesses to showcase their brand personality and connect with their audience on a more personal level. By creating engaging content that reflects their brand values and personality, businesses can build a strong brand identity and foster a loyal following. Social media also allows businesses to showcase their employees, products and culture, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the company and building trust with their audience.  Growing customer loyalty is not only great for your community and marketing efforts, returning customers spend up to 67 percent more on average than new customers – meaning your CLV a nice boost too!

Improved Customer Service

Social media allows businesses to provide fast and efficient customer service, responding to customer inquiries and complaints in real time. 33% of internet users would rather contact a brand via social media than call them. By providing timely and helpful responses, businesses can build customer trust and improve their reputation. Social media also allows businesses to provide customer service outside of traditional business hours, providing 24/7 support to their customers.

Analytics and Insights

Social media platforms provide businesses with valuable analytics and insights, allowing them to track their performance and improve their marketing efforts. By analyzing engagement rates, reach, and conversion rates, businesses can determine which content resonates with their audience and adjust their strategy accordingly. Social media analytics can also help businesses to identify their most valuable customers and create targeted campaigns to retain them.

How Social Media Can Impact your campaigns: The Messy Middle

The “messy middle” refers to the complex decision-making process that consumers go through before making a purchase. Social media plays a crucial role in the messy middle by allowing businesses to connect with consumers at different stages of the decision-making process.

In the awareness stage, businesses can use social media to generate brand awareness and introduce their products or services to potential customers. By creating engaging content and leveraging social media advertising, businesses can reach a vast audience and increase their visibility.

Once users are ‘triggered’ to start the research process, they enter a phase of exploring and evaluating. Sometimes the path from awareness to purchase is short, skipping the research phase completely. Other times customers can spend weeks, even months there. In the research or consideration stage, social media can help businesses to provide more detailed information about their products or services, answer customer questions, and address concerns. By providing valuable content, such as how-to guides, product reviews, and customer testimonials, businesses can help customers make informed decisions and move closer to making a purchase.

In the decision stage, social media can help businesses to close the sale by providing special offers, discounts and promotions to encourage customers to take action. By creating a sense of urgency and providing a clear call to action, businesses can increase the chances of converting potential customers into paying customers. Ads targeting abandoned baskets or highly engaged audiences can help you gain more sales through paid social.

The Benefits of Social Media for Businesses Are Obvious

Overall, social media can play a significant role in your marketing mix by allowing businesses to connect with consumers at different stages of the decision-making process and influence their purchasing decisions. By developing a social media strategy that targets customers at each stage of the journey, businesses can increase their chances of converting potential customers into loyal customers.

Social media has become an essential part of the marketing mix for businesses of all sizes. By leveraging social media platforms, businesses can increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, engage with customers, gain a competitive advantage, showcase their brand personality, improve customer service, and gain valuable analytics and insights. However, it’s essential to develop a social media strategy that aligns with business goals. If you’re looking to improve your social media game, speak to our experts today!