9 Reasons why Social Media Marketing is Important for every Business – Big or Small

Did your day begin with a couple of notifications, some mindless scrolling and a slight chuckle at some meme or forward received on social media? Well, you clearly belong to the digital age. We all have profiles on different platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube, Tinder, Snapchat and the list goes on. When social media came into existence, it was used for the purpose of connecting with our friends and family online and sharing updates about our lives via statuses, photos and videos. As the years went by, brands, especially e-commerce ones, caught on this trend and started using social media to highlight their products. The positive response by users to these accounts prompted others to follow and before long, social media marketing became an integral part of every marketing strategy.  

As a social media marketing agency in Kolkata, being online on social profiles to market our clients is practically our job. Having seen the impact it has on businesses first hand, we have outlined 9 reasons why every business – big or small – should get on board the social media marketing train ASAP. 

1. It is Cost Free (Mostly)
   All you need for making a profile on social media and posting organic content is a smartphone and a decent internet pack. For brands that have a set follower base and are happy with their existing customers, this is the best way to market their products. The process is free of cost unless you want to put some money behind paid promotions to reach a larger audience. Investing some money behind paid marketing on social media is a good idea for brands that are still making their mark and need to appeal to potential users. 
2. It gives you the opportunity to reach your relevant customers
   The easiest way to reach someone, these days is by hitting them up on social media. The digital world gives you the opportunity to reach your relevant audience via the various channels available. You can target your paid promotions geographically, demographically and also used interest groups to reach out to your audience. With the proper use of hashtags, you can also make your posts visible to users following those hashtags to organically reach out to a wider and more relevant audience.
3. Involves less investment
   Paid promotions in social media involve a relatively low investment compared to other marketing channels. This is a big advantage as one can see greater returns on investment and can have a higher budget for other marketing expenses.
   Based on our experience as a social media marketing agency in Kolkata, we would advise to begin with a small budget and understand how your ads are working and analyse the existing data. Once you get more comfortable, you can fine-tune your strategy and increase your investment. A small amount of effort initially can help in achieving greater returns later on.
4. Can directly measure ROI
   With the variety of tools available within the platforms themselves, it is possible to directly measure your ROI based on the amount invested. To do this optimally, define your objectives and KPIs at the start of any campaign. Once the campaign ends, we can directly know how many reach our ads reached or how many sales or leads it helped us to get. The feedback ensures you really step up and implement your future campaigns keeping the target in mind.
5. Communication via social media helps to build brand trust and loyalty
   Customers see social media as a channel via which they can directly communicate with the brand. Responding to customer needs online, engaging and interacting with them leads to customer satisfaction, in turn leading to improved brand loyalty.Sharing content such as behind the scenes, customer feedback, brand stories, work atmosphere all help consumers to know more about a brand and makes them feel a part of the brand community, which is an important factor for consumers today.
6. Increases traffic to your website
   Nothing grabs the attention of users like good content! By continuously posting engaging and quality content, one can achieve more inbound traffic to your website. Each piece of social media content is an excellent way to get new users to your website. Once you get a relevant user to your website, chances of conversion become higher. You also get data to retarget visitors to your website, and now target them with a different communication message, thus increasing the possibility of a conversion.
7. Drives conversions
   One of the rules of marketing is to constantly be on top of the minds of your potential customers. Being on social media leads to increased visibility, leading to more opportunities for conversion. Social media is a place for consumers to socialise and network, where brands can show their human side. People like to do business with other people, rather than companies. Social media provides brands the opportunity to showcase their personality and talk in a conversational manner with the consumer. This results in increased conversions. 
8. Better Search Engine Ranking
   Did you know that search engines tend to use your social media presence as a factor in their rankings? A strong social media presence indicates to search engines that your brand is valuable, credible and trustworthy. Using the popular search keywords in your page’s content also boosts organic rankings and helps to bring in more traffic. Better social media might just result in more visitors for you!
9. Easy access to competitor research
   Keep your friends close and enemies closer is real for marketing as well. Social media is a very easy way to keep tabs on your competitors and see the type of content they are posting and how they are interacting with their customers. This can help you deal well with competition and also you can strategize ways to make your brand stand out from competitors.

There you go! Nine simple and convincing reasons why any business should have social media marketing a part of their marketing strategy. Next, comes the planning and execution part of it. If you’re unsure of how to go about it, we are here to help. We are one of the best social media marketing companies in Kolkata, specialising in organic and paid social media promotions. Drop us an email at hello@meraqi.in with your requirement and leave the rest to us.