Why should you use social media marketing?

4 min read 

Whether or not you agree with its use as an individual, there’s no denying that nowadays it is essential for a business to have at least some level of social media presence. In the past 10 years, the global average amount of time spent on social media has increased from 90 minutes to 147 minutes a day, and 66% of the UK population regularly uses social media in some way. Why would you want to miss out on opportunities to promote your business by avoiding social media platforms?

What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms to advertise your company, your products and your services. Different social networks promote different types of content, and having content available to share on these different platforms will help your business’ visibility and engagement.

One of the reasons that more and more people use social media as a way of researching a business is because it is a place where they can see a combination of other people’s experiences and opinions, as well as marketing from the business itself. Social media content also tends to be eye-catching and concise by nature - two things that are very important in drawing the eye and making you stand out from the crowd. 

Often, social media marketing is an opportunity to speak to potential customers in their ‘own language’, by providing them with content that engages them and gives them an incentive to find out more about your business. If you do a good job of making your brand interesting and appealing on social media, there is a high likelihood of people sharing and recommending your business. 

What are the benefits of social media marketing?

Let’s go into detail on some of the many benefits of social media marketing.

Widening your audience

There are currently 53 million social media users in the UK. While a relatively small proportion of those people will represent your ideal clients, why would you want to pass up on the potential to have that many people paying attention to your business? A simple ‘like’ has the power to help drive engagement, even if the liker in question isn’t your target audience and has no further interaction with your brand. And with the average user having nearly 7 social media accounts, you’ll have plenty of chances to give them things to like. 

Making authentic connections

Social media is a means for people to connect with one another. When using it for marketing purposes, it is a way to directly connect with potential customers in a way that isn’t always visibly focused on sales. How often have you seen tweets or TikToks from a company go viral due to the casual, self-aware nature of their social media responses and content? Even for B2B companies that may not have quite that level of informal interaction, there is potential for attracting genuine interest through a strong social media presence.

You will also benefit from your target audience knowing that social media is an easy and responsive way to contact you to communicate their needs and issues. 

Curating your brand and stamping authority

A potential customer can gather a lot of information about your business through your social media account. From your graphic design, to what trends you follow and the causes you support - all of these factors, while not obviously relating to your products or services, will influence their opinion of your brand.

Being visible and responsive on social media will also make you appear authoritative. Confidently responding to queries, sharing content you have created, and being vocal about your brand values, will all help increase customer confidence in your brand.

Creating waves on a small budget

It’s free to make an account on the majority of social networks, and you don’t have to necessarily use paid ads to get your name out there. Focusing on good SEO content and customer interactions can do wonders for your business, making social media marketing one of the most cost-effective ways to advertise your products and services. 

How to know when social media marketing is right for your business

There are a few clear indicators as to whether or not you should be investing in social media marketing:

• Your competitors are active on social media
• Your ideal customers and buyer personas are active on social media
• You have information or content to share that can set you apart from your competitors but aren’t sure how to present it

You may already have social media marketing in place, but if it isn’t yielding the results you need then it’s time to put a little more effort into your online offerings. If your goals include generating more traffic for your website and increasing your credibility, then social media marketing will be vital in helping you to achieve them. 

How Apteco’s solutions can help you

Because we understand the power and importance of social media, we’ve made sure that our software integrates well with all of the major social networks. This means that we can publish, push, monitor and respond to feedback on everything you need posting on your social media, and give you insights on how potential customers are interacting with your content. 

Our aim in gathering data is to provide you with the information you need to chart a clear course of action. We want to take the guesswork out of marketing campaigns. This is made possible by giving you the facts and figures of what’s garnering engagement, what’s being glossed over, and what could be great if the right adjustments are made.

Apteco’s solutions can help you build and understand your audience, personalise content and communications just for them, and track the journey they take to become loyal brand advocates for your business. See how Apteco software can help you with making your marketing frustrations a thing of the past.