You can skip this segment if you’re pretty familiar with the concept – or take a refresher and browse through it. If you only have a dubious impression, here’s a quick definition.
So, what is social media marketing? Also referred to by many people as SMM, it is the method of formulating content for social networking platforms and social media campaigns to accomplish your business and marketing expectations. You utilize the content to boost brand awareness, engage your audience or generate conversion such as driving traffic to your site or rousing followers to contact you, mainly through social marketing websites.
Social media marketing is an effective way for businesses of all sizes to reach prospects and clients. Your customers are already interacting with brands via the instrument of social media campaigns and if you’re not speaking directly to your audience through social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest, you’re missing out on incredible marketing on social media. It can bring remarkable success to your business, creating devoted brand advocates and even driving leads and sales.
Depending on your short-term or long-term desires, you can create either a single or a unified social media marketing strategy. You might concentrate your efforts on a single platform or market on multiple ones – but be mindful that doing the latter requires more resources because each social networking app has its characteristic content and messaging format. This approach, however, also has the potential to have a bigger impact.
The following are the major pros of social media marketing to direct your strategy:
1. An Economical Choice
As the pandemic (Covid-19) continues to ooze in the New Year, we believe that social media marketing or social media campaigns for entrepreneurs are necessary to keep their businesses alive by reaching out to their target market without breaking the bank.
This brings social media a favorable niche to start with. A Forbes Communication Council post said that, amid the pandemic, “it is cheaper for businesses to build their brand and engage with their customers through social media.” Putting up a business account on a social media platform is free as well as creating a social media campaign, as is broadcasting content on your business page. Some fundamental underlines like messaging and analytics also cost nothing.
Of course, you have to start spending if you choose to utilize advertising and targeting features. But paying for ads can handily be aligned with your fund. For what it’s worth, hiring a social media management team can assist you to operate effective social media marketing ads, which in turn can reimburse for itself.
2. The Number Game
Get into the vast user base of social platforms to amass exposure for your brand. You can amplify your likelihood of being recognized by more users when you put up a page or profile on each of your chosen channels. Work on boosting your followers, sharing content consistently, and interacting with your audience to familiarize them with your presence.
But accomplishing visibility also relies on the viability of social media apps. Take a look at the traditional ones, which have been here since the early 2000s and have not shown any signs of slowing down during the pandemic. To give you an idea of how large their scope is, here are their growth numbers as of October 2020:
Monthly Active Users, as per Statista.com:
- Facebook – 2.7 billion
- YouTube – 2 billion
- Instagram – 1.16 billion
- Twitter – 353 million
The recent types of social media with remarkable user surge:
- TikTok – 689 million
- Snapchat – 433 million
3. Direct Connection with Consumers
One of the benefits of a social media marketing strategy is creating interactions that are convenient and seamless. Through post or comment tagging, story replies, and messaging features, you can reach out to another person or an organization within a few seconds. These components can also be turned into social media marketing tools, so you can easily cater to the requirements of your prospects. Furthermore, you can ask them about what they expect, endorse promotions and sales, and make them aware of your commodities or services.
Remember a time when it was not possible to share your opinions about a specific product with others because there was no outlet? Not too long ago, the consumer was considered to be at the bottom of the pyramid. There was no way to display dissatisfaction with the services received or products purchased.
However, consumers today enjoy a very different situation, all thanks to social media marketing campaigns. Through social media platforms, consumers have been able to easily convey their opinions – whether it be criticism or praise about various brands. There is now an opportunity for consumers and brands to build a working relationship in which views can be exchanged and opinions can be voiced.
Studying the pros and cons of social media marketing allows you to craft a social media strategy that fits the reality of using social media apps for business. Even though the year 2022 is a fruitful one for getting orders on digital media platforms, an awareness of the cons of social media marketing can give you a balanced view of this booming digital marketing channel.
Social media marketing agencies that resist talking about the disadvantages of social media may only be after the profit. If you’re planning to enlist a separate team, you can separate the wheat from the chaff by questioning them about the cons of social media.
Here’s a list of the cons that we feel are necessary for you to know:
1. Resource-Heavy Task
While organic social media marketing services are free of cost, keep in mind that developing content may take time, effort, and money to generate depending on the types of social media you’re on.
If you have zero understanding of how social media functions, you may hit a steep learning curve. And if you devote a big chunk of the day to learning about the ins and outs, the opportunity cost could lead to a mediocre return.
Solution: Hire someone who can hit the ground running to save resources or partner with a trusted social media marketing company to reduce long-term costs.
2. Negative Feedbacks
Unfortunately, this is part and parcel of leveraging the channel. You are not exempted from experiencing both the pros and cons of social media marketing.
If you get negative feedback, treat it as a chance to discuss it with the dissatisfied customer. Revert them with an apology if you’re making a mistake and even ask for recommendations on how you can improve. And if you choose to respond, do it quickly to improve your chances of retaining clients or winning them back. Users who see your proactive acknowledgment may also be intrigued and check you out.
Solution: Provide consumer support by responding to negative feedback on social media and other channels right away. Alternatively, search for a social media marketing company that handles reputation management and let it conduct an audit, fix the issues, and get you back on track.
3. Results take Time
Getting uniform results may not happen during your initial weeks of publishing content. Constructing momentum does not happen to brands overnight unless you have a trick up your sleeve that lets you churn out one viral post after another. This can be a challenge for anyone starting, particularly if you have a lean team and everyone’s already preoccupied.
Solution: Don’t be afraid to consider using a social media marketing agency or social media marketing services. Do your research before you commit, so you can be sure about the results, let us guide you through a social marketing campaign in 2022 to grow your business.
The New Year comes with uncertainties and challenges, but it’s also filled with opportunities. Pandemic or no pandemic, social media marketing has become a profitable marketing channel for various businesses. Your potential customers are already on these platforms every day. It’s also cost-effective, diverse, and entertaining. These opportunities make this option attainable and accessible to any enterprise, regardless of niche or industry.
