What is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing has been a definite buzzword for the past few years, but what is it really? Social media marketing at its core is marketing or promotion of a product, business or service through interactive social mediums (such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

Before you dismiss social media marketing for your business, consider these statistics:

• The number of worldwide social media users is 1 billion (this is projected to grow to 2.5 billion by 2018)
• 90% of young adults (ages 18-29) and 35% of those over age 65 use social media
• Consumers say social media plays almost as big a role in purchase decisions as television
• 33% of millennials identify social media as their “preferred” channels for communicating with a business
• 64% of sales professionals reported closing at least one deal in 2014 as a direct result of using social media
• 96% of small business owners and marketers use social media, and 92% of those agree with the phrase, “Social media marketing is important for my business.”

The number of people across the globe using social media is growing, so the need for social media marketing is as important (if not more important) as ever before. Social media use spans multiple generations, so odds are your business would be able to reach your target audience or demographic through social mediums. That also means that—while the websites, apps, etc. might change in name or location—interacting with your customers will remain a constant in future years.

If that doesn’t convince you that social media marketing is an integral part of your business strategy, consider the various benefits of this type of marketing. When done correctly, social media marketing has the potential to increase brand recognition and awareness, improve brand loyalty, increase sales leads and conversions, increase web traffic, and create a dialog between you and your customers.

Social media marketing also offers you great “bang for your buck,” considering as little as six hours of effort per week is often enough to generate increased web traffic. Many studies have shown that this kind of marketing is equally beneficial for both small and large businesses, with budgets that range from small to large.

If you’re looking for assistance with your social media marketing or social media strategy, don’t hesitate to reach out to the friendly experts at SKYFALL BLUE today! We’ll customize a plan that makes sense for your business and budget, whether that means starting from scratch or growing your online marketing efforts.