Laura Donovan — May 25, 2017 
Social Media is one of the top online activities. Social Media updates and searches direct more traffic to websites than Google search and over 70% of adults using the internet use a Social Network.
If you are still not on board with budgeting for Social Media Marketing and Advertising or you still think it is a silly trend that is a waste of time, here are 6 reasons you need to readjust your thinking.
1. Social Media Reaches More People
What other marketing medium can reach hundreds of people in a few hours, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people each month? No other resource has the potential to reach this many people with the ability to target the exact audience that fits your business. Additionally, consistent activity on the top Social Sites can reach far more people than direct mail, print ads or even commercials these days.
REAL LIFE CASE STUDY: A local HVAC company in the Chicago area spends under $ 1,000 each month on a marketing and advertising campaign and they reach over 200,000 people a month. Not only do they reach this many people, they are reaching them in a very targeted area. Their campaigns reach people within a 50-mile radius of their business. They spend more on direct mail postcards quarterly to reach a fraction of the number of people reached through Facebook.
2. Social Media is More Affordable and More Effective
When print media, newspapers, and magazines, were the top advertising medium to reach people in a particular area it was fairly pricey. Ads in newspapers were a good chunk of change and running an ad in a magazine was very costly.
Social Media Advertising is a drop in the bucket compared to those traditional outlets. Sure, Facebook Ads used to be awful. They didn’t do much of anything, but they were super cheap. They have improved their ad services tremendously in the past couple of years. The monthly sad spend for the amount of people you can reach and the increased traffic generated to a website is very cost effective and manageable for most business budgets.
REAL LIFE CASE STUDY: Clients spending only $ 5 or $ 10 a day can reach around 100,000 people a month. One national ecommerce company in a very specialized market, with highly targeted ads reaches 100,000 people every month.
3. Social Media Generates Increased Website Traffic with Greater Online Visibility
Of course, advertising is designed to make sales. The expected outcome of any ad campaign is increased sales. However, what most businesses don’t understand is that advertising is a vehicle to get people to notice your business and to get them into your store or onto your website. From there you close the deal and make the sale.
Facebook Ads and daily marketing updates get people to you. In fact, Social Media now sends more people to websites than search engines. Anyone who has paid a company to improve their SEO (search engine optimization) knows that more traffic and more hits on the website improves search rank. So, more daily updates and a daily ad campaign, means more people see your business online, which means more people may be interested in what it is that you do, which equals people clicking through to your website, which generates improved search rank on both Facebook and Google, and equates to better online visibility and a greater potential to make sales.
REAL LIFE CASE STUDY: An international ecommerce company sells its products on their website as well as on a large, third-party ecommerce site. Their rank both on Google and the sales site depend on clicks to their products. They nearly 400,000 ad views with over 1,000 clicks through to their products. Improving their rank and increasing the chances for sales.
4. Social Media Creates a Better Customer Experience
Customers expect that your business is using Social Media and they demand your attention when they need it and want it. It is imperative that you are active on the Social Sites and available to answer questions, respond to comments and thank them for their reviews.
All of this is important. 66% of consumers, worldwide, stopped doing business with a company due to poorly handled customer service issues and 78% of people who complain to a brand via Twitter expect a response within an hour. It is necessary for you to be there.
REAL LIFE CASE STUDY: A national ecommerce company selling a very specialized product provides reviews and testimonials on every Social Site and review site possible. Additionally, their accounts are monitored for reviews, comments, and questions throughout the day. This equates to nearly a 100% positive review rating, happy customers and satisfied potential customers who are now more likely to purchase from this company.
71% of consumers who have had a good Social Media service experience with a brand are likely to recommend it to others.
5. Customers Want, and Need, Your Business on Social Media
71% of consumers have an improved perception of brands when they see positive reviews on Social Media. 93% of consumers are researching Social Media before they make purchasing decisions.
The numbers speak for themselves, customers want your business on Social Media, consumers want to see your business is consistent and active with Social Media.
REAL LIFE CASE STUDY: A local company in the Manhattan, New York area ran a successful organic produce delivery service. They had relied on traditional marketing and word of mouth. They realized that having an online presence and a Social Media campaign would benefit expanding into Long Island. Starting with no Social presence at all, they implemented a daily marketing campaign combined with a daily advertising campaign. Within a year, they had several hundred new clients, a strong presence on Long Island and nearly 20,000 Facebook friends. Their page was a hub for customer service issues and was a great source of referrals.
The Manhattan clients soon realized they too wanted to connect with this business on Facebook and a new account was started for this location. In just a few months they had nearly 4,000 Facebook friends and an active customer service portal.
6. Social Media is Where Your Customers Are
- Nearly 3/4 of online adults use Social Media.
- People are using Social Media to watch TV, connect with friends and family, research purchases, and shop.
- 41% of consumers spending just 2 hours or less on Social media made at least $ 500 in purchases in the past 12 months.
- 74% of consumers rely on Social Media for more information or reviews about the products/services they want to purchase.
- 50% of consumers made a purchase based on a recommendation made on Social Media. (Source)
Those statistics alone should be enough to persuade you that you absolutely need a Social Media Marketing campaign.
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