If you are not a fan of social media, you are not alone. Lots of people hark back to the days before Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook, but unfortunately, there is no place for nostalgia or personal preference when it comes to growing your business.
Today, virtually everyone is online, glued to their smartphones as they scroll through social media, which has become a crucial element of this digital landscape, providing the perfect platform for brand building and marketing. Therefore, a social media presence is no longer optional, as they offer the opportunity to connect with vast online audiences and to drive sales.
7.2 billion smartphones worldwide
Figures published by dataportal.com, show that a staggering 5.45 billion people worldwide were regular internet users (July 2024), which equates to a massive 67.1% of the global population. To add more context, there are currently 7.2 billion smartphones around the world, which explains why 95.6% of all online surfing is done via mobiles, accounting for 60% of the world’s online traffic.
62.3% of the worldwide population uses social media
If we delve deeper, according to GWI, 62.3% of the world’s population uses social media, with an average daily usage of 2 hours and 23 minutes. Given these statistics, it’s clear that not participating in social media could mean missing out on significant marketing opportunities.
Here’s how a social media presence can help your business:
It’s where you’ll find your customers and your competitors
Social media increasingly plays a role in the purchasing process which means that it is essential for businesses to have a presence, otherwise you’ll miss out on reaching potential customers who rely on social media to inform their decisions. Furthermore, if you’re not on social media but your competitors are, you’ll be at a disadvantage and at risk of losing market share.
- Community building
Social media is a powerful tool for building communities where you can share your brand message, offer insights into your company’s mission and values, and encourage customer engagement. These platforms thrive on interaction, making it easy to link with people, both in your local vicinity and further afield. It’s an effective way to turn online interactions into real-world relations.
- Understand your target market
Understanding your audience’s needs is crucial in order to create targeted ads and posts. Use surveys to determine where your audience spends time online and check out competitors’ profiles. This allows you to create personalised ads, increasing relevance, boosting engagement, and improving conversion rates.
Improving your social media presence can boost your SEO rankings by driving traffic to your website. Engaging posts encourage visits and signals to Google that your site is relevant.
Unlock the power of social media to build your Brand
A consistent presence on social media can help to build your brand image and increase brand recognition, whilst giving your company a voice to convey its personality, purpose and corporate values. Regularly posting engaging content boosts brand visibility, as social media platforms’ algorithms favour content achieves high levels of interaction.
Tips to increase the effectiveness of your social media activity
It is possible to increase the effectiveness of your social media activity by following a few simple tips. First and foremost, as with every element of your company’s marketing, it should be consistently branded, on message and should use the right tone. Next you need to consider the type of content, purpose and frequency of your posts.
- Make a plan
Start with a calendar specifying the type of content and when it will be posted. This will allow you to spark creative ideas for posts and content repurposing and to schedule the production of graphic design elements and videos, without stressing and rushing. To increase followers, it is necessary to maintain an active presence by continuing to produce engaging and creative content across all platforms.
- Hashtags
Hashtags are essential for boosting visibility by organising content around trends. Joining trending hashtags allows you to engage in popular online conversations and to gain insights into people’s emotions, opinions, likes and dislikes However, avoid using irrelevant hashtags just for popularity and limit your post to no more than 5 hashtags.
- Audience interaction
It’s important to respond in good time to any comments posted by your audience, as this demonstrates that you value their opinions, thereby building trust and confidence in your brand. It’s also a great way to understand what makes them tick.
- Build Community
Communities with shared interests make your content more relevant. Positive brand experiences encourage members to share and recommend, boosting engagement and word-of-mouth marketing.
Conclusion
Social media offers a platform to build a strong brand identity and to increase visibility through engaging content. It can also help you to understand your audience better, allowing more targeted ads.
If you’re not on social media you are missing out on access to a constantly growing online market that is just waiting to be tapped…and if you aren’t taking the trouble to make your business more visible, you can bet your competitors will make sure they are seen.
Just remember: Love it or hate it, you need it!
