According to DataReportal, as of February 2023, there were 311.3 million internet users in the United States and 246.0 million social media users, or more than 72% of the total population. That’s a lot of active users, and your business can benefit from engaging with this very large audience.
Here are a few ways your local business can benefit from having a social media presence:
Increase Awareness of Your Brand
If your audience is spending time on social media, your business would benefit from engaging with them there. A presence on the social media platforms your audience spend the most time with will give you more opportunities to get your company and brand recognized by them. Whether you are posting your own content or paying to run your ads on these platforms, more awareness will be built for your business. The more times a potential customer sees your brand, the more likely they are to consider you when they have a need you can fulfill.
Increase Website Traffic
Increasing brand awareness on social media will typically result in a boost in website traffic. Social media users who see your brand’s activities on social platforms are likely to be enticed to click through to your website to learn more about what your business has to offer. Using social media for sharing promotions, sales, and discounts your business is running is another way you can encourage users to click through to your website.
Humanizing Your Brand
Social media gives businesses a unique opportunity to show the human side of their company and brand. You can highlight employees and their accomplishments, events, share insight into what makes your business run on a day-to-day basis, and announce company milestones and achievements. These are but a few of the ways to show your brand’s personality. This can help as a means to not only attract and retain customers, but also to attract like-minded potential employees to any open positions you might have at your company.
Another way to establish a human connection is for brands to share their values and mission; and how their actions support them. Now more than ever, consumers expect more from brands than to just produce quality goods and services. They want to know that their money is being spent with an organization that has values that align with their own.
Engage Directly With Your Audience
Unlike other forms of traditional advertising, social media marketing is best when it serves as a conversation. You can create an environment for this level of engagement by monitoring what people are saying about your business and actively responding to comments and questions they have. These conversations can be had in real-time, allowing people to witness your company’s dedication to customer service. Having a means for customers to leave positive feedback that is visible to others is the digital version of word-of-mouth advertising and will help to build your positive reputation.
Build a Trusted Brand Reputation
A strong and strategic social media presence can confirm the legitimacy of your business. By sharing your business’s industry knowledge via educational content, you can establish your brand as a thought leader and subject authority. Engaging in helpful conversations with your audience can further support your reputation as a go-to source.
Improve SEO Rankings
While social media does not have a direct effect on SEO rankings it does have an indirect effect when your audience shares and interacts with your educational content, it generates signals indicating that your posts are useful. Search engines use these signals to rank your website.
Generate Leads
Social media is also a useful tool for generating leads. Make sure you provide your contact information and have call-to-actions buttons on your page to make it easy for people to reach out and learn more about your business.
Cost Effective
Since a lot of social media marketing can be done on your own, it is fairly cost effective. Due to the highly targetable nature of social media marketing, paid advertising can have a higher return on investment than other traditional marketing tactics.
All these benefits add up to one thing – benefits to your business. In today’s digital age, your business cannot afford to miss the opportunities social media offers.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the idea of creating and maintaining a social presence, Sentinel Solutions can help! Our experienced team is ready to guide you through this complex landscape. Give us a call at 603-352-5896 or email to Advertising@SentinelDigitalSolutions.com if we can help.
