It's never too late to invest in your brand's social media strategy. In 2019, 73% of small businesses used social media marketing to increase traffic, generate leads, and create strong connections with their audience.
Not to mention, another recent study found that 1 in 3 online users say they go to social media when looking for more information about a brand or product. These statistics alone help prove the value of having a strong social media presence. But, we’ve also rounded up 5 other ways you can expect to see ROI from social media in 2022.
Increase Brand Awareness
When consumers, especially Millennials and Gen Z, first hear about a brand, they’re likely to go straight to social media if they’re interested in learning more.
But what about consumers that have never heard of your brand? Increasing brand awareness starts with meeting your current and potential audience where they’re already at. A solid social media strategy can help you create organic social media content and paid advertisements that put your brand in front of the right audience at the right time with the right messaging. When this happens time and time again, brand recognition is built and an engaged community begins to form.
Don’t just take it from us, according to recent studies, about 90% of marketers claimed that social media generated immense exposure for their company. 55% of consumers learn about new brands on social, and 81% of consumers research a business on the internet before buying from them.
Create An Engaged Community
A recent study found that 89% of people that follow a brand on social media will ultimately end up purchasing from that brand. So, the question is: How do we get these followers to stick around long enough to eventually convert?
The answer? Quality content and an engaging community.
Fostering a community is so important. Before you can convert an audience, you must come to know the audience and the audience must come to know you like the brand. When you show up consistently and provide value, users will share about you, resulting in more users coming to know you. Once they know you, they will start to like you. Once they start to like you, they will start to trust you. And where there is trust, there is a sale on the horizon.
Fostering a community engagement has some powerful numbers behind it: over 51% of marketers claimed that taking the time to develop relationships with consumers showed positive results in sales. And 78% of consumers are willing to buy from a company after having a positive experience with them on social.
It’s Cost-Effective
Let’s be honest. Social media is complex, and these days it’s really going to take hiring social media experts to help bring your brand’s image to life. The good news is organic and paid social media tends to be significantly more cost-effective than “traditional” marketing methods, like television or newspaper ads. Plus, when you pay for social media management, you’re often not only paying for the content but also customer support.
Investing in social media creates a direct line to support customers’ needs and overall satisfaction with your brand through interpersonal dialogue. In a recent cross-channel media costs comparison, the CPM of various media channels was measured and social media ranked the most cost-effective. Also, 63% of users expect customer service via social media, and more than ⅓ turn to social media to voice their concerns.
Valuable Analytics
For all those logical thinkers out there–social media analytics provides invaluable customer data that your brand can leverage when making future business decisions. Insights from social media include, but are not limited to, your audience’s age, gender, location, the kind of content that resonates best with them, and more. A recent survey revealed that 72% of companies use social media data like this to inform business decisions.
Increase Site Traffic And Sales
Lastly, social media is an effective way to direct consumers to your online shop (or sell directly on the platform via Facebook and Instagram Shopping). If consumers like what they see on social media, they’re likely to get to know you even further by heading over to your site or storefront. We also know more than 50% of marketers using social media for at least two years report it helped improve sales.
We hope you found this blog post helpful in learning more about the true importance of social media. Consider this your sign to invest in social in 2022. Email us at bailey@nesscessity.com or DM us on Instagram if you’re ready to take that next big business step!