5 Reasons Why Social Media is Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool

The internet has completely changed the business world and social media has revolutionized the way companies market themselves. Have you moved with the times?

Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram started out as great ways to interact with friends and colleagues online. Now, they’re leading the way as a vital marketing method for businesses. Suddenly, there’s a level playing field between small businesses and the big name companies who previously dominated their industries of choice with huge marketing budgets.

There’s now an opportunity for every business, no matter your size, to make an impact online by harnessing the power of social media. Here are five of the reasons why your social media presence will prove to be an invaluable marketing tool.

1. It’s Free!

For a small business or a start-up, sticking to a tight budget will be ideal for longevity, at least in the early days. It’s for this reason that social media is so widely used by small businesses: because it won’t cost you a penny.

These days, it seems like if something is free, it’s either not very good or there’s some sort of catch. Social media is neither of these things. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I doubt you’d find anyone who would describe Facebook or Twitter as “not very good” in regards to their quality.

With the use of social network marketing, it means you don’t have to spend a chunk of your budget on a fancy campaign or a huge marketing department, which in turn will free up some money for other aspects of your business that require attention.

2. Your Audience is Huge

As of December 2015, Facebook recorded 1.59 billion monthly users. Let that sink in for a minute; the population of Facebook is more than that of China. This means that by marketing your business through Facebook, as well as other social media networks, your potential audience is quite a hefty amount of people.

Obviously this isn’t to say that by putting an advert on Facebook, your numbers will be in the billions next quarter. But by marketing your service or product in the right ways and centering in on the right audience, you can make social media work tirelessly for you.

3. It’s Easy to Get to Grips With

Social networks these days have plenty of different functions to get used to, but you don’t have to be a tech genius to work it all out, or at least gain a working knowledge of most of it.

So, if you’re a small business with little in the way of marketing experience, social media gives you an ideal platform to market yourself efficiently. If certain ideas don’t generate traffic and conversions amongst your audience, then you’ve learnt a lesson and can try something new.

If you had spent lots of time and money on a big marketing campaign, only for it to provide little or no return, it would be disastrous for your business. When using social media, there will be plenty of trial and error until you find the best ways to connect with your target audience—but with no cost and a quick turnaround, you’ll be able to stay agile.

4. Optimized for Business

The widespread use of social media as a form of business marketing hasn’t gone unnoticed by the big name social networks. Facebook Business and Twitter for Business are recent additions by the two social media giants and have given companies even more efficient ways of using social media for business purposes.

These apps provide you with the necessary tools to increase your website’s traffic through social media activity, monitor your data in real time with analytics, track and reach out to custom audiences, and so much more.

And then there’s Facebook and Twitter’s advertising tools, which allow your company to produce ‘sponsored updates’ that will appear on a person’s timeline, even if they’re yet to follow you. This is an excellent way to find new followers who may not be aware of your brand.

5. Show Your Brand is Moving with the Times

Every industry is constantly evolving, with new trends and technology making it almost impossible to keep up with. As a business, though, keeping up with these types of things is vital to your success. Keep up or get left behind.

Further establishing your brand is the best way of separating yourself from the competition. Using the most up-to-date means of marketing shows people that you’re moving with the times and take an adaptable, forward-thinking approach to everything you do.

This is a very appealing trait for followers and customers, as social media and the internet have become more popular than anyone could have imagined. Engaging, successful use of social network marketing will show that you have a firm grasp on not just modern technology, but what it is about this tech that makes people tick.

Social media has become a living and breathing beast, both for social purposes and in the business world. As a marketing tool, it simply can’t be competed with, as people will check social networks on a daily basis, giving you a free, 24/7, far-reaching platform to advertise for business.

Author: Nimesh Odedra is a business coach and mentor based in the UK. He teaches others how to achieve their dreams of freedom and financial stability. Through his work as a business coach, Nimesh will assist you in becoming your own boss, so you can work from home and achieve business success.