Social media offer countless possibilities for businesses. Customers tend to use social media everyday. In this way, they are exposed to businesses and products all the time. Although they come with their own set of challenges, social media are a flexible and constantly changing space full of noise and competitors.
It may be difficult to follow trends in digital marketing and on social media, and this is why this article here will let you know about the current situation in the social media marketing sphere. A recent study conducted by B2B reviews and Clutch, a review company, asked 344 experienced social media marketers from all over the globe to describe the value of social media, to share the most exciting piece of content to share, what the most common social media challenges are and what marketing sources receive the most business investments. The results are the following:
- 52% of social media marketers believe that social media positively influence the revenue and sales of a company
- The top 5 most valuable social media platforms are:
- Facebook (89%)
- LinkedIn (83%)
- YouTube (81%)
- Twitter (80%)
- Instagram (56%)
- Τhe most engaging content on social media is:
- Articles (27%)
- Videos (26 %)
- Images (24 %)
- Almost 80% of companies share mainly original content on social media
- The most important social media resources are engagement (36%) and conversion rates (35%)
- Social media are more significant for B2C brands (58%) than B2B companies (46%)
Individuals’ feed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms is flooded with businesses that try to promote their brand. How can a company create relatable content in such a crowded space? As the survey above suggests, articles, video marketing and images are the best tools to attract customers and stand out. Thus, it is important to not just use the aforementioned types of content but also invest in them, so that they are of high-quality.
Investment links content with quality design. A content strategy should be carefully studied before it is implemented. The questions of “what message do your customers want to see”, “how will they identify with your brand” and “what will make them click on your post or comment on it” have to be answered first.
A seemingly simple post on social media, such as a photo of a pair of shoes, may get many reactions and comments. Strangers may interact with each other asking about the quality of the shoes, how long the delivery took, if they have the specific pair, their impressions of them and other similar questions. Social media pave the way for conversation, immediate interaction, relationship building and loyal customers.
It is crucial for companies to have a proper structure in order to support social media activity. A support team for customers and a promotion team for products tend to be exceptionally efficient. Most businesses follow their data, but social media are not solely statistics. For example, you may encounter an ad that shows an image of a huge scoop of chocolate ice cream as it melts with whipped cream on top. You may not pay much attention to it at the time, but it is likely to buy a chocolate ice cream a few days later. This shows that social media contribute to buyers’ decision-making process.
Contrary to other types of advertising, social media are hard to define. Most customers claim that they pass through several stages before they decide to buy a product or not. Social media research is definitely one of those stages.
Social media are part of everyday life, most customers turn to social media in order to buy products and services. Businesses with a strong presence and brand name on social media will benefit by increasing the conversion rate, while companies that do not invest in social media campaigns will lose potential customers.
Which type of business would you like to be?