Social media has evolved dramatically over the last several years. From a mere social networking tool or even recreational tool over decade ago, to powerful business optimization tools; social media has been steadily increasing its presence and role in the business arena.
The increasing trend towards the integration of the social media tools into the traditional business sales and marketing channels has largely been driven by the social media’s potential for interaction and conversion which helps businesses increase their bottom line.
Why Your Business Needs Social Media
If you are running an optimization strategy to get more customers and visitors into your business portal, then social media is going to be a necessary complement of that. The most important justification of why you will need a social media presence and strategy is that your customers are already online.
If you are not there, then you are missing out on a very significant market segment and your competitors will soak up that market on your behalf. You need to join into the conversation to influence, shape and even convert this vast market to your brand.
About 75% of adults who are online use social media tools. If you are targeting the Gen-Y’ers, then you have an even bigger market potential that you can access and leverage. About 89% of young men and women aged between 18 and 29 are using the social media networks. This presents quite a massive market opportunity that businesses can exploit in order to increase their market share. Businesses can create connections and add value to customer experiences by using these social media channels.
The Best Social Media Platforms for Your Business
Depending on your type of business, there are various kinds of social media channels that you may opt for in order to reach out to your target market. For example, channels such as Pinterest are typically quite effective if you wish to add a highly visual element to your marketing.
One of the most powerful social media marketing tools that you can deploy is the social video. Smaller companies may, however; have a challenge in deploying powerful video marketing platforms. To prepare excellent quality social videos that will influence the market, you need time and content.
You will also need professional expertise in order to successfully deploy this, which will cost you money. Some of the best social media platforms that you can use in your marketing include YouTube, Instagram, Vine, Snap Chat and Facebook Videos.
Integrating Social Media in eCommerce Platforms
In order to successfully reap from an investment in a social media strategy, you should be able to generate a good ROI from your social media integration in terms of the actual sales proceeds or even a rise in the brand equity.
When you are applying a social media strategy, you should be doing it with a specific aim to generate sales and ensure eCommerce success. Successful engagement and brand-building should also be an important part of the social media deployment.
The presence of your business on social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter is not sufficient to generate sufficient sales in itself. There must be some leverage in order to make full use of social media channels as eCommerce tools that will deliver sales and revenues for your business.
Social media should not be viewed as a standalone tool for marketing and eCommerce. It is important to integrate these tools at all levels with other marketing channels, such as the business website and email, in order to reap the greatest success.
