Why use social media marketing?

Many of today’s successful businesses have been around for years, long before the Internet was a viable option for marketing a product. Although billboards, TV commercials, and print and radio ads have been successful in the past, they won’t have the impact they once did in today’s marketplace. Many people no longer check the newspaper for movie times, they check locations online. Many people no longer write letters by hand, they compose emails electronically. Many avoid garage sales when they can use Craigslist. While some may resist the facts, this country and the rest of the world are increasingly relying on technology. This is not something to fear or ponder; It’s something to take advantage of!

For anyone born after 1980, it’s easy to notice the growing popularity of social media and it doesn’t take a genius to identify the direction in which the popularity of our world’s social media market will continue to move. People ages 20-29 use social media more than any other age group, with 41% spending more than 11 hours a week on social networking sites. The 30-39 age group is the next most frequent social networking user base, with 37% of them spending more than 11 hours a week on social networking sites as well. While the younger age groups on these networking sites will be more interested in social status, the older groups will focus on marketing and advertising. Understandably, most people have heard of Facebook, which has become the largest social networking website to date. Facebook has more than 500 million users, half of whom log in at least once a day. Among the US Internet population, 72% are members of Facebook, with ages 18-24 experiencing the fastest growth. That’s 36% of internet users in this country visit a single website every day! It would be exceptionally hard to find another channel with that kind of impact. Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogs are just a few of the other popular social networks available today, all of which provide remarkable accessibility to a large group of people.

Social media is the fastest growing marketing tool, and any business that doesn’t take advantage of its many capabilities could be at a disadvantage against its competitors. Waiting and not taking advantage of this rapidly growing marketing tool is an opportunity that companies are missing. Businesses are constantly evolving and so must your marketing campaigns to keep up with the competition. So why wouldn’t someone immediately get involved with social marketing? It cannot be money, since most of these networks are free. It can’t be experience, because anyone can outsource their social marketing for very little money. Most people just don’t know it. They don’t know what it is, nor do they understand its capabilities. But most importantly, they are unaware of the positive economic growth that they will potentially have in their company.

Social media marketing is the attempt to convey various forms of media through social media technologies, plain and simple. Some advantages of social media include increased exposure, increased lead generation, gaining new partnerships, increased traffic, and marketing cost reductions. On average, 88% of marketers who use social media reported increased exposure for their business. Nearly half of these people who used social media marketing tactics for 12 months or less reported new earned partnerships. Users who spent 6 hours or less per week saw their lead generation increase, and 58% of small business owners using social media marketing were more likely to see reductions in marketing costs.

The Internet is providing this world with new products, capabilities, and tools that have never been possible before. Social media marketing provides the ability to potentially influence hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people for a fraction of the cost of outdated marketing methods. It is the responsibility of today’s entrepreneurs to focus on the future of each market and the direction in which it is heading. Social media is a wise investment for almost any company and will be more beneficial the sooner it is integrated into a company’s strategic initiative. Social media is only going to grow, and my best advice right now is to establish your brand as soon as possible through these mediums.