If you do not understand that social media is a fantastic opportunity for you to directly speak to your customers, then you really are missing out! Not only is it a chance to have open lines of communication, it can even help you to influence how your customers behave. It is very rare for people to not have any kind of social media account nowadays, and they tend to access them not just from their desktops and laptops, but also from their smartphones and tablets while on the go. By working together with a good social media marketing agency, you will be able to have a strong competitive advantage over others.
Can You Ignore SEO?
Even as little as one year ago, it was all about search engine optimization (SEO). Today, we still cannot ignore the importance of SEO, but social media is becoming a lot more important. Fewer people use search engines nowadays, particularly when it comes to their shopping habits. Instead, they expect businesses to be on Facebook and Twitter, and they find information about them directly through these channels. That doesn’t mean you can forget about SEO, but it certainly means that you cannot forget about social media!
If you work with a social media marketing agency, they should offer you a combination of both SEO and SMO (Social Media Optimization). This will avoid you having to work with multiple third party providers as well. Rather, they will create a fully inclusive strategy for you.
Social Media Isn’t Effective
Some companies have said that, despite using Facebook and/or Twitter for months, they have not seen any major increase in their conversion rates. They equate this with an SMO strategy being a waste of money. There are numerous studies that do in fact show that there isn’t much of an effect on boosting sales through social media. However, this is because they have only looked at the direct effect. What SMO strategies do for you is get you found, and build your reputation. And those two things absolutely do make a difference on your bottom line.
Others are now even suggesting that social media isn’t effective is an absolute myth. And this makes sense. In fact, 70% of business to consumer specialists have said that many of their leads have come from Facebook alone. 40%, meanwhile, say that, by having an active Facebook presence, they have been able to generate new sales. It is simply difficult, right now, to measure what the exact impact of doing so is, but it is undeniable that it is growing. Those who say that their bottom line hasn’t increased but hasn’t decreased either, for instance, should consider whether this is because fewer people have found them through Google, and that this is compensated by greater finds on social media.
If you do want to benefit from social media, you have to manage it properly. This is why it is best to work together with a professional agency who shave specialized in this field.
