By: Athena Alexander
Social media is a versatile medium to communicate with and market to clients on a personal and professional level. The accessibility, openness, and popularity of social media apps make them the perfect place for a company to connect with customers, grow brand awareness, and sell products and services.
Connect With Customers
Over 3.6 billion users worldwide use social media. According to Social Media Today, the top social media platforms to market a business are Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and Pinterest. These apps have different formats, reputations, and target audiences as well. For example, to market a medical device that sends an alert when the wearer has fallen, Facebook might be a good choice as it targets an older demographic. In contrast, a company selling high heels should use Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest due to the younger audience and the popular fashion niches found on each platform as well. It can be hard for customers to create an attachment to a company via generic advertisements on billboards, TV, or in magazines. Social media humanizes a brand and gives the company the ability to develop a deeper connection with their customers by putting a face to the brand and targeting marketing. For example, a cosmetics company is using Instagram to expand their brand and connect with customers. They start posting behind-the-scenes videos of makeup production, people using the products, and employees discussing the products. This array of photos shows how products are made, what the company sells, and who is working in it, humanizing the company. From the first few posts, they receive data that tells them that most of their demographic are young women who live in the United States. From this, the company can post photos that target young women to grow that section of their audience and target other demographics that may be more captivated by other kinds of posts. As this company continues to post, they will receive more data to improve their next round of posts to reach more people. These posted photos are on the company’s profile until they are deleted, so customers can always look through previous posts that will interest them.
Grow Brand Awareness
Social media allows brands to connect with customers and future customers worldwide. Social media makes a business easily discoverable; for example, 83% of Instagram users have reported discovering new brands through the platform. A popular way of reaching new audiences is by using influencers, active social media users with thousands, if not millions, of followers across multiple platforms. Brands pair with influencers to promote their products and services to the influencer’s audience. Social media connects brands to more people and builds a brand’s reputation with new customers.
Sell Products/Services
Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest all have options to tag products and services with a clickable link that directly brings a user to a website or checkout cart. This function makes it easy for customers to see a product, like it, and buy it. Social media acts like an online resume for a customer. For example, let’s say a customer is looking to buy clothes. When they look through a business’s Instagram profile, they can see how clothes fit on different models, how the colors match, and the overall vibe of the clothing and decide if they want to purchase the product. By posting content related to the company and linking the products offered, companies make the purchase of their items so attractive and user-friendly that customers are eager to buy them.
Social media enables businesses to connect with customers, build a brand, and sell products or services. The opportunities and networks that can be utilized to increase traffic to a company are unlike any others available prior to this decade. In addition, most platforms are free and easy to use, which helps companies build their business without compromising their budget.