text: Social media marketing is essentially the process of leading people to your office, store, website or blog through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social networks.
  In the past, social media was used primarily as a way for people to communicate with each other and stay updated with what’s going on in their lives. Today, social media has changed considerably and its power and influence in the world population has driven marketing professionals and brands to take advantage of these opportunities.
  This post outlines the top 10 benefits of social media marketing that are worth considering if you have not yet incorporated social networks as part of your overall marketing strategy.
  1. Brand Awareness
  Social media can help promote awareness of your brand and even allow you to create a voice that is appealing and recognizable to your target audience. By utilizing the right strategies, you can gain a strong following in your social pages and boost brand recognition.
  Gone are the days when people had to check the Yellow Pages to find a company’s contact number or even to drive directly to the store just to ask questions about their product or service. Nowadays, people prefer to make inquiries via email or even directly on the social media accounts of the business, especially in Facebook and Twitter. They may send a private message to the company’s Facebook page or even post directly on their wall.
  By using social media to reach out and interact with your current and prospective customers, you provide them with a very accessible medium for communication. You can also ask for feedback or even share their thoughts, opinions and suggestions on how you can better serve them.
  3. Increase Website Traffic
  One of the best things about social media is that you now have the ability to direct customers to your blog or website. You can do this by including a link to your website in your ads or even in the posts that you share with your followers.
  Unlike traditional advertising, with social media, you can reach out to the right audience. Social media sites like Facebook collect information about their users so when you start an ad campaign, you can choose which demographics that the ad will be served.
  Its geo-targeting ability will take away the guesswork and give you a much better chance of success in your marketing efforts. You also save money.
  5. Monitor Performance
  Social media advertising is really a cost-effective option because you can track the performance of each ad campaign. You can measure how much web traffic it generated, how many sales or subscriptions you got from a specific ad, what times of the day or night it got the highest traffic, and so on. By being able to track your results, you can determine whether your efforts are working or not.
  6. Wider Reach
  How many people can a TV ad reach? How about a newspaper ad? Chances are, the people who can see them are limited to a particular location (such as the US, or even just a single state or city). But with social media ads, you can reach anyone no matter where they may be.
  There are over a billion active Facebook users. Instagram has about 400 million and Twitter has around 300 million. Imagine the sheer number of people you can reach with just a single ad.
  7. Ease of Integration with Other Marketing Efforts
  TV and radio are still invaluable in marketing and that is why social media platforms have made it easier for advertisers to integrate their ads with the traditional forms of marketing. For example, you can encourage TV viewers to like your Facebook page. Or you may share a video of your TV ad in your Facebook page.
  8. Reviews and Testimonials
  A lot of people go online to know more about a product, service or brand. By using social media, you can garner reviews from real people who have used your products and services. If they were happy with their purchase, then naturally, they will not hesitate to say so in social media. Their reviews will help sell your brand. Reviews are very powerful and can really make or break a business.
  One of the key reasons why businesses use social media marketing is because it’s more affordable than other forms of advertising. You can promote your small business for as low as a dollar a day. So it doesn’t matter whether you have a huge marketing budget or not, with social media you can still afford to advertise.
  10. 24/7 Exposure
  Building your business through social media channels offers many benefits, and one that is truly noteworthy is that it provides you with 24/7 exposure. You can engage with your audience any time. You can serve your ads any time as well. In addition, your prospective customers can contact you through private message no matter what time of the day or night it is. And if they need to know more about your company, a quick look at your social media pages will provide them all the details they need.
  As marketing professionals, we’ve used social media channels like Facebook and Twitter to expand our business as well as that of our clients. Without a doubt, it’s one of the best marketing tools in our arsenal. It doesn’t matter what kind of business you have. It doesn’t matter whether you’re operating a mom and pop store or a multi-national corporation. With social media, marketing becomes a lot less complicated and more affordable.
  If you have not considered social media marketing, now is definitely a good time to do so.