10 Ways to Convince Anyone Social Media Marketing is Worthwhile

If you’re having trouble convincing your business partners, clients or even yourself that social media marketing is worthwhile, then read on.

Most social media gurus and pundits insist that social media builds brand and product awareness, but what does that truly mean, and how can you use social media to accomplish your broader business goals?

Given the goal of any business (including yours) is to create new customers, and the first step is to let them know you exist. The second is to make them your friends, because people buy from people – and brands – they like. That is precisely what social media can do for your business.

Here are ten specific reasons why social media is worth your time and investment.

1. Social media is where your customers are.

Except for seven or eight people living in a mud hut in the Amazon, everyone is using social media in one way or another. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and mobile apps and games have all become favorite pastimes across the world. Interacting in that environment puts your brand and product messages in a position to be shared and commented which leads to awareness, interest and sales.

2. Social media levels the playing field.

My agency gets inquiries from big brands and small startups alike, because social media has created an even playing field on which brands, business and organizations can now compete. The advantage is still with larger, more established brands, simply because they started with existing fan bases and may have larger budgets for media spend. That just means you may have to be more creative and work harder to reach the same audiences.

3. Social media is already helping the competition.

This is also known as “the cold war approach.” Scare them with the knowledge that their most hated archrivals already jumped into social media before they did and are way ahead of them. Convince them they need to get with the program and escalate quickly before it’s too late.

4. Social media is searchable.

Consumers are looking for your products and services. How are they looking? Most likely, online search is one of the top ways. Social media can affect your company’s organic Google search results as well as provide an entry point to your website, microsite, or landing pages. YouTube is the second largest search engine, meaning videos get ranked high in Google results. Other social media networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Quora are also searchable.

5. Social media content is shareable.

An essential component of social media is creating and sharing content such as videos, articles, photos, graphics and updates. The only way you can share a print ad is to physically hand it to a friend. The only way to share a TV ad on the TV is to Tivo it and invite your friend over to watch. Who does that? Nobody does that.

6. Social media allows for real-time engagement.

Through the process of creating content, sharing and interacting, you can learn what’s important to your consumers. You can leverage this new-found customer insight to build brand and product loyalty by improving your communications and measuring response rates along the way. Smart social media marketers know when to stay the course and when to adjust fire. One way to do this is to be actively engaged.