The social media stats by ‘we are social’ suggests that by the end of 2017, there were 2.80 billion active global social media users. Among them, the FaceBook social media platform had 1.37 billion active users. This number is soon to be rounded off to 2 billion alone for the most trending social media platform in the year 2018. The next in line is Instagram followed by Snap Chat and Pinterest. Each social media platform offers great benefit.

The power of connecting with the people all around the world, through one way or the other, that it holds is immensely valued in the global business industry. The different business firms in U.K, U.S, the Middle East, and the advertising agencies in Dubai invest their time, money and effort in social media for the betterment of the business company. The social media marketing is at its peak in the present era and here is how it helps thrive your business:

1. Helps in the initial ‘creating awareness’ phase

The social media promotes a business industry by creating awareness about the brand products and services on a large platform. Whether you have a small business or a large setup, it is impossible for you to sell the products if you haven’t introduced your brand to the general populace. The first thing that the social media helps in doing is creating your online presence. Once the brand is on the online platform, you can add photos, images, live videos, short videos and blog posts to let others know about your brand and how it works.

2. Generates interest and encourages the action of the viewers

The leading branding agency Dubai shares their experience of social media marketing. They vouch for the fact that it helps in directing the interested viewers to the official website thus generating leads. Is it possible? Yes, it is!

The social media network is the ideal way of digital communication and without it, it is nearly impossible to reach billions of people at once (explained ahead). Thus, it can be used to drum up interest in your product as well. The discount offers, sales contests and give away offers attract the users instilling the interest to invest in the brand. Furthermore, the call-to-action on the social media encourage the users to click on the website link. The link directs them to the website’s landing page which in return helps thrive the business.

3. The wide reach of the social media platform

As mentioned above, the numbers of people who use the social media are countless. This means if you are investing in a national or international business brand, you’ll need to reach out to a lot of customers to make your brand popular. The social media networks are the golden place to do so. You can target any type of valuable customers you want. According to Marketing Sherpa, the 95% of the online adults aged 18 to 34 most probably follow a business brand via social media. The adults in every region of the world, either men or women, use Social Media. Even the children and elderly, and people from every profession use it making it easier for you to reach the general and desired population.

4. Drives more traffic to the website

The use of images, blog posts, content status, and videos on the social media platform helps in driving more traffic. The followers of the business brand are attracted and convinced to browse through and see what the brand offers. The CTAs and impressive brand’s discount offers enhance the trust and drive more traffic to the official website through the shared links.

5. Improves the website’s SEO

The studies show that establishing an online presence on the social media networks and promoting the brand there helps in elevating the rank of the official website in the search engine. There is no doubt that social media marketing is one of the best ways to conduct digital marketing. The multiple links shared and traffic driven through different sources along with its proper website development makes the business industry popular on the internet. Thus, it is important of search engine optimization!

6. It establishes customer loyalty and relationship

Customer loyalty is what ensures the business growth and prosperity and to achieve this it is very important to maintain the social media business profile. An active profile is what proves to the users the authenticity and trustworthiness of the brand. The Texas Tech University’s report on social media concludes “Companies should take advantage of the tools social media gives them when it comes to connecting with their audience. A strategic and open social media plan could prove influential in morphing consumers into being brand loyal.” Thus, focus on your social media marketing and facilitate the viewers as much as you can.

7. A cost-effective way of marketing and promoting the business

There are both online and offline ways to market your business. The former one is cost-effective as compared to the latter one. This is because all it requires is a high-quality internet connection, a good digital marketing team with latest skills and expertise and investment in the form of innovative and new ideas.

A small business company can benefit from this nearly free, highly targeted, cost-effective marketing solution by carrying out the actions by themselves. And if they aren’t aware of how to do it, hiring a team that knows the job is the best resort. This still costs less than marketing through other means. Hubspot states that 84% of the marketers find as little as 6 hours of effort per week enough to generate increased traffic. Doesn’t this prove the cost and time-effectiveness of the social media marketing?

8. Offers good customer support service

The Bain and Company showcase the result of a study saying that the businesses that keep in touch and engage with their customers are 20 to 40% more likely to earn increased revenue per customer. Also, the use of social media helps in keeping the customers intact. How does this happen? One of the reasons for this customer engagement and retention is the fact that social media allows the business to offer great customer support service. By solving the customer’s queries and problems, the business team makes them feel important and valuable. This is what maintains their loyalty to the brand.

9. Increased social advertisements

The state of social 2018 report suggests that 67% businesses intend on increasing their advertisement budgets. This means that other than the offline advertisement and the one through GoogleAds, the scope of paid social advertisement is increasing rapidly. This is one of the latest trends to be followed in the social media marketing for the year 2018. The idea behind is to make the product known and accessible for all.

10. Increases the sales

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When all the above-mentioned ways and techniques are summed up, they offer the result of increased sales of the product! The social media definitely helps in increasing the sales of both the offline and online business stores. A research shows that 70% business-to-consumer marketers acquire customers through the social media namely Facebook.

In the end:

These are the top ten ways in which social media boost the business industry. Running a business in a competitive environment like that of today is a tough job. It requires all the effort and sources that you can use as leverage against the other business and social media marketing is one of the best one. Start practicing social media marketing to understand in depth the way it promotes the business.

Junaid Ali Qureshi is a digital marketing specialist who has helped several businesses gain traffic, outperform competition and generate profitable leads. His current ventures include Elephantation, eLabelz, Smart Leads.ae, Progos Tech and eCig.