February 07, 2014

Facebook Turns 10: Three Reasons Why Social Media is a Must for Marketers

This past week, Facebook celebrated the big 1-0. In just 10 years, the social network made its way from the depths of a college dorm room to a top reigning social media platform with over 1.23 billion users— adding 170 million in the last year alone. The folks at Facebook aren’t the only ones celebrating, however, as marketers are commemorating the platform for all it has to offer.

Social media has become an integral tool in marketers’ tool belts. In fact, 87 percent of small businesses say that social media helps their business, and 74 percent of brand marketers saw an increase in website traffic after investing just six hours per week in social media, according to an infographic from Zift Solutions. If you have yet to implement a social media strategy, here are three reasons that are sure to convince you:

1. Creates Brand Awareness: Social media allows you to showcase your brand to billions of potential consumers who are hungry for information and conversation. Take, for example, Olympian Sarah Wells who began using Twitter to engage fans and raise awareness of her Olympic goals. After launching her Twitter campaign, Wells quickly gained followers and immense support. Wells’ Twitter journey just goes to show how powerful social media is in spreading awareness, whether it’s promoting a specific cause, product or service. 

2. Builds Loyalty: With social media, businesses can create an online community of brand users, which is a very powerful branding force. When consumers have an emotional connection with your company, they are more likely to become a positive brand ambassador and lifetime customer. In fact, studies have shown that customers in certain verticals would rather give their money to a business with an active Facebook fan page rather than without. By consistently engaging with your consumers via social media, you quickly start to become a trusted source of information, which helps build loyalty, trustworthiness and credibility.

3. Boosts Traffic and SEO: Social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are major traffic generators; the more channels you participate in, the more traffic will be driven to your site. In fact, companies that generate more than 1,000 Facebook “likes” also receive nearly 1,400 website visits a day, according to the aforementioned infographic. Moreover, with Google’s recent updates, the search engine has made a concerted effort to award businesses that are active on social media. For example, “likes,” “shares,” and “retweets” indicate to search engines that content is new and interesting, which often leads to an increase in rankings.

Start boosting your brand by integrating a strong social media strategy. And don’t forget to wish Facebook a happy birthday!

 



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